WATERCRESS FIGHTING CANCER

It is not often that a single food item becomes identified as a potential cure or preventative for disease, much less for cancer.
However, a growing body of evidence increasingly suggests that watercress in many ways stands alone and above other ‘super-food’ for it’s prowess as a cancer-fighter and preventer.
With amazing health benefits due to its high levels of phytochemicals known as isothiocyanates, the same disease fighting components found in broccoli and cabbage. With all of these healthy properties, it’s important to add more watercress in your diet.
If you’re confused on how to prepare and eat this underappreciated vegetable, learn how to master the art of eating watercress, go to How To Enjoy Watercress, on this site.

And while the evidence is strong and growing, even us watercress purists would not be so bold as to claim watercress as a cure. But all things considered, there’s no harm and significant potential gain from adding watercress to your daily diet.
Here’s the evidence. You decide for yourself.
1. Key Findings of the South Hampton Breast Cancer Study;
Says Dr. Steve Rothwell, “This study was unique in that we not only identified a biological pathway by which the anticancer compound found in watercress, PEITC, stops cancer development: we went on to show that when a person eats watercress the same pathway is disrupted in their blood cells. These findings provide further evidence that the well documented anticancer properties of PEITC, established through many hundreds of in vitro and animal studies, are manifest in the body after eating a bunch of watercress.
Here are more highlights;
• significant reduction in DNA damage to lymphocytes (white blood cells), by 22.9 per cent.
• reduction in DNA damage to lymphocytes (white blood cells) when a sample was challenged with the free radical generating chemical hydrogen peroxide, by 9.4%
• reduction in blood triglyceride levels, by an average of 10%
• significant increase in blood levels of lutein and beta-carotene, which have antioxidant activity, by 100% and 33% respectively(higher intakes of lutein have also been associated with a lower incidence of eye diseases such as cataract and age-related macular degeneration).
2. American Association of Cancer Research.
ScienceDaily — Chemicals in cruciferous vegetables, specifically watercress, appear to stop human prostate cancer cells from growing in mice by affecting the expression of proteins, says a University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute study, abstract number 5601, being presented today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
3. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Cruciferous vegetable consumption is associated with a reduced risk of several cancers in epidemiologic studies. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of watercress supplementation on biomarkers related to cancer risk in healthy adults.
Watercress supplementation was associated with reductions in basal DNA damage (by 17%) in basal plus oxidative purine DNA damage (by 32%), and in basal DNA in response to ex vivo hydrogen peroxide challenge. Beneficial changes seen after watercress intervention were greater and more significant in smokers.
Links to All these studies, and more are available in their full text under ‘Cancer Research Archives in this section of the website.