Broccoli and Tomato eaten together can prevent prostate cancer

Eating whole products is better than consuming their components

The bioactive content of broccoli and tomatoes may enhance efficacy in the prevention of prostate cancer. These are the conclusions to be drawn from research carried out by scientists from the University of Illinois and the Ohio State University. The research also shows that broccoli and tomatoes are better at reducing prostate tumours when both are part of the daily diet than when they are eaten alone.

According to the researchers, the two vegetables have an additive effect when they are eaten together, because different bioactive compounds in each food work on different anti-cancer pathways. The study, which was funded by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, supports the public health recommendation to increase the intake of a variety of plant components, and it also shows that eating whole foods is better than consuming their components, according to Cancer Research.

During the study, the scientists fed a diet containing combinations of different proportions of tomato powder and broccoli powder to laboratory rats that had been implanted with prostate cancer cells. Other rats in the study received either tomato or broccoli powder alone; or a supplemental dose of lycopene, the red pigment thought to be the effective cancer-preventive agent in tomatoes; or finasteride, a drug prescribed for men with enlarged prostates. Another group of rats was castrated. The powders were made from whole foods, so the effects of eating the entire vegetable could be compared with consuming individual parts of them as a nutritional supplement.

After 22 weeks, the tumours were weighed. The results showed that the combination of tomato and broccoli was more effective at slowing tumour growth than either tomato or broccoli alone. The only treatment that approached the tomato/broccoli diet's level of effectiveness was castration.

S&G Brassicas Today – June 2010