Count on Cabbage

Add chopped cabbage to your salads once a week to help reduce your risk of lung cancer.

Each year lung cancer affects almost 175,000 people, of whom as many as 15 percent are non-smokers. Research suggests cabbage may be a good preventive measure for those people. In study participants who had never smoked, people who ate cabbage once per week had lower rates of lung cancer compared to people who do not eat it often.

Isothiocyanates are cancer-fighting compounds found in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Research suggests that people who eat the most cruciferous vegetables have much lower rates of lung cancer than people who eat them very infrequently, but the effects are slightly different in people who smoke compared to people who have never smoked. Although cruciferous vegetables appear to help reduce lung cancer risk in people who have never smoked, in smokers the question of whether cruciferous veggies reduce lung cancer risk appears to be dependent upon genetics. Eat cruciferous vegetables raw or lightly steamed to retain their cancer-fighting properties. An excellent option is to toss up a savory slaw with chopped cabbage, sherry vinegar, capers, red onion, and a dollop of tartar sauce.

Effect of cruciferous vegetables on lung cancer in patients stratified by genetic status: a mendelian randomisation approach. Brennan, P., Hsu, C. C., Moullan, N., Szeszenia-Dabrowska, N., Lissowska, J., Zaridze, D., Rudnai, P., Fabianova, E., Mates, D., Bencko, V., Foretova, L., Janout, V., Gemignani, F., Chabrier, A., Hall, J., Hung, R. J., Boffetta, P., Canzian, F., Lancet 2005 Oct 29-Nov 4;366(9496):1558-1560.