Magic Bullets - Chemistry vs. Cancer

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    You Become What You Eat:
    Phytochemicals: Guarding the Gates

    tomato The foods that we eat are very important to us. They provide our bodies with needed materials for growth and they provide the energy we need to live. Equally important are the many chemical substances contained in foods. The compounds the body needs are usually referred to as nutrients. We often hear that we should eat fruits and vegetables because they contain desirable vitamins and minerals. Beans and nuts, for example, are good sources of protein. We know that potatoes contain an abundance of carbohydrates. Milk contains calcium—a mineral—that the body needs. So it is not simply the food itself that we need. It's the compounds contained in the food that matter.

    cabbage Often, the compounds in foods have chemical names with which we are not all familiar. We are used to hearing the common names for some compounds that we encounter, but these substances have chemical names as well. For example, vitamin C's chemical name is ascorbic acid. The chemical name for vitamin B1 is thiamine.

    ascorbic acid  
    ascorbic acid
      thiamine hydrochloride
      thiamine hydrochloride

    carrots Chemical substances in foods serve not only as nutrients for the body, but they also produce flavor and odor in foods. Eugenol, for example, is the chemical substance that gives bay leaves their distinctive odor. A group of related compounds, called "capsaicins," give hot peppers their well-known kick. The main component in garlic is the compound alliin, which is converted to allicin as soon as the garlic is cut or crushed. Garlic's characteristic odor comes from allicin.

    Click to see alliin in 3-D!
    alliin
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    Click to see allicin in 3-D!
    allicin

    broccoli Most foods contain mixtures of hundreds or thousands of separate chemical compounds. Some compounds—nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins—are required by the body. Others provide odor and flavor. Additional substances may provide health benefits beyond nutritional requirements. These substances are called "phytocompounds." Phytocompounds occur naturally in foods, and to date more than 100,000 of them have been isolated and identified. Originally classified as vitamins, many phytocompounds are now classified by their molecular structure and by their protective functions in the body.

    lemon In the body, phytocompounds undergo chemical changes that promote good health. Researchers studying the causes and cures for major diseases, like heart disease and cancer, have begun to identify important phytocompounds that, if consumed as part of a person's diet, may help to prevent disease.

    Among the more important groups of phytocompounds are:

    • Terpenes: carotenes, limonoids, and saponins
    • Organosulfur compounds: indoles, glucosinolates, thiosulfonates, and isothiocyanates
    • Phenols: polyphenols and isoflavones
    • Organic acid-polysaccharides: gallic acid

    pepper Most phytocompounds have names too long for most people to pronounce, but one clue about where to find them is color. Green plants contain chlorophyll. The orange, yellow, and red-orange of carrots, squash, and tomatoes means that terpenes are present. The anthocyanidins in beets, blueberries, cherries, purple grapes ,and purple cabbage give them their coloration. So eating a rainbow might be good advice.

    bean What's more, many phytocompounds have a strong odor, mostly due to the presence of sulfur. So eat onions and garlic and cabbage and brussels sprouts and broccoli. Just follow your nose to cancer protection.

    Let's make it easy. If you eat helpings of any of these foods on a regular basis, you can help to protect yourself from cancer:

    Broccoli Cauliflower Artichokes
    Brussels sprouts Kale Red grapes
    Turnips Yams Strawberries
    Sweet potatoes Cabbage Spinach
    Soy Dried beans Chili peppers
    Citrus fruit Apples Garlic
    Onions Leeks Chives
    Green peppers Carrots Squash
    Peaches Green tea Watermelon

    For more information, at other Web sites...

      Broccoli Treatment for Ulcer Bug — news report on the potential use of sulforaphane, a phytocompound found in broccoli, to treat ulcers, from the BBC.

      Cancer Cookbook: Making It Nutritious & Delicious — excerpted from Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillin, PhD, RD, hosted by HealthWorld Online.

      Phytochemicals (Minerals, Phytamins, and Vitamins) — phytochemical information catalogue from the National Genetic Resources Program.

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