Greeting my esteemed Steemians,

Introduction

Approximately 39.6% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes (based on 2010-2012 data).
Source

Imagine this,
For every 5 people that you know, 2 have probably been diagnosed with cancer.

For every 5 steemians that you know, 2 of them may be diagnosed with cancer in the future.

Another statistic,

In 2016, an estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 595,690 people will die from the disease.
The most common cancers in 2016 are projected to be breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma of the skin, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, leukemia, endometrial cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

As what the topic suggested, by consuming certain types of vegetables, it may be able to protect your body against certain cancers.

The vegetables that are known to protect certain types of cancers are:-

1. Cabbage

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2. Brussels sprouts

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3. Cauliflower

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4. Broccoli.

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How do these vegetables protect your body?

Eat them.
These are my favourite. Make these vegetables into a salad is the best way to prepare them.

If possible, you don't want to cook away all the nutrients inside that is important in protecting your body. These nutrients are mainly called as phytochemicals.

The phytochemical that I wanted to share with you now is known as DIINDOLYLMETHANE aka DIM.

Diindolylmethane, or DIM, is a phytochemical produced during the digestion of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower.

Source

DIM is formed in the body from plant substances contained in the vegetables above.

Anti-Cancer Effects
Animal and laboratory research has found that DIM kills cancer cells and stops the cells from spreading, according to the MSKCC. DIM shows effectiveness against pancreatic and colon cancer, and it enhances the effects of erlotinib, a chemotherapy drug used to treat certain forms of lung cancer. DIM also may be effective against breast and prostate cancer, as noted by the MSKCC. MSKCC stand for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Source

Besides the ability to protect the body from certain cancer, it can also be used as an adjuvant therapy for those cancer patients on chemotherapy, especially erlotinib.

Plus, a lot more benefits coming with it.

Theories/Speculation
Research shows beneficial effects of DIM on estrogen metabolism, according to the MSKCC. This could have beneficial effects for several health conditions, such as treating endometriosis, premenstrual syndrome and chronic breast pain in women, and preventing benign prostatic hyperplasia, or an enlarged prostate, in men. Dim might also reduce side effects and risks of estrogen hormone replacement therapy.

Source

From the source, we now know that DIM protects certain type of cancers as listed here.

1. Pancreatic cancer
2. Colon cancer
3. breast cancer
4. prostate cancer

4 type of cancers that can be protected by consuming vegetables are listed as one of the Terrible Twelve. They are not only in the Terrible Twelve but also listed as the most common cancer in America. Probably in the world too.

Imagine that these common vegetables may protect our body from the most common cancer which is also listed as the Terrible Twelve by just consuming it regularly.

Image source

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Conclusion

Patient with strong family history of cancer must always be consulted to do some sort of screening investigation aiming to catch any type of cancer at their early stage. As a consultation, including diet such as the vegetables mentioned above, is a good practice as well.

There are other screening investigations that can be used to detect cancer at its early stage. One of the good examples is Pap Smear to detect Cervical Cancer.

As usual, I will try to present my topic as simple as possible, just like how I consult patient in my clinic.

I hope the info that you get here will help you understand the importance of eating vegetables. Especially vegetables that are listed here.

Thank you for reading and any comments are very much appreciated.

Cheers.

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@papanog is a General Practitioner who loves to talk about health. In his spare times, he will cook for his family. A new passion is to learn more about how to be a good steemit blogger and promoting steemit.com. Making sure that all contents are well written to add value to whoever visits and reads this blog post.