Broccoli on the menu to reduce the risk of liver cancer

In the realm of healthy foods, broccoli could be king. Proteins, vitamins, minerals, low calorie intake… Everything is good – except perhaps the taste for some -. A University of Illinois study adds a new benefit to this panoply: it would protect the liver from the appearance of cancer.

Eating broccoli three to five times a week has been shown to reduce the risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer, but no studies have been done on the liver.

“We decided that we needed to study liver cancer, given the obesity epidemic in the United States, which exacerbates the risks, particularly in men,” explains Elizabeth Jeffrey, professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois. “They are almost five times more likely to develop liver cancer if they are obese. “

Mice and broccoli

The researchers created four groups of mice with different diets. Two groups in which the mice ate a healthy diet with and without broccoli. For the other two, the diet had been modified to approach the so-called “westernized” diet, always with or without broccoli.

What the researchers called a “westernized diet” corresponds to the typical diet of European countries or the United States, ie particularly rich in fat and sugar. “We wanted to model the eating habits that many of us have adopted,” adds Professor Jeffrey. “We chose mice that weren’t genetically obese, but who had put on weight the same way humans do, by eating too much fat and too much sugar. “

Crucifers Can Do It

In obese mice, the number of cancerous nodules increases. But when adding broccoli to the diet, it decreases. It did not make the mice lose weight, but it limited the assimilation of fat by the liver and stimulated their evacuation.

These excess saturated fats and sugar put a strain on the liver because it has to process them. Too much consumption induces saturation, a bit like when force-feeding geese or ducks to make foie gras. This phenomenon causes non-alcoholic hepatitis which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Professor Jeffrey says the anti-cancer benefits of broccoli are greatest when eaten raw and chopped, or very lightly steamed. She adds that among the vegetables, other crucifers could have the same virtues, such as cauliflower or Brussels sprouts.