November 17, 2005 – Cabbage, especially in sauerkraut, is said to prevent breast cancer. Indeed, women who eat it at least three times a week are much less likely to contract breast cancer than those who consume little, according to American and Polish researchers.
Breast cancer incidence triples among Polish women immigrating to North America. The study authors suspected that this increase could be linked to the fact that less cabbage is eaten in North America than in Poland. Poles consume around 15 kg of cabbage – mostly in the form of sauerkraut – per year per person, compared to 5 kg for North Americans.
The results of the epidemiological study that the researchers conducted among American women born in Poland confirm their initial hypothesis. The incidence of breast cancer is actually lower in women who ate large amounts of cabbage and sauerkraut during their teenage years. Although it is less marked, this protective effect is still important in women who did not increase their consumption of cabbage until adulthood.
Researchers attribute this anticancer action to sulforaphanes produced by plants of the cabbage family. Note that prolonged cooking of cabbage prevents the production of sulforaphanes. The protective effect is therefore only associated with raw or very undercooked cabbage, as well as with sauerkraut (cabbage chopped and fermented under the action of lactic bacteria).
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to Foodnavigator.com, Newswise.com and WebMed.
