June 2011

A promising all-natural solution fights prostate cancer while you chew. It's a phytochemical created when you chew raw broccoli and other cruciferous plants. It inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells. And, unlike chemotherapy and radiation, it doesn't damage healthy cells.

That's according to Dr. Emily Ho. She is principal investigator at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. She's also Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences. She's an expert on the relationship between diet and the development of prostate cancer. And her research has been published in several professional journals.

Dr. Ho has been studying the phytochemical for about five years. She recently released the results of a two-year study that looked at how it affects prostate cancer cells. The results appeared in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.

Evidence That Cancer Is Reversible

When Dr. Ho's team applied the phytochemical to prostate cancer tissue, they found that it was very selective. It targeted only the prostate cancer cells. Other studies have shown that the phytochemical is also effective against colon and breast cancers.

Dr. Ho says more research has to be done to see how this works in the human body. But she believes that there is hope for safer cancer treatments.

Still, she cautions, "Just because a phytochemical or nutrient is found in food doesn't always mean it's safe, and a lot can also depend on the form or levels consumed. But this does appear to be a phytochemical that can selectively kill cancer cells, and that's always what you look for in cancer therapies."

The Phytochemical Revealed

So what's the phytochemical we're talking about here? It's "sulforaphane." It's in a family of disease-fighting compounds called isothiocyanates.

Sulforaphane is produced when you chew raw cruciferous vegetables. The chewing releases an enzyme in the plant's cells called "myrosinase." It also releases a compound called "glucoraphanin." When the two combine, a chemical reaction produces sulforaphane.

So by adding more raw crucifers to your diet, you could help protect yourself against cancer.

Go Green

To combat prostate cancer, Dr. Ho recommends 5 to 9 servings of vegetables a day. Some of those should be crucifers. That includes Brussels sprouts and cabbage, as well as broccoli. But the best source of sulforaphane, says Dr. Ho, is broccoli sprouts. In fact, she says, a cup of sprouts could yield the same amount of sulforaphane as 20 cups of full-grown broccoli.

Eat the vegetables raw, not cooked. Heat kills the enzyme that helps create the sulforaphane. And keep in mind that sulforaphane is an unstable compound. After about 30 minutes, it starts to degrade.

You can also get sulforaphane in broccoli juice, or as a powder that you mix with water.

Supplements are available, too. But Dr. Ho says they aren't as effective.

Consuming sulforaphane isn't the only way to protect yourself from prostate cancer. Our research team has prepared an in-depth health directive report packed with 15 proven cancer prevention tools. You can find out more right here.

Some people who need medical care but can't afford it go to the emergency room. Others just hope they'll get better. James Richard Verone robbed a bank.

Earlier this month, Verone (pictured), a 59-year-old convenience store clerk, walked into a Gaston, N.C., bank and handed the cashier a note demanding $1 and medical attention. Then he waited calmly for police to show up.

Verone's problems started when he lost the job he'd held for 17 years as a Coca Cola deliveryman, amid the economic downturn. He found new work driving a truck, but it didn't last. Eventually, he took a part-time position at the convenience store.

But Verone's body wasn't up to it. The bending and lifting made his back ache. He had problems with his left foot, making him limp. He also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.

Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest. "The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept," Verone told the Gaston Gazette. "I kind of hit a brick wall with everything."

Verone knew he needed help--and he didn't want to be a burden on his sister and brothers. He applied for food stamps, but they weren't enough either.

So he hatched a plan. On June 9, he woke up, showered, ironed his shirt. He mailed a letter to the Gazette, listing the return address as the Gaston County Jail.

"When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me," Verone wrote in the letter. "This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar. I am of sound mind but not so much sound body."

Then Verone hailed a cab to take him to the RBC Bank. Inside, he handed the teller his $1 robbery demand.

"I didn't have any fears," said Verone. "I told the teller that I would sit over here and wait for police."

The teller was so frightened that she had to be taken to the hospital to be checked out. Verone, meanwhile, was taken to jail, just as he'd planned it.

Because he only asked for $1, Verone was charged with larceny, not bank robbery. But he said that if his punishment isn't severe enough, he plans to tell the judge that he'll do it again. His $100,000 bond has been reduced to $2,000, but he says he doesn't plan to pay it.

In jail, Verone said he skips dinner to avoid too much contact with the other inmates. He's already seen some nurses and is scheduled to see a doctor on Friday. He said he's hoping to receive back and foot surgery, and get the protrusion on his chest treated. Then he plans to spend a few years in jail, before getting out in time to collect Social Security and move to the beach.

Verone also presented the view that if the United States had a health-care system which offered people more government support, he wouldn't have had to make the choice he did.

The Affordable Care Act, President Obama's health-care overhaul passed by Congress last year, was designed to make it easier for Americans in situations like Verone's to get health insurance. But most of its provisions don't go into effect until 2014.

As it is, Verone said he thinks he chose the best of a bunch of bad options. "I picked jail."

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