I actually think most people already grow them if they are into gardening. Things like tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, kale and other dark green leafy veggies are good for you.

Then from the article below:
"7. Which foods are rich in antioxidants?

Antioxidants are abundant in fruits and vegetables, as well as in other foods including nuts, grains and some meats, poultry and fish. The list below describes food sources of common antioxidants.

 Beta-carotene is found in many foods that are orange in color, including sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, squash, apricots, pumpkin, and mangos. Some green leafy vegetables including collard greens, spinach, and kale are also rich in beta-carotene.

 Lutein, best known for its association with healthy eyes, is abundant in green, leafy vegetables such as collard greens, spinach, and kale.

 Lycopene is a potent antioxidant found in tomatoes, watermelon, guava, papaya, apricots, pink grapefruit, blood oranges, and other foods. Estimates suggest 85 percent of American dietary intake of lycopene comes from tomatoes and tomato products.

 Selenium is a mineral, not an antioxidant nutrient. However, it is a component of antioxidant enzymes. Plant foods like rice and wheat are the major dietary sources of selenium in most countries. The amount of selenium in soil, which varies by region, determines the amount of selenium in the foods grown in that soil. Animals that eat grains or plants grown in selenium-rich soil have higher levels of selenium in their muscle. In the United States, meats and bread are common sources of dietary selenium. Brazil nuts also contain large quantities of selenium.

 Vitamin A is found in three main forms: retinol (Vitamin A1), 3,4-didehydroretinol (Vitamin A2), and 3-hydroxy-retinol (Vitamin A3). Foods rich in vitamin A include liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, milk, egg yolks and mozzarella cheese.

 Vitamin C is also called ascorbic acid, and can be found in high abundance in many fruits and vegetables and is also found in cereals, beef, poultry and fish.

 Vitamin E, also known as alpha-tocopherol, is found in almonds, in many oils including wheat germ, safflower, corn and soybean oils, and also found in mangos, nuts, broccoli and other foods."

Here is a link that might be useful: Cancer Preventative Vegetables

Sandhill, here's a link to a book my mother-in-law gave me: SuperFoods RX: Fourteen foods that will change your life It's a great book and elaborates on the points that Booberry made. Avoiding processed foods is also important.


I was very saddened to learn of Tony Snow's death. His commentaries at the end of Fox News Sunday were the best.

Garlic is also excellent for health benefits, including cancer prevention. It contains manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and selenium and also has antibiotic effects.

Here is a link that might be useful: Health benefits of garlic

Thanks everyone, I'll start looking-in and reading this in the morning when I wake-up at O-dark thirty.

Also, the garden weed, purslane, is extremely high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Traditionally, our diet was about 4:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3, but the modern diet with its overuse of vegetable oils, and grain fed meat is 20:1. This is not a direct cause of cancer, but it hugely contributes to a very wide range of health problems. Omega 3 is the reason we are told to eat more fish, use fish oil or flax seed oil. The purslane is probably in your garden, and is quite tasty in salads.

What does purslane look like?

I saw a picture here earlier of someone's garden. S/he identified a cluster of plants as mustard greens, and they look a lot like some of the weeds I've been pulling up in my back yard.

I heard the news about Tony Snow. He died at a younger age than I am now.

How funny! A friend of mine had this weed show up in her garden this year. I had no idea of what it was. It was purslane!

Here is a link that might be useful: Purslane

Here's a really great link about purslane with excellent close up pictures. Fascinating information here. Thanks for the reminder about purslane, laceyvail. Yes, we've all got it growing in our gardens.

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Purslane.html

Thanks also for the link to the fourteen super foods, Sproutshonor. I have a list of those foods tacked to the inside of my kitchen cabinet. The top 8, according to a radio program I heard recently are, yogurt, spinach, carrots, black beans, tomatoes, blueberries, walnuts, and oats. Everyone should eat yogurt for the digestive enzymes it offers.

I am having a yogurt-mango smoothee this morning. My grocery store carries mango and guava puree in the frozen section. Real handy.

I raise my glass to Tony Snow who did a fine job when he was with the Whitehouse and whose Sunday morning commentaries on Fox News I too liked very much. God Bless his family.

It has a wonderful survival tactic: The succulent (juicy) stem, keeps it from drying out. If someone decides purslane is a "weed" and uproots it, it uses the water in the stem to make seeds before it dies, and soon there'll be even more purslane.

so if you are trying to get rid of the weed you better be very careful. I notice it does not seem to die when left out in the hot sun after pulling it up. I guess I am spreading the seeds. I better be more careful.

Purslane is raised as a vegetable in India. I think it's just trying to convince us we should be raising it too! Personally I love it's flavor, eaten raw, straight out of the garden. Even before I found out how good it is for us, I liked the way it looked and let some of it grow in my flower beds!

Anyone in temperate or tropical zone (or having access to a greenhouse) should check out Momordica Cochinchinensis. It is a vigorous, attractive vine, easy to grow, non-invasive, and tons of lycopene and beta-carotene in the fruit.

Here is a link that might be useful: wikipedia link

Hi all,

Cabbage is a huge one specfically for cancer and mushrooms (all kinds I think, but not sure) have immune boosting properties.

As for yougurt, yes it is great for you but it needs to be yougurt with live culture (acidopholus) to create the health benefit. Brown Cow is a brand in CA, but the label will say. Particularly important if you have to take antibiotics which kill both helpful and harmful bacteria in the intestines.

Shiitake Mushrooms , garlic

Great idea for a topic.

I will say that all vegetable have their benefits for various reasons.

I will also say that I personally think a lot of people are dying from cancer because of the the pesticides sprayed on vegetables we buy in the stores are causing it.

I know we need to control the pests from destroying the food we depend on, but at the same time, we need to find all natural methods not syntethic chemicals. I do not use chemicals in my gardens and if I see any pests on my plants, I hand pick 'em. I know this is not feasible on large properties and farms, but the less chemicals the better.

My $0.02.

All fruits and veggies are preventative, just eat lots of them, several servings at every meal, and eat a wide variety. Don't get stuck in broccoli at every meal. Don't pay that much attention to which is good for what, just go with a lot of variety and lots of them and cooked with a variety of techniques. They make the meat tastier, besides.

I'm absolutely with beeone. I have to say I don't believe in 'superfoods'. Just lots of fruit and vegetables and in variety. There's nothing more tedious than shopping, cooking or eating with a food faddist. I also think there is a tendency to almost blame people when they get ill for not eating right or doing the right things. My neighbour died last year at the age of only 62. He cycled everywhere, didn't own a car, was a vegetarian and life long green activist. All in all a wonderful man but it didn't stop him dying very suddenly of leukaemia. You can only do your best and improve your odds.