watercress

bexybexy

I read about a very small study that seemed to say watercress could kill of cancer cells or stop them growing. Has anyone heard of this?

Anonymous

I juice  a mixture of greens and herbs, especially those that contain the phytochemical indole-3-carbinol because they are known to improve detox of environmental estrogen and improve the balance of all hormones.

I try to include watercress in my green juices.  Studies have shown that eating as little as three ounces of watercress reduced the presence of breast cancer tumors in just hours after consumption. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20546646

bexybexy

yeah it's true. Well I am going to eat a bag of watercress a day! I absolutely love it and always have it's one of those things I always like to buy I just don't always get round to it. Now I will make it my mission! Your juice sounds nice. I am going to up my intake of greens and have seen some chlorella and spirulina powders at my local health shop. Have read amazing things about blue green algae, I know it is dismissed as hippy stuff but it's worth a try! I sometimes think medical professionals dispute all this kind of stuff as they just want us all to live on pills!

MariannaLaFrance

Watercress is very high in B5, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, and even has protein.  It's a nutrient dense food, so it is a very good addition to any diet.

motheroffoursons

Princess, you wrote " Studies have shown that eating as little as three ounces of watercress reduced the presence of breast cancer tumors in just hours after consumption. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20546646

I read the article and that is not what I got out of it.  It measured a level of a binding protein following ingestion of watercress.  I am not sure what the normal level of this binding protein is, and how much watercress raised it.  It is interesting, but does not say that it reduced the presence of breast cancer tumors hours after consumption.

Wish it was true.

peggy_j

I know that all cruciferous veggies are supposed to help reduce the risk of cancer (even my RO suggested I eat a serving at least 3x/week). bexybexy Did the study you read say that watercress was better than the others? I'd love to hear more.

Anonymous

Watercress The Miracle Food

UK Scientists say watercress is the new super food, able to prevent certain types of cancer.

According to a study published this week in The British Journal of Nutrition, the consumption of a three ounce portion of watercress reduced the presence of a key tumor growth factor six and eight hours after eating the watercress in healthy patients who had previously been treated for breast cancer. The study was conducted by the Cancer Research Center at the School of Medicine, Southampton General Hospital in the United Kingdom.

The study concluded watercress is as therapeutic as traditional drug treatments with tamoxifen and herceptin, commonly used chemotherapy drugs. The study also said that through regular consumption, watercress "has the potential to confer valuable protection against cancer in general."

"Watercress has the ability to turn off HIF1, a signal sent out by cells calling for blood supply," said noted aging scientist Dr. Nicholas Perricone. When HIF1 becomes incorrectly regulated, otherwise harmless precancerous clusters of cells have the opportunity to grow to form invasive tumors. "Scientists have been looking for anti-angiogenesis agents for years because if we can turn off the blood supply, we can kill the cancer," said Perricone.

"And it looks like watercress can do that." Another study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in February of 2007 showed that, in addition to reducing DNA damage, a daily dose of watercress increased the ability of cells to further resist DNA damage that may be caused by free radicals. In the study, 60 men and women, half of whom were smokers, consumed their usual diet plus 85 grams of raw watercress daily for eight weeks. Blood samples were analyzed for plasma antioxidant status and DNA damage in lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. Watercress consumption significantly reduced lymphocyte DNA damage.

ETA: Watercress may ‘turn off' breast cancer signal

Ref: 10/94

14 September 2010

New scientific research from the University of Southampton has revealed that a plant compound in watercress may have the ability to suppress breast cancer cell development by 'turning off' a signal in the body and thereby starving the growing tumour of essential blood and oxygen.

READ MORE www.soton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2010/sep/10_94.shtml

bexybexy

yes that is where I read it too. The study has been criticised as it used a small group of people. Also it was funded by the Watercress Society which was a fact also heavily criticised. I don't agree with that though - yes they paid for the research but they couldn't alter the outcome of the tests in anyway this still sounds very hopeful. Anyway I am going to start eating it everyday I love it anyway so it's no hard task for me! Can't do any harm thats the main thing!

althea

I tried a new recipe for watercress soup recently.  When I got home and reviewed the receipt, I was a bit aghast that it was $4 per bunch.  All I could vaguely remember was some famous doctor opened a clinic in the 1800s (I think?) and insisted that it be located near a stream so he could grow watercress for his patients. 

I'm definitely going to make some more watercress soup and not bat an eye next time over the price.  

jackieoasis

I read that study, too, and have been incorporating watercress into my diet regularly since. (One of my new mottos is "A watercress salad a day helps keep cancer at bay."

I'm always a little suspect about "sponsored studies," but I've seen several corroborating research studies, and have also read Dr. Perricone's research info on the subject, so I believe in the power of watercress to help stop the growth of cancerous tumors. It's super nutritionally dense, too -- it scores a perfect 1000 on the Aggregate Nutrition Density Scale (ANDI) (along with mustard greens and kale and a few other greens)! -- so it can't be bad for you!

bexybexy

I agree with you and whats more I love the taste of it! I have always been a fan of it but from now on will make it a habit to have it daily. It's lovely with some olive or hemp oil drizzled on top I can sit and eat it like sweets! People can be so snooty about these things and distrustful yet when experts say a glass of red wine a day is good they rush out and drink it!