Cancer Cell Growth Ruined by Rhubarb
t’s said that you only get one chance to make a first impression. Whether that first impression is meeting a person for the first time or meeting a food for the first time, that initial interaction makes all the difference in the world.
First impressions aren’t make or break, however. In other words, if you don’t make a good first impression on a date or if you don’t like a particular food the first time you taste it, that doesn’t mean the relationship is dead in the water. Just ask anyone who’s eaten foods that don’t exactly melt in your mouth.
If you’ve ever bitten into a raw stick of rhubarb, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s sourness is lip-puckering, its tartness enough to make you want to throw up (interestingly, rhubarb was once used to induce vomiting).
In short, raw rhubarb tastes awful. But just because it tastes awful alone doesn’t mean it tastes bad with other things. Because when it’s combined with other ingredients, rhubarb is ridiculously good.
And trust me, this is a food you really want to eat, because according to the latest round of rhubarb research, baked rhubarb may help fight cancer.
According to a study published in the online edition of Food Chemistry (the print version of the study will be published in the March 15th issue), baking rhubarb for 20 minutes increases its polyphenol yield.
“Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of pharmacological agents that may be used to develop new anti-cancerous drugs,” said Dr. Nikki Jordan-Mahy of Britain’s Sheffield Hallam University in a news release. Jordan-Mahy led the research.
A wealth of studies over the years point to polyphenols’ cancer-fighting prowess. For example, in the November 2007 issue of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, French scientists wrote about how polyphenols possess anti-cancer properties. These polyphenols antioxidants are able to block off the formation of blood vessels in cancerous cells, which the cells need in order to grow into malignant tumors.
Now the sheer volume of polyphenols you’d need to eat or drink for cancer cell death is really high. Researchers say it’s the equivalent of drinking an entire bottle of red wine each and every day). That’s certainly not advisable. What is advisable is supplying your diet with polyphenols from a multitude of sources.
As I’ve written in other articles, polyphenols aren’t hard to come by. Fruits (like apples and grapes), vegetables (like onions) and green tea (white tea as well) are brimming with polyphenols. And by baking rhubarb, you can increase its polyphenol content!
Now, as I said previously, rhubarb is disgusting raw. But you can sweeten it up in a healthy way. I read about a great rhubarb dessert dish that sounds delish. You can view it here. Just be sure and replace the sugar the recipe calls for with natural alternatives like stevia or raw agave nectar.
Sources
news.yahoo.com
fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov
ars.usda.gov
news-medical.net
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