There is amazing news in cancer research that has made me have a new found appreciation for the vegetables that I detested as a child. Broccoli and cabbage. This information could actually be used as a bribe to even get kids to eat their veggies!

Compounds extracted from broccoli and cabbage could be a potent and non-toxic drug against melanoma.

An associate professor at the Penn State School of Medicine, Gavin Robertson, Ph.D., and his colleagues have been testing the vegetable compounds combined with selenium which can “inhibit the growth of tumors in mice by 50 to 60 percent with a very low dose.”

Robertson says that “selenium-deficiency is common in cancer patients, including those diagnosed with metastatic melanoma.” By adding selenium to the vegetable compounds it inhibits the cancer by reducing the production of Akt3 protein and shutting down its signaling network.

This is great news for the future of cancer treatment. The new drug would be called…isoselenocyanate…”the Penn State researcher envisions a drug that could be delivered either intravenously to treat melanoma, or added to sunscreen lotion to prevent the disease.”

Well, I don’t see any better reason to eat your broccoli and cabbage than this one! If you would like to read the full article here is the link; Penn State Live.