Natural Anti-Cancer Compounds in Our Diet

It is often said that a healthy balanced diet can keep many diseases at bay. Recent evidence suggests that the consumption of certain foods can prevent or delay the onset of certain types of cancer.

Two of such foods are broccoli and garlic. Not everyone’s favorite, but after reading this, you may want to consider adding more broccoli and garlic to your diet.

Broccoli sprouts contain high amounts of a compound called sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate that is able to inhibit the histone deacetylase activity (HDAC) of prostate, colon and breast cancer cells. Histones are structural components of DNA and are modified by histone deacetylase enzymes. Modification of DNA’s histones by these histone deacetylases results in the silencing of genes. The sulforaphane compounds found in broccoli in effect block the deacetylation of genes and in turn suppress the growth of tumor cells. A single serving of broccoli has been found to inhibit HDAC activity.

Garlic contains other compounds called organosulfur compounds, which are metabolized by the body into allyl mercaptan (AM) that is able to inhibit histone deacetylase. Studies have shown that garlic compounds can quickly result in histone hyperacetylation and growth suppression of colon cancer cells.

Synthetic histone deacetylases have long been used in psychiatry and neurology as mood stabilizers and anti-epileptics. One of them, valproic acid, has been associated with an increased risk for autism when taken during pregnancy.