When we snack on cauliflower, glucosinolates split into isothiocyanates and indoles (is that even English?). These plant chemicals— technically known as phytochemicals— are responsible for cauliflower’s sometimes bitter flavor, but they may also help fight cancer. Specifically, glucosinolates and isothiocyanates have been shown to prevent damage to the lungs and stomach by carcinogens, and potentially protect against those cancers— though that’s no excuse to light upChemoprevention of tobacco-related lung cancer by cruciferous vegetable. Balcerek, M. Katedra i Zakład Farmakognozji, Collegium Medicum UMK w Bydgoszczy, Poland. Przeglad Lekarski, 2007;64(10):903-5.

Effects of cruciferous vegetables and their constituents on drug metabolizing enzymes involved in the bioactivation of DNA-reactive dietary carcinogens. Steinkellner, H., Rabot, S., Freywald, C., et al. Institute of Cancer Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Mutation Research, 2001 Sep 1;480-481:285-97.

Effects of cruciferous vegetable consumption on urinary metabolites of the tobacco-specific lung carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone in singapore chinese. Hecht, S.S., Carmella, S.G., Kenney, P.M., et al. University of Minnesota Cancer Center, Minneapolis, MN. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2004 Jun;13(6):997-1004.

Chemoprevention by isothiocyanates and their underlying molecular signaling mechanisms. Keum, Y.S., Jeong, W.S., Kong, A.N. Department of Pharmaceutics, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ. Mutation Research, 2004 Nov 2;555(1-2):191-202.. Thanks to interactions with estrogen, cauliflower might even help prevent hormone-driven cancers like breast, uterine, and cervical, tooIndole-3-carbinol is a negative regulator of estrogen. Auborn, K.J., Fan, S., Rosen, E.M., et al. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Research Institute, Manhasset, NY. The Journal of Nutrition, 2003 Jul;133(7 Suppl):2470S-2475S..