Watercress Fights Cancer

Little Known Benefits of Watercress

I’ve been studying the amazing benefits of watercress for several months now. It’s very exciting to share with you the research on how watercress fights cancer.

One significant finding by the University of Ulster scientists is that eating watercress daily can “significantly reduce DNA damage to blood cells which is an important trigger in the development of cancer.” They also found that watercress protected cells from free radical damage. They discovered that there was less damage to white blood cells when watercress was consumed. Another interesting finding was a drop in blood triglycerides. (I’ll add here that a couple of ladies in my Watercress Soup Diet had a significant drop in blood sugar on the diet.)  The scientists also note a significant increase in “in blood levels of lutein and beta-carotene, which have antioxidant activity, by 100% and 33% respectively (higher intakes of lutein have also been associated with a lower incidence of eye diseases such as cataract and age-related macular degeneration)”

Steve Rothwell commented: “We have known for years that the special mustard oil in watercress, PEITC, has significant anticancer properties. But research on PEITC has been confined mainly to laboratory cultures or animal studies.”.

Medical News Today says, “The confidence to run this study came from a large body of existing evidence which has demonstrated the anticancer potential of watercress, including a laboratory study with human colon cancer cells, run by the same research group. Published in May 2006, the study showed for the first time that a watercress extract had beneficial effects on ‘initiation’, the DNA damage that triggers cancer cell development, ‘proliferation’ or uncontrolled growth of cancer cells, and ‘metastasis’, the spread of cancer cells. These are the three key stages of carcinogenesis, the process that results in cancer. Watercress extract was also shown to trigger cell death of cancerous cells —a process known as apoptosis.”

For more information, see http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/63314.php

Recipe

Watercress Lemonade

• 2 apples
• 1 cup watercress
• 1/2 lemon

Juice all ingredients, stir, and enjoy!