Lentinan: Food Chemical with Anti-Cancer ability in a Shiitake mushroom Diet

The Shiitake Mushroom (Lentinula edodes) is an edible mushroom native to East Asia that has long been considered a delicacy as well as a medicinal mushroom. It is an edible fungus which is regarded as the second most commonly edible mushroom in the world. Extracts of Shiitake mushroom have been used in herbal remedies. As one of the healthy things to eat, the Shiitake mushroom offers so many non anti-cancer health benefits. It is a good source of protein. It contains selenium, a powerful anti-oxidant which helps prevent cell damage. The Shiitake mushroom is also rich in copper, a vital component in red blood cell production. It is a proven fact that Shiitake mushroom in our diet enhances immune effectiveness, cholesterol-lowering and possesses both anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Some research works also say that eating Shiitake mushroom fights the development and progression of cancer and AIDS by boosting the body’s immune system.

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Indole-3-carbinol and Sulforaphane: Food Chemicals in Anti-Cancer Diets that make Broccoli a Healthy Thing to Eat

The cruciferous vegetables are a group of vegetables that are known to be one of the healthy things to eat because they have been known, amongst many things, to have anti-cancer properties. The members of this very important class of vegetables include:

1.       Broccoli

2.       Cabbage

3.       Kale

4.       Cauliflower etc.

As vegetables that can be added to our daily anti-cancer diet, these cancer-fighting, cruciferous vegetables contain important food chemicals which research has shown to have anti-cancer activities in both preventing and fighting cancer. For this article, we shall be focusing on broccoli as a representative of the cruciferous vegetables.

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