When Dana Carvey auditioned for Saturday Night Live in 1986, he won a slot on the show with a satirical impression of a rock star singing Choppin Broccoli.
Little did he know that power ballad could one day become the theme song for the war on prostate cancer.
So, move over lettuce and tell potatoes the news.
Seems broccoli and a shopping cart full of fruits and veggies are packed with flavonoids (phytonutrients that reduce inflammation and prevent and repair cellular damage). And guys who eat flavonoid-packing foods slash their risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer by 25 percent. About 11 percent of diagnosed cases of prostate cancer are aggressive, but until recently it was difficult to be sure if you had a wait-and-watch form of the disease or one that called for surgery.
Theres now a blood test that can pick out biomarkers for aggressive forms of the disease early enough to make treatment more effective.
But the best situation is to stop prostate cancer before it starts.
How? Walk 10,000 steps a day; meditate in the morning and at night; avoid all tobacco; and chow down on a smorgasbord of fruits and veggies. The guys who benefited the most in the study favored cooked greens, citrus fruits and juices, such as oranges and grapefruits, and grapes, strawberries and onions. Other good sources of phytonutrients include: apples (the flavonoids are in the skin), blueberries, cabbage, capers, dark chocolate, all kinds of tea and, of course, (as Dana sang it) brrrrrocccccoli.
The You Docs Mehmet Oz, host of The Dr. Oz Show and Mike Roizen of Cleveland Clinic are authors of YOU: Losing Weight. To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com. A King Features syndicate.




