Ajoene - Millions of Italian mothers can't be wrong. Eat your garlic, it's good for you. Ajoene is a naturally occurring "nutriceutical" that might reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease.
Butyl Phthalide - It's the distinctive taste and smell of celery, but also offers protection against cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. No wonder the ancient Greeks gave stalks of celery as trophies for their athletes.
Calcium Pectate - That crunch in your pickle may help lower your cholesterol levels by removing cholesterol from the bloodstream.
Capsaicin - This chili pepper-derived spice packs the wallop in your hot tamale, but it is also a digestive aid, a topical painkiller, and a potential cancer-fighting compound.
Catechin Hydrate - Never mind the fortunetellers and soothsayers. Thanks to their cancer-fighting properties, tea leaves could give everybody a great future.
Coumarin - Rats could live longer without this blood thinning agent that doubles as a rat poison, but warfarin (a coumarin derivative) is the most commonly used oral anticoagulant medication.
Coumesterol - An isoflavone coumarin derivative found in soy products, this phytoestrogen appears promising as a naturally-occurring cancer preventative.
Ellagic Acid - A natural pesticide in many fruit plants, such as strawberries and raspberries, this phytochemical fights cancer in humans.
Genistein - Found in soy products, genistein is an isoflavone derivative that is proving to be a strong inhibitor of cancer and may be useful in the creation of new anti-cancer drugs.
Heliotropin - This vanilla-like safrole derivative is not a nutritional phytochemical, but is being studied for its relaxing properties in aromatherapy.
Indole - Found throughout nature, this aromatic nitrogen heterocycle assumes the form of a potent cancer fighter in the vegetables everybody loves to hate: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage . . .
Lutein - Lutein is one of 600 naturally occurring fat-soluble antioxidant carotenoid biochemicals that are found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, collard greens, romaine lettuce, leeks and peas. Lutein acts to filter and shield harmful blue light from the eye and protect against age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 65.
Lycopene - Animals are completely dependent upon plants for this reddish phytochemical natural pigment. Deposited in a number of body tissues, lycopene protects against heart disease, certain cancers, and a multitude of other disorders.
Para-Coumaric Acid - A phenolic compound based on the coumarin heterocyclic nucleus, para-coumaric acid inhibits the development of stomach cancer by stopping the formation of nasty nitrosamines.
Saponin - The plant biochemicals that produce suds in root beer are also effective antimicrobial, cholesterol-lowering, and anticancer phytochemicals. Some saponins, such as digitalis, are also used as heart medications.
Sulforaphane - Sulforaphane is a naturally occurring sulfur containing isothiocyanate derivative that helps to mobilize the human body's natural cancer-fighting resources and reduces the risk of developing cancer.
Zeaxanthin - Popeye, the popular cartoon character known for his timely consumption of spinach, was correct in his assumption that this unpopular vegetable is healthy eating. So was mom. Ounce for ounce, spinach contains more than twice as much zeaxanthin and more than 60 times as much lutein as yellow corn.
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