The current webpage is designed to make additional research available concerning how certain vegetables can enhance the treatment effects of radiotherapy. These are vegetables with significant levels of compounds that act as radiosensitizers. Below are links to studies relating to the beneficial vegetables listed in Foods to eat and avoid during radiation treatment.
Vegetable consumption heightens the cytotoxic effects of radiotherapy on breast cancer cells without harming normal cells through the actions of various phytonutrients, among them:
- Apigenin (found, for example, in artichokes, bell peppers, celery)
- Anthocyanins (purple sweet potatoes, red cabbage, red onions)
- Cucurbitacins (cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini)
- Enterolactone (butternut squash, chives, garlic)
- Fisetin (onions)
- I3C/DIM (cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, watercress)
- Luteolin (artichokes, celery, radicchio)
- Quercetin (hot peppers, romaine lettuce , spring or green onions)
Vegetable phytonutrients should be obtained by eating vegetables rather than taking supplements. When a beneficial nutrient is administered at low doses by consuming food, it is likely to have subtle chemopreventive effects, whereas the same compound administered at high doses is more likely to have pharmacological effects, with possible unwanted outcomes. For example, quercetin has been reported to contribute to the growth of estrogen-induced mammary tumors once the tumors were established in female rats.