Cruciferous Vegetables: Food First!

LEAH: I came across a joke.

Tina: Okay, do tell. 

LEAH: So, this guy's working in the grocery store and an older woman comes up to him as he's restacking shelves and she says, excuse me, can you help me find the broccoli? And he says, Oh, I'm so sorry. We're all out of broccoli.

And he gets back to stacking the shelves. And then he goes to a different aisle working there, stacking cans on a shelf and feels a tap on his shoulder and it's the same woman and she's like, excuse me, but where's the broccoli? And he's like, we don't have any broccoli. We ran out. It'll be coming in tomorrow.

And then he goes about his work. So then he's in the produce section and he's restocking apples and The same woman comes up to him and says, Excuse me, sir. Where is the broccoli? And he's like, there is no broccoli. And she's just looking at him and he goes, Okay, how do you spell cat, as in catastrophic?

And she goes, C A T. And he goes, Okay, how do you spell dog, as in dogmatic? And she goes, D O G. And then he goes, How do you spell as in broccoli? And she goes, there is no fucking broccoli. And he goes exactly.

Tina: Oh my god. That's a good one.

 I'm Dr Tina Kaczor and as Leah likes to say I'm the science-y one

LEAH: and I'm Dr Leah Sherman and on the cancer inside

Tina: And we're two naturopathic doctors who practice integrative cancer care 

LEAH: But we're not your doctors

Tina: This is for education entertainment and informational purposes only

LEAH: do not apply any of this information without first speaking to your doctor

Tina: The views and opinions expressed on this podcast by the hosts and their guests are solely their own 

LEAH: Welcome to the cancer pod 

Hi, Tina

Tina: Hey, Leah.

LEAH: Okay, that wasn't really my joke. I saw a video of Harrison Ford on the David Letterman show. He told the joke and so I kind of paraphrased it, but you got the gist for our episode today. We were talking about cruciferous vegetables also known as Brassicas, or in some parts of the country or world, they're known as coal crops, c o l e, crops.

Tina: C O L E?

LEAH: Coal crops, yeah.

Tina: Oh,

LEAH: Do you know why a cruciferous vegetable is called that?

Tina: I do. 

LEAH: Why is it called that, Tina?

Tina: Because the flowers on all these plants, all the cruciferous plants, the flower itself, looks awesome. Like a crucifix. It's a cross. C R U X. Crux, meaning cross in Latin.

LEAH: Yeah.

Tina: Kind of cool.

LEAH: Very cool. And it's kind of cool I think when people think of cruciferous vegetables, if they even think of them as that, because I always have to explain to people what they are, I'm always like, oh, you know, the cabbage family, broccoli, and so on. But I rarely, if ever, have said, oh, you know, like radishes, rutabaga, kohlrabi, mustard seeds.

Like, there are a lot of members of this cruciferous family.

Tina: Yeah, and I generally, you know, the easiest way to remember them that I tell people is they're the ones that stink when you cook them, you know, the cabbage and Brussels sprouts and broccoli, whether you're steaming it or roasting it, whatever you're doing, it kind of gives off that sulfurous smell, which is fine when you're in the kitchen and it is slow going.

But when you walk into a house that's been cooking it and you get slammed by a wall of sulfur. Um, you notice it.

LEAH: I love the smell of cooking cabbage and all of that. I love all of those foods. I'm a huge fan. But even horseradish and wasabi are also part of that family.

Tina: Yeah. Yeah. So I think that some of those, I mean, radishes are really nice because they're easy to throw in everywhere. So I often tell people those other ones as well, or give them a list. Um, because it seems like seasonally our desires change around it. Right. I mean, cabbage seems like such a fall winter crop to me.

LEAH: Oh, see, and I think of it for St. Patrick's Day, so I think of it as March.

Tina: Oh, okay. Yeah, I think of Brussels sprouts in the fall too. It's probably because that's when they come in season, where I grew up.

LEAH: Yeah, and they do, those types of veggies do really like cold temperatures, like kale. I know people love or hate kale, but kale does really well when it gets cold.

Tina: Yeah, you know what? A little, very obscure fact about kale when it's grown and cold, has a little bit more omega 3 fatty acids in it. And there's not a lot of fat in kale, but it does produce some omega 3 fatty acids. And, omega 3 fatty acids, the purpose of them in nature, is to make sure that things that should be supple are still supple.

This is why they're in cold water fish because cold water fish had saturated fat or some other fats in it. The tail couldn't move. it's too cold. It would just harden, right? Like it does in our refrigerator. Anyways, your kale in the wintertime has a little bit more omega 3 fatty acids than, uh, than it does in the summer.

LEAH: that is really cool about the plants. And Um, it's also cool that these plants have, I mean, obviously they have these mechanisms in them to keep them thriving and that leads us to, and that's kind of like the mechanism that makes them the stinky and you know, like their whole health benefit comes from a defense mechanism. 

Tina: Yeah. Yeah. We've touched on that before just briefly, and this is not uncommon. You know, the very components that are good for our health are often made by the plant to protect itself. From its own threats or dangers in nature

LEAH: and so this, this compound that deters other animals from eating it, it's what has the bitter, the spiciness.

And it's. Um, released initially when the plant is broken or crushed or chewed.

Tina: the glucosinolates.

LEAH: Yeah. So what I think, the way I think of it is as, um, there is a, like think of it like a glow stick, right? Like you have these separate compartments, like the glucosinolate and then you have the enzyme. and. When you break the glow stick, it combines and it makes something else. And that's what I think of when I think of what happens when you chew, or chop the, uh, the cruciferous vegetables.

Tina: Yeah, so just breaking the cells 

LEAH: Breaking the cell, the cell wall. Yeah.

Tina: and it's it is it's a fascinating thing and I love the fact that these plants Are making these compounds, for their own good. And we are kind of along for the ride because they happen to be good for us too. So that whole you know, eating a plant forward diet, as they say.

I've adopted the word plant forward, even though I cursed it in the beginning, but it's so common now.

LEAH: Oh, I, and I use Ford for everything. I went out the other night and there was a beverage that had vanilla in it. And I was like, is it very vanilla forward? And the bartender looked at me very strangely. Um, But, yeah, we use it for everything.

Tina: I mean, I, I would use it mockingly maybe because

LEAH: Oh, I use it 

Tina: I, don't know, 

LEAH: I, yeah, no, it's like coming down the pike. Okay, so, so, I,

It's not in my wheelhouse. Well, no, what I wanted to say is I don't want people to think like, Oh, I just have to eat these things raw to get the benefit. There actually is a great benefit to humans by eating broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, rutabaga turnips, bok choy, all of these things, cooking them,

and then us eating them.

Also creates these compounds, but like farther down our digestive tract in our colon, because our microbiome, there are certain microbiota in our gut that also produce this enzyme.

Tina: Mm hmm. Which is fascinating.

LEAH: I know! It's so interesting! Everyone listening is like, they are nerds.

Tina: Well, and, you know, the microbiota is not even, I mean, we are dependent on it. We don't, we can't live without it, which makes it a symbiosis in the true sense of the word where, we need them and they need us.

LEAH: One more little, uh, tip about cooking is if you boil it, if you boil these, you're getting less of that, enzyme action.

Tina: Mm hmm.

LEAH: the best way to prepare these are by gently cooking. So my cabbage that I'm making for St. Patrick's Day, where you just like cook it all day in a, slow cooker, that's probably not as healthful.

I mean, you're still getting the fiber and all the other nutrients, but, um, yeah, so steaming, gentle cooking, you know, slight roasting, fermenting is another really good way.

Tina: yeah. Yeah, and the reason that the enzyme is degraded in boiling specifically is, you know, boiling point is 212 degrees Fahrenheit for water. It's a little higher once you put stuff in there to make soup. But regardless, all enzymes are a protein, and all protein falls apart at that temperature.

So, I mean, it starts to just degrade. It's not, it's not a whole protein. You still get the bits and pieces, the amino acids or peptides from it, but you're not going to get the whole protein, which you need for an enzyme to have its action. So, just keep it in mind.

LEAH: a little technical intel 

there. 

 The name of the enzyme, you know, just.

A little trivia is myrosinase, and it converts the glucosinolates to isothiocyanates.

Tina: Isothiocyanates,

LEAH: That is so hard to say.

Tina: but it's fun to say.

LEAH: Not if you're, not if your tongue is twisted. And then also to indole 3 carbinol.

Tina: Some people may have come across the word isothiocyanates if they were looking at thyroid function because these have been well known to interfere with thyroid function.

LEAH: Right, it's because of, its effect on iodine.

Tina: Yes. Yeah. So it's, it's a long word. And once you see it in writing, you'll be like, Oh yeah, I've seen that before. If you read anything on thyroid health, you'll come across it.

LEAH: Yeah, so we'll get into that. The term for, um, these foods that interfere with thyroid production, it's goitrogens. And so we'll get into that a little later. But, um, I think what some of the words that people have heard in terms of the health benefits of these cruciferous vegetables or brassicas are, um, that indole 3 carbinol and then sulforaphane.

I think those are probably more because of the fact that they're supplements.

Tina: Yeah. I3C, indole 3 carbinol. Mm hmm.

LEAH: And dim, that's the other one that I think also, is popular in supplement form. You'll see it on like a, uh, uh, ingredient list or something.

Tina: Yeah. Often in relation to estrogen metabolism.

LEAH: Right. Addressing like, yeah, estrogen related issues, PCOS Yes.

Tina: All right, indole 3 carbinol is how this occurs in the plant. So you eat some broccoli, you're swallowing indole 3 carbinol. You're never swallowing DIM, D I M, diindolemethane. That's not what's in the plant. That is what happens when your stomach sees the indole 3 carbinol and your entire digestive tract.

multiple ways of breaking down that indole 3 carbinol. A lot of those ways, including DIMM, are protective against cancer, and some are not. And so I'm just saying this because indole 3 carbinol, when we ingest it, becomes like, I don't know how many it is, a dozen at least, if not two dozen different molecules once we ingest it and it goes into our system.

So there's a little bit of an unknown, which is why people supplement it with DIMM, because then you know what you're getting. There's no mystery. You're not getting one of the other dozen metabolites. But that said, that doesn't mimic nature. If you want to mimic nature, you, you eat the food, or indole 3 carbinol would be closer to what you would be eating when you eat a cruciferous vegetable.

LEAH: Right. just eat the vegetable instead of taking the supplement.

Tina: That's what I think is ideal, because I think the vegetable comes with, you know, other compounds that synergize with that indole 3 carbinol. I have faith in the vegetable.

LEAH: So some of the health benefits of these cruciferous vegetables or these properties that are within the cruciferous vegetables are, a lot that you read about is related to cancer.

Tina: Mm hmm.

LEAH: A lot of them are related to cancer because of, their effect, protecting against DNA damage, the effect on phase one and phase two liver detox pathways.

Tina: Mm hmm. Which is how we get chemical compounds and other things out of our body. Mm hmm.

LEAH: Right. So it's not just an effect on estrogen, it's kind of an effect on a lot of different, more, toxic compounds I suppose that it can help with your body's processing of those, there is some information, there's mixed information on their positive effect on cardiovascular health.

The problem is a lot of these studies with all of this. A lot of these studies are observational studies. So if someone's eating more cruciferous vegetables, they tend to be also eating a lot of other fruits and vegetables. We've talked about this before. So it's really hard to say specifically like, yes, it's because these people ate Brussels sprouts that they had less cardiovascular disease.

So green, leafy vegetables in general are just really good for your heart.

Tina: Mm hmm.

LEAH: anything else, any other health benefits?

Tina: Um, only in that, because they do help with detoxification. so one of the cancers that is established to be due to chemicals is. The bladder, the urinary bladder, and it makes sense because a lot of chemicals leave us through our urine and they sit there in this holding tank called our bladder. And so there's a lot of good information about how cruciferous vegetables prevent bladder cancer, especially because we break down those chemicals before they leave instead of having them sit in that tank of what we call our bladder and then be urinated out.

So there was one study that showed even a serving a week of broccoli. And it was raw broccoli in that particular study. I remember it was a lot of years ago, but um, so such a simple thing to do. So to your point, I think the protective effects of the crucifers are probably best established rather than any kind of treatment from a single compound like sulforaphane that you pull out of it.

LEAH: And it's not just cancers like, like you said, bladder cancer or, you know, any sort of estrogen or hormone related cancer. There are a lot of different cancers, pancreatic and lung. I mean, there are a lot of cancers that have been shown that eating, incorporating these into your diet, it can reduce the risk.

Obviously, we don't ever say prevent, but yeah, including these in your diet, is a really good idea. And it's kind of hard Because there are people who do not like these vegetables, for whatever reason, whether it's because they do kind of run on the more bitter or spicy side, or because of the, you know, the, the fart bomb aspect of it, I suppose you could say, you know, it does cause a little bit of gas, more so in some people than others.

So it's not, um, it's not necessarily like. I mean, they're, either you love them or you hate them, I think. I don't know if there's really a gray area with these. But that's why I like, like, like radishes or kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is pretty benign. 

Tina: Mm hmm.

LEAH: yeah, and, and even mustard seeds, using those as like a, a seasoning, like, so there are other things. It's not just kale. It's not just broccoli or cauliflower. Like Bok choy. Bok choy is like super mild. So there is a broader family than I think people are familiar with.

Tina: Yeah. So maybe we can put a link to some sources, in our notes.

LEAH: Will do. I'm writing it down.

Tina: Yeah, and when people don't tolerate the cruciferous vegetables and it does produce gas, I mean, there's some things you can do to lessen that effect. One is to steam them or cook them partially. Another is to go really slowly. As in don't have very much, like if you go without them for two weeks and then you eat a bunch of raw broccoli, you know, like there's ranch dressing nearby and you start going for it, your body is less likely to tolerate that than if you have a small amount consistently, because some of the enzymes involved in breaking down some of the long chain complex carbohydrates in the crucifers, they need to be stimulated all the time.

And so. It's important to go, go slow and steady is your best bet with ingesting these and tolerating them well.

LEAH: You can also incorporate Spices like fennel, like if you braise cabbage with fennel seeds, the fennel kind of helps with the digestion with the gas and it tastes great. It's actually very

tasty. 

Tina: The classic cumin is another spice.

LEAH: Yeah, so just adding more spices, which also have the health benefits so then you're getting like a double or triple whammy.

Tina: That's right. Potentiate it.

LEAH: it. Okay. So let's kind of cut over to the, we kind of touched a little bit on the supplements. And so the I3C, indole 3 carbinol, or DIM, those are found a lot on supplements that are targeted for breast cancer health protection.

Sometimes they're both in the supplement, sometimes it's one or the other. 

Tina: Yeah. And we didn't say too much about it, but the sulforaphane is one that has gotten a lot of marketing attention in the anti cancer world.

LEAH: Right, and both as supplements as well as, as sprouts, like you'll see things about like broccoli sprouts, rich in sulforaphane. And so you'll find things like powdered sprouts because of the sulforaphane.

Tina: Yeah. And the sulforaphane has antioxidant Um, but that said, it always goes back to the food, although I will say the nice thing about sprouts, broccoli sprouts, or any other sprouts that people are doing, they're very economical because one of the things that's happening now is organic and good, clean food is pretty pricey out there if you're not growing it yourself, which is.

The most cost effective. You can sprout things and get the seeds and do that even if you live in an apartment and you don't have anywhere else to grow green things. Um, so I'm a huge fan of, of sprouts because you can also just throw them on whatever you're eating.

LEAH: Yeah, and it doesn't take too long. You put the seeds in a jar, you get one of those. mesh lids that you can find, um, at even grocery stores carry them and you just daily rinse the, the seeds, they'll start to sprout and just make sure that you eat them fast.

Tina: So the other, the only mechanism that is considered an anti cancer Mechanism that we haven't talked about. Well, you can, we haven't directly, we've talked antioxidants, but the way that these work is they work on a part of our protection from.

Oxidants and free radicals called Nrf2. And Nrf2 is something that is activated by these compounds from the crucifers. It actually goes to our DNA and tells the DNA to produce Antioxidants like glutathione or SOD or catalase. So all it actually is informing our cells and saying, Hey, there's danger out here.

There's some free radicals. Go up your antioxidant levels inside your cells that protect you, and they literally up it. And that's what Nerf two, that's the job of Nerf two, is to get our cells to create more antioxidant enzymes to protect them.

LEAH: and you'll see that in supplements, supplements, we'll talk about. Nerf two. NRF two is, it's not like NER it's not like a Nerf gun, but, um,

Tina: No . We pronounce it that way though.

LEAH: but yeah, so you'll see that on supplements. And I have had patients who wanna take certain supplement blends, proprietary blends that they're marketed as increasing Nerf two, and I have to tell them that, you don't 

want to do that. 

 So the big concern with taking supplements that promote Nrf2 is that when you're protecting cells, how does it differentiate between if you're protecting a cancer cell or a healthy cell?

Tina: That's exactly the problem. So, if you're doing a treatment that is radiation, for example, many chemotherapies, if you're doing a treatment that's supposed to be killing cancer cells, I would withhold any Nrf2 targeting because you don't want that, you don't want the cancer cells to protect themselves from the oxidation of the treatment.

LEAH: when you think about all of the things that these, these compounds are addressing when it comes to cancer, it's protecting against DNA damage, there is antiviral and antibacterial effect that can happen, it can Inhibit, the tumor cell migration, which results in, metastasis.

I mean, this, these aren't all in humans, but these are things that have been studied in terms of the benefits.

Tina: only big cautionary is if you're getting active treatment that involves oxidation or you're getting active treatment with an oral agent and you don't want to. Metabolize it faster than expected, right? 

LEAH: And it's not like, don't eat these things. It's don't take a concentrated supplement.

Tina: Yes. Moderation.

LEAH: Yeah, because when you're eating them, you're getting all of the other health benefits. I mean, we didn't really, you know, touch on the fact that there are plant sterols. Um, there is the fiber prebiotics that are in these, I mean, there's so many perks to taking them that to to kind of strip it down into a supplement.

Like you're just kind of missing a lot of the benefits. 

Tina: Mm hmm. And, you know, we, we tend to be very reductionist in Western medicine. We tend to say, Oh, look at that. It's a sulfurophane. No, it's the I3C. No, it's the, this, it's the, that, but plants are so complex. There's well over 10, 000 compounds in any plant, which is why we can't just like step up to a science bench and create broccoli out of thin air.

Right. This is, these are much more complex than any, any singular chemical compound that we're talking about, whether it's, you know, sulforaphane or isothiocyanate of another sort. So sometimes we, we sound like when we reduce things to a single compound, it makes it sound more simplistic than it actually is.

So yeah, when we say you can eat it, but don't take it in concentrated forms, that's what we're talking about. Concentrated forms is just one compound of So eat them, you're safe.

LEAH: Yeah. And I think, uh, sticking with kind of cautions, because they do have vitamin K, if somebody is on warfarin, also known as Coumadin, you have to be cautious because of the effects of vitamin K on clotting. What's typically recommended is you always eat the same amount of a green leafy vegetable or a vitamin K containing food.

Just be consistent daily so that the drug kind of is dosed according to your regular diet instead of being like, Oh, well, I can't eat any of those foods.

Tina: Right. Yeah. And that's. Not even a naturopathic thought, I think that's a conventionally accepted way of going about making sure you get all your nutrients is exactly what you just said, because the Coumadin or Warfarin basically blocks vitamin K. But if you have the same amount going in day in and day out, you actually stabilize blood clotting cascade better than if you don't eat any of it.

I

LEAH: Yeah, but I think I, we've seen that evolve over our careers. I think it's not something that, um, you know, that has been conventional thought this whole time.

Um, I want to quickly add in some other, nutrients that are found in cruciferous vegetables because in addition to vitamin K, folate is a big

one, and vitamin C.

Tina: Yep.

LEAH: So you don't have to just eat your oranges or You can also eat your broccoli, brussel sprouts, eat your, eat your sprouts. Um, Okay, so continuing with cautions, you kind of touched on it before, the goitrogens, the foods that can affect thyroid function by, what it's doing is it's preventing iodine from making the thyroid hormone.

Tina: Right. And that leads to a goiter.

LEAH: You can counter that by cooking goitrogenic effect, and also just incorporating iodine into your diet. So, putting some sea kelp or, various nuts and seeds have iodine, eggs have iodine, iodized salt, you have to make sure it's iodized salt, because they're not just randomly iodizing salt, it used to be like, commercial salt was iodized, but it's not so much anymore.

Tina: Yeah. And a lot of times if you're doing a Celtic sea salt or another kind of exotic salt, you'd better look at the label because if it doesn't have sufficient iodine, they'll say it on the label and Celtic sea salt generally does not have enough. I actually like for people to get some seaweed in their diet, ideally, and even buying some dry seaweed, you can throw it into your salt shaker.

So if you're doing Celtic sea salt and you throw in some. kelp powder, for example, or grind up nori seaweed snacks and just grind them in your coffee grinder and make a powder out of it and throw it in your salt. That way you're getting iodine. I do like iodine from seaweed as an ideal source because when we add iodine to our salt system, we add potassium iodide.

And that's it. But in nature, iodine is actually complexed with proteins, fats. So we have a very different way of eating iodine in a diet than a simple salt shaker added as potassium iodide. So I just want to put that out there because I think, you know, there's, it's, it's more complicated. I've written on the topic of iodine and cancer a couple of times.

LEAH: And you can, I mean, you can find in a kind of a salt shaker, like a, a kelp product, like those are, you know, those already are, are out there. Um, one of the things that I like that I think I found at Trader Joe's it's furikake.

Tina: I love that stuff.

LEAH: And so it's a blend of like sesame seeds and I think kelp. but you can put it on anything. You could put it on, uh, Eggs or avocado toast or whatever. Avocado toast, I sound so, uh, I sound so bougie. But you can, can add it to foods, as a seasoning.

Tina: I keep that right next to the salt and pepper.

LEAH: Yeah, so salt, pepper, and furikake.

Tina: There you go. Got it all.

LEAH: Oh, I should also add, um, shellfish. Like, seafood and shellfish also are good sources of iodine.

Tina: Yes.

LEAH: So when you're having your, shellfish and your cruciferous together, I don't know. Having shrimp cocktail and your crudité platter. I

Tina: What is

LEAH: Oh, crudité is like when you go you get the veggie platter, like, with cut up carrots and celery, broccoli, whatever. Crudité. 

Tina: not a word that's in my

vocabulary. 

LEAH: Oh, really? 

Yeah. 

It's French. 

Tina: go to those kind of restaurants apparently.

LEAH: No, it's It's like if you if you have a party or something. The veggie, the veggie platter. Anywho, um, anything else that, is a caution?

Tina: I can't think of any other cautions.

LEAH: The only other caution I can think of is if you really like Brussels sprouts, don't sit there and eat a whole bunch of them because the next day you're gonna have a lot of fiber that'll be coming out of you.

Tina: Are you speaking from experience?

LEAH: I don't know. I mean,

Tina: You sounded very definitive about it.

LEAH: well, no, it is true. It is true. I am a huge fan of roasted Brussels sprouts. And if I go to a restaurant and they're on the menu, I am eating them. I am going to have them because I love them.

But yeah, if you, if you overindulge could be personal experience, I'm not going to, you know, point any fingers at myself, but yeah.

Tina: Yeah, I'm very simple. My favorite way of eating cruciferous vegetables in general is just taking cabbage, an onion, some mushrooms, potatoes if I have them, if not, fine, and that's it. I just put them in a pan, fry them up and, you know, basically let them steam in there and put salt on it. It's like one of my favorite meals.

It's a comfort meal.

LEAH: Oh, interesting. Yeah, I like, especially like you're saying, like in the fall and winter, I like to just kind of gently roast them so that they get really bright in color and then chop them up. And I love making like winter salads so you can put some sweet potatoes in there. for some reason my garden is all, rutabagas and carrots.

And so I've been eating a lot of rutabagas. There might be a turnip or two in there. Um, but yeah. So, and what's nice with rutabaga, which is in this family, is you can mash them like potatoes. You can cut them up. I mean, you just treat them like a potato.

Tina: hmm.

LEAH: I did not know what to do with a rutabaga until I had a garden full of them.

Tina: Yeah, that's a really good point. And so when people are avoiding nightshades forever, whatever reason, that's a good substitute.

LEAH: Yeah. So you could cut them up and put them in stews 

or yeah, roasting them. They were so good. I'm going to go out and pick some rutabaga after we're done.

Tina: Yeah, yeah. We put them in veggie roasts and a lot of soups. I don't eat so much white potato anymore. 

LEAH: Yeah. And again, that's not a spicy one. Like I'm also a huge fan of arugula. I try to eat arugula every day because I tolerate it really well. And because I like the spiciness and it's healthy for you. So, um, but I like that pepperiness. I like,

I like that flavor, but for some people they don't really like that.

So Arutabaga is kind of the complete opposite of, and they're the same family.

Tina: Yeah. Isn't that interesting? Arugula's name is also

LEAH: Rocket.

Tina: Thank you.

LEAH: It's known as Rocket. Yeah. So for those of you who aren't in the U. S. And, oh, we made pizza last night, and I put arugula on the pizza, and had arugula salad, so we had it raw and cooked.

Tina: Wow. Yeah, I'm a big fan of arugula on pizza.

LEAH: I know! That's why I said it! Because I knew that!

Tina: When we make homemade pizzas, it's on the, like, to do list. Pick up the arugula.

LEAH: Oh yeah, we always have arugula in the house.

Um, I didn't this year, or if I did, it's gone already. 

Tina: Hmm.

LEAH: but I have grown it in the past.

Tina: Yeah, it grows well in the Northwest.

LEAH: Yeah, my neighbor across the street has some beautiful arugula. She said that I can always go pick it, so.

Tina: It grows so quickly here that it will bolt if you don't look at it for a week or two. You're like, uh oh.

LEAH: Yeah, if you blink, it's already bolted.

Tina: Uh huh.

LEAH: Okay, so, and in conclusion, that's like the AI, right? And in conclusion,

Tina: Uh, yeah, I was going to 

LEAH: ha ha ha

Tina: had chat GPT, uh, write our ending

LEAH: And in conclusion, the cruciferous family is good for you. Yeah. So send us a message. If, if it's something that you're just not used to incorporating into your diet and you're cruciferous curious, send us a note.

Tina: Cruciferous Curious.

LEAH: curious, send us a note and, maybe we'll, this is what we do with our patients, right? I mean, we help them figure out how to incorporate these foods, into their, their life. Or if you're a dietitian listening to this and you've got a tip on how to, make it work. More palatable for people then send us, you know, send us an email at thecancerpod at gmail.

com

Tina: Yeah. Or go to our website, you can leave a voice message, an audio message, and we would be happy to share that with our audience.

LEAH: Yeah, that's great. Yeah, send us a voice message at thecancerpod. com remember to Subscribe or follow if you're not already so that as soon as a new episode drops, it just shows right up in your queue.

Tina: Yep. And we drop every couple of weeks.

LEAH: You can also head to our website and subscribe to a newsletter. 

Tina: Yeah. and we will not share that email just for the record. We won't share it with anyone or sell that email to anyone. It's private

LEAH: No, we just keep it to ourselves.

Tina: just so we're clear

LEAH: And on that note, I'm Dr. Leah Sherman.

Tina: and I'm Dr. Tina Kazer

LEAH: And this is the Cancer Pod.

Tina: until next time.

Thanks for listening to the cancer pod. Remember to subscribe, review and rate us wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates, and as always, this is not medical advice. These are our opinions. Talk to your doctor before changing anything related to your treatment plan. The cancer pod is hosted by me, Dr.

Lea Sherman. And by Dr. Tina Caer music is by Kevin McLeod. See you next time.