Avocados have the ability to find and destroy oral cancer cells according to researchers at Ohio State led by Steven D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. According to D'Ambrosio, the compounds of interest found in avocado target only the precancerous and cancerous cells, and not the normal cells.

Researchers are not sure how the compounds in the avocados do this, but they suspect it has something to do with phytonutrients found in the food.

Avocados are loaded with all sorts of good things, and here is one more reason to eat them.

Eating an orange every day can not only boost your vitamin C but it can help get rid of a strain of the H. pylori bacteria that causes peptic ulcers and can lead to stomach cancer. Researchers in San Francisco found that infected people with high levels of vitamin C in their blood were less likely to test positive for the cancer causing strain. Here is a delicious, colorful, and healthy salad to serve your family. Remember to always buy organic when available.

Vicki's Citrus/Dijon Salad Dressing
4 tbsp. Orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp. Olive oil
1 tbsp. Lime juice
1 tbsp. Honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
Whisk together to make citrus salad dressing

Vicki's Orange and Avocado Salad
1/2 of a 10 oz. bag of mixed salad greens
1/2 of a 10 oz. bag baby spinach
1 Ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 Oranges peeled, seeded, and cut into slices
1 Cup grape tomatoes
1/2 Cup shredded carrots
3 Green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
Mix ingredients and toss in a large bowl then drizzle with the citrus salad dressing.
Serves 4.

However unintentional she says it has all been when it comes to the sultry and seductive persona that oozes sexuality through the television screen during her cooking shows, How to be a Domestic Goddess author Nigella Lawson has made a career out of making food sexy and the act of food consumption sensual. It is part of her not-always-so-subtle coy kitchen charm.

But if we believe her life to be as silky smooth and decadent as warm cream flowing over a morning bowl of juicy plump strawberries, and equally as charmed as she is charming, we would be mistaken. Yes, she is remarried to multi-millionaire, ad man and art dealer Charles Saatchi, but she is also the widow of journalist and writer John Diamond, who died of tongue cancer five years ago, leaving her suddenly mother and father to their two children, Cosima and Bruno.

A decade earlier, Lawson's mother had died of liver cancer. Her sister Thomasina died in her 30s of breast cancer. Cancer changes people. It is unavoidable, and the change can take many forms. For Nigella, who in the public eye has taken criticism for her ample figure and lack of concern for the fat content of food, has an almost unreasonable fear about thinness. After watching three family members waste away and die from cancer, she sees thin as a sign of illness.

"So even though I mind it when I put on weight I have a visual memory of seeing those people become skin and bone, and that gives me a slight reality check," explains Lawson. In watching her cooking show Nigella Bites, she came through as warm, down-to-earth, without a care for pretentious protocol or rules for the sake of rules. It is the way she cooks, and I get the feeling it is the way she lives. Cancer changes every person it touches and shapes perspectives about what is truly important in life. Being comfortable and enjoying yourself, including the food you eat, is a good recipe for life. A recipe Nigella seems to dish up with ease.

Nigella Lawson is Food Network's newest host in Nigella Feasts. On January 7, the theme of the show will be Feel Good Food featuring Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Pumpkin Seed Salad, a Vietnamese Prawn and Glass Noodle Salad, a colorful Antioxidant Fruit Salad, and a Syllabubbed Yogurt. Yum.

Grapefruits, like oranges and other citrus fruits, contain monoterpenes, believed to help prevent cancer by taking carcinogens out of the body. Some studies show that grapefruit may inhibit the proliferation of breast-cancer cells in vitro. Research also shows it helps in the prevention of lung and colon cancers. They also contain vitamin C, beta-carotene, and folic acid. Grapefruit fights cold symptoms and prevents heart disease. Grapefruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, a vitamin that helps to support the immune system.

Here is a spicy recipe packing a punch of vitamin C, with other healthy carcinogen fighting foods, and full of taste.

Vicki's Spicy Grapefruit Salad
1 grapefruit cut into wedges and peeled
1 head romaine lettuce
1 pound jumbo shelled and deveined shrimp
2 avocados cut into thin slices
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

Spicy Chili Pepper Citrus Dressing
1/4 cup orange juice
juice from one lime
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon minced chili peppers (remove seeds)
whisk together all ingredients.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add 1 bay leaf and 1 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning. Add shrimp and boil for 2 minutes or until shrimp are a light pinkish white color. Do not over boil it will make the shrimp rubbery. Remove and drain well and then place in a bowl in refrigerator.

Break apart the lettuce in a large mixing bowl and toss with the grapefruit, cilantro, and chili pepper citrus dressing. Separate into 4 salad plates or bowls. Lay 3 or 4 slices of avocado on top of each salad and then place 3 to 4 shrimp in the middle.

Important research development in regard to the glucose controlling properties of avocado's by inhibiting glucokinase responsible for glycolysis that in turn retards and reduces tumor growth shows that avocados are not just beneficial for keeping a healthy heart when they are consumed in place of saturated-fat containing foods. Avocados are a good source of fiber and fiber may help maintain a healthy heart and digestion. Avocados provide more than 25 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid and provides beneficial phytochemicals such as glutathione, beta-sitosterol, and lutein. Phytonutrients are thought to help prevent many chronic diseases.

Vicki's Avocado & Shrimp Salad
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 
1/2 tablespoon Texas Pete hot sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 cup olive oil 
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
6 cups water
1 Pound peeled and deveined medium sized shrimp
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 Head Romaine Lettuce
3 medium to large Fresh Avocados not too soft (diced in 1 inch pieces)
Lemon Wedges and Tortilla Chips for garnishing

Boil water and add old bay seasoning and bay leaves. Add shrimp to boiling water and cook until whitish pink or until they lose their translucent color. Don't over cook. It only takes 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water to cook the shrimp. Immediately remove and spread out on a large plate and place in refrigerator to cool down and stop the cooking process.

In another mixing bowl add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cilantro, salt, and hot sauce and whisk together. After shrimp has chilled for about 30 minutes, drain and then toss together with the onions, bell pepper, celery and tomatoes. Stir lemon juice mixture over the shrimp and vegetables and then lightly toss in the diced avocado pieces so they will not mash.

Cover plate with whole leaves of Romaine lettuce and scoop a helping of the salad into the middle. Garnish with lemon wedges on the side and corn tortilla chips. (I like the blue corn tortilla chips)

In 2002, Pamela Anderson publicly announced she had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, a disease that can lead to liver cancer. She indicated she had contracted the Hepatitis C virus from sharing tattoo needles with her husband Tommy Lee. At the time, she decided to forego conventional medical treatments, relying instead on a healthy vegetarian diet. She credits avocados for her improved liver health.

I am going to venture out on a limb and guess that it has more to do with her overall diet, lifestyle and other factors -- not simply avocados. But there you go, that's what she said.

Anderson is probably best known for her activist activities on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, but she has also acted as the celebrity spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation and the Canadian Liver Foundation. Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver that can lead to liver cancer. Hepatitis C is usually spread by blood transfusion, hemodialysis, and needles. There is no cure.