Brussel sprouts contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fiber. Moreover, they are believed to protect against colon cancer, due to their containing sinigrin. They contain three types of phyto's, all shown to have either protective qualities against cancer, or enzyme producing qualities that have been shown during research to fight cancer cells in different ways.

When boiling foods they tend to lose some of the vitamins and nutrients into the water. So here is a roasted brussel sprout recipe that is very easy to prepare and the brussel sprouts keep their natural nutty flavor.

Vicki's Roasted Brussel Sprouts
1 lb Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 onion cut into thin slices
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss all the ingredients except for the onions in a large bowl to evenly coat the brussel sprouts. Pour brussel sprouts onto a baking tray and spread apart. Bake for 20 minutes then stir or flip and add the onions and bake for 20 minutes more.

Beets are so healthy for you. But did you know that beets beat cancer? Beets are not only rich in calcium, but recent research has shown that they are also extremely rich in cancer-fighting flavenoids. They are also high in magnesium, folate, potassium, fiber, vitamin C and iron. Here is one of my favorite ways to eat beets in a healthy salad. Arugula and pine nuts give this salad an extra nutty and peppery flavor and make it even more healthy.

Vicki's Arugula & Beet Salad
4 cups young arugula leaves, rinsed and dried
1 jar or can sweet pickled beets rinsed and drained
(reserve the beet juice in a bowl)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 red onion thinly sliced
1 Bay leaf
2 cloves

In a medium saucepan, combine the reserved beet juice and bring to a boil. Add cloves, bay leaf, and onion, and return to a boil. Remove from heat, strain and chill for one hour. Be sure to take out the bay leaf so you don't eat it. Mix the cooked onions and beets together and stir. Divide arugula into four bowls and divide beet/onion mixture on top of each bowl. Divide pine nuts between the bowls.

John Hopkins Medical Institution investigators had a small but informative clinical trial using a pill that contained chemicals found in turmeric, a spice used in curries, and quercetin, an antioxidant in onions. The trial showed that the pill reduced both the size and number of precancerous lesions in the intestinal tract.

Curcumin is the chemical found in turmeric and is the key agent in the pill that the patients were administered. The amount of quercetin was similar to what normal people might consume on a daily basis. The curcumin administered in the pill was many times more what a person might eat in their daily diet.

A disorder that runs in families called familial adenomatous polyposis can lead to hundreds of colorectal polyps that could eventually lead to colon cancer.

The study showed that the patients taking the pill had an average number of polyps drop by sixty percent and the average size dropped to a little over fifty percent.

The current nonsteroidal anti-inflammory drugs (NSAIDS) have been used to treat patients but can cause significant side effects where the pill in this study had minimal if no side effects at all.

More evidence for the cancer prevention super powers of garlic comes from a new study done as part of a larger project in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. The study followed 521,457 people in ten European countries with an average age of 52 to determine a link between fruit and vegetable intake and the incidence of stomach cancer in Western countries.

What the researchers discovered is that garlic and onions provide a certain level of protection against developing stomach cancer -- making it a cancer prevention food. This was a small study, and researchers are calling for additional studies to determine the exact benefit of garlic and onions in reducing the risks of cancer. However, previous studies done in the U.S. have also concluded that garlic and onions provide protection in the reduction of some cancers, including liver and colon cancers. For years, health nutritionists have been emphasizing the benefit of adding garlic and onion to the diet as a disease prevention strategy. While more studies will help researchers understand the health benefit and cancer prevention properties of garlic and onions from a scientific point of view, I think it is safe to conclude that garlic is indeed a good food to include in your daily diet.