Why 'Poor Man's Bread' is Better for You Than the Daily Loaf

Watercress Diet 'Can Cut The Risk Of Cancer'

Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a semi-aquatic perennial herb grown for thousands of years not only as a foodstuff but also for its medicinal properties. In Victorian times it was used by the working class as a bread substitute (hey, wait a minute - I work, so I must be a member, compared with all the foyl olreitniks). Perhaps the gentle reader recalls the effervescent watercress sandwich Mother used to make for breakfast, hmm?

Well, guess what - as the title above states, new research suggests that the ancients were right to cram the leafy stuff down the gullet by the handful. Is this how the pyramids got built?

Watercress and other cruciferous vegetables contain phytochemicals called isothiocyanates which have been shown to inhibit the formation of carcinogens by blocking enzymes used in their activation and by promoting apoptosis. In this study from the U.K., 60 subjects were sent out to pasture to graze:

A single-blind, randomized, crossover study was conducted in 30 men and 30 women (30 smokers and 30 nonsmokers) with a mean age of 33 y (range: 19-55 y). The subjects were fed 85 g raw watercress daily for 8 wk in addition to their habitual diet. The effect of supplementation was measured on a range of endpoints[...]

The endpoints reported (DNA damage and activation of certain anti-oxidants) suggest that eating watercress reduces certain activities known to promote carcinogenesis:

Watercress supplementation (active compared with control phase) was associated with reductions in basal DNA damage (by 17%; P = 0.03), in basal plus oxidative purine DNA damage (by 23.9%; P = 0.002), and in basal DNA damage in response to ex vivo hydrogen peroxide challenge (by 9.4%; P = 0.07). Beneficial changes seen after watercress intervention were greater and more significant in smokers than in nonsmokers.

(As an aside, I continue to be amazed at the damage tobacco smoke does at the cellular level. Too bad someone doesn't make this fact into a video game for kids - might deter them from certain habits known to promote an early planting, if you know what I mean).

Sigh...once again we are reminded in our later years that what Mom told us when we were little sprouts was correct. Now it is our turn to pass along the good news about cruciferous vegetables to the next generation.

Good luck.