When Dana Carvey auditioned for "Saturday Night Live" (in 1986!), he won a slot on the show with a satirical impression of a rock star singing "Choppin' Broccoli." Little did he know that power ballad could one day become the theme song for the war on prostate cancer. So, move over lettuce and tell potatoes the news (with apologies to Chuck Berry)!

Seems broccoli and a shopping cart full of fruits and veggies are packed with flavonoids (phytonutrients that reduce inflammation and prevent and repair cellular damage). And guys who eat flavonoid-packing foods slash their risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer by 25 percent. About 11 percent of diagnosed cases of prostate cancer are "aggressive," but until recently it was difficult to be sure if you had a wait-and-watch form of the disease or one that called for surgery. There's now a blood test that can pick out biomarkers for aggressive forms of the disease early enough to make treatment more effective. But the best situation is to stop prostate cancer before it starts!

How? Walk 10,000 steps a day; meditate in the morning and at night; avoid all tobacco; and chow down on a smorgasbord of fruits and veggies. The guys who benefited the most in the study favored cooked greens, citrus fruits and juices, such as oranges and grapefruits, and grapes, strawberries, and onions. Other good sources of phytonutrients include: apples (the flavonoids are in the skin), blueberries, cabbage, capers, dark chocolate, all kinds of tea and, of course, (as Dana sang it) brrrrrocccccoli.


© 2012 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.