Remember the old jingle that said you can "double your pleasure, double your fun" if you chew Double-Mint chewing gum because it combines two different mints? It turns out that combining ingredients may also be a good idea for warding off cancer.
Researchers have discovered that eating certain foods in combination may give more protection than eating either of the foods alone. While you may not be able to actually "double" your protection against all cancers, you may well be able to boost it by doubling up on certain foods, Karen Collins, who is the nutrition adviser for the American Institute for Cancer Research, told the Bottom Line.
The components of one combination — chicken and broccoli — actually boost cancer-fighting power 13 times more than either alone. Use these six combos to boost your cancer protection:
1. Tomatoes and broccoli
This is a particularly potent combination, says Collins. Rats with tumors fed a diet of both tomatoes and broccoli had much smaller tumors than those fed either tomatoes or broccoli alone. The combination works so well because tomatoes are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals that can damage DNA, while the compounds in broccoli help flush carcinogens from the body.
