A new study involving eating watercress as part of breast cancer treatment is being undertaken by scientists at the University of Reading. Two-hundred women in the early stages of breast cancer are being recruited to take part in the trial which will involve consumption of a 100g bag of watercress a day over eight weeks of radiotherapy treatment.
The study begins on October 1, the start of Breast Awareness Month, and hopes to build on previous research which has found that watercress may have significant cancer-fighting properties. The aim of the study is to evaluate the role of watercress in enhancing the body’s response to the treatment as well as protecting against any skin damage sometimes caused by radiotherapy.
Watercress is brim full of vitamins and minerals, far outdoing vitamin-high foods such as spinach, broccoli, carrots and oranges.
Early dietary trials have showed that daily consumption of watercress can play a role in cancer prevention by significantly reducing DNA damage to blood cells and increase the ability of those cells to resist further DNA damage caused by free radicals.
