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Cauliflower is a stable in our diet. My kids just have no clue about it. 😀  Like I’ve written many times, my 2 y/o son is a picky eater, so I have to hide most of the vegetables in his food. Cauliflower is one of the vegetables that he eats the most, since I always mix a head of cauliflower in the mashed potatoes. If you haven’t ever tried mixing cauliflower in the mashed potatoes, start gradually by adding just a little piece of cauliflower. Then you can add bigger chunks, once your child gets used to the taste.

 

But this is a new treat for my girls: Cauliflower Popcorn. And I’ve got to tell you.. It’s so delicious! 🙂 And best of all; it has all the amazing cancer-fighting ingredients in it.

 

Let’s start with the cauliflower:

 

A study at Rutgers University shows that certain vegetables — broccoli and cauliflower, in particular — have natural ingredients that may reduce the risk of developing hereditary cancers.

(Source: sciencedaily.com)

Research has shown that combining cauliflower with curcumin (the active compound in turmeric) may help prevent and treat prostate cancer. (Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16423986)

According to the National Cancer Institute some compounds in cauliflower show anti cancer effects:

“Indoles and isothiocyanates have been found to inhibit the development of cancer in several organs in rats and mice, including the bladder, breast, colon, liver, lung, and stomach.”

 

Seasoning:

 

Health benefits of any food or herb is based on its key active ingredients.

Turmeric might be the world’s most important herb. Curcumin, a bioactive ingredient in turmeric, can modulate about 700 of your genes. (Source: Greenmedinfo.com)

Curcumin seems to be useful for just about every type of cancer. Once it gets into a cell, it affects more than 100 different molecular pathways. 

Curcumin is non-toxic, and doesn’t affect healthy cells.  It selectively targets cancer cells, and studies have even shown that it works synergistically with certain chemotherapy drugs, enhancing the elimination of cancer cells.

 

 

Piperine is the key chemical in black pepper, and it offers many health benefits. Curcumin plays the same role in turmeric. However, the problem in curcumin is that it gets metabolized before it can get absorbed. Piperine is said to help make curcumin more bioavailable.

One study found that when even 2g of curcumin was ingested, its serum levels were very low. However, when 20mg piperine was added to curcumin the bioavailability increased by 2000%. (Source: turmericforhealth)

 

Coconut oil:

Also, turmeric is fat-soluble, which mean that it dissolves in fat. Without fat, curcumin, has a difficult time making it past the stomach, into the small intestine, and into the blood where it can offer the greatest benefits. (Source: natural society)

I prefer to use coconut oil in cooking for these reasons: A common mistake that most people make when cooking

 

So this sounds like a perfect mix to me: