try a new vegetable

Here's a good reason to try a new vegetable.  And another.  And another.

According to an European study, eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables may help defend against cancer.

Shocking, isn't it.

Here's some highlights from the study.

"Keep in mind that "wide variety" meant more than a banana with breakfast and a helping of peas and carrots with dinner. Think kale and spinach; berries and melons; cabbage, cauliflower and eggplant -- some 40 different fruits and vegetables in all.

But what is it about fruits and vegetables that may ward off the changes in cells that cause tumors to grow?

There probably isn't one "magic" compound in the fruits and vegetables, Bueno-de-Mesquita said, but instead many compounds that interact with each other and the body in ways that aren't yet understood.

It can be dangerous to put too much stock in any one substance, he added. A study in Finland found smokers who took the antioxidant beta carotene and vitamin E supplements actually had an increased risk of lung cancer.

Previous research has also linked fruits and vegetables with lowered risk of cancer.

[O]ther research has suggested eating a variety of vegetables can reduce the risk of other types of cancers, including colorectal, gastric, breast, oral and pharyngeal cancer and squamous cell esophageal cancer.

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables can also help prevent obesity, which is a risk factor for certain cancers, she added."

Although this particular study relates to lung cancer and we normally think *smokers*, it's important to know that smokers aren't the only ones who develop lung cancer.  One of my very dear aunts passed away a few years ago suddenly from lung cancer.

She was not a smoker.