Scientists at Oregon State University and Linus Pauling Institute propose in an article published October 7 that sulforaphane, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables notably broccoli, may be useful as a chemopreventive agent for high-risk prostate cancer patients. Sulforaphane, Emily Ho and colleagues write, acts as a histone deacetylase inhibitor on prostate cancer (and colorectal cancer) cells.

Oleocanthal, a naturally-occurring compound found in extra-virgin olive oil, alters the structure of neurotoxic proteins believed to contribute to the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s disease. This structural change impedes the proteins’ ability to damage brain nerve cells.

“Tainted Meat: The Sickening of Stephanie Smith” in today’s New York Times health section looks at how the meat industry is allowed to police itself while feeding untested meat scraps, or “trim,” into supposedly tested ground beef supplies before selling to the customer.

Unfortunately, the US House of Representatives has already voted to pass a bill that makes it harder for small and organic food producers to compete with the industrial food giants that source some of the worst food-borne illness outbreaks.

Stephanie Smith, a 20 year-old dance instructor, became violently ill after eating a single home-cooked beef hamburger made from tainted beef. Stephanie is now in a wheelchair and may never walk again. How can one meat sandwich do this to a healthy young woman?