This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.

Your mother (or perhaps your spouse) always reminds you to eat your broccoli. Indeed, it is quite good for you. Not only is it packed full of vitamins, but it also contains cancer-fighting compounds, such as I3C. Our bodies metabolize this molecule into 3,3′-diindolylmethane
(DIM), which also wages a war on cancer.

Now, a team of researchers led by Eliot Rosen has shown that administering DIM to mice exposed to a lethal dose of gamma radiation can rescue a substantial proportion of them. (See figure.) Continue reading →