Another reason to load up on veggies: lower risk of thyroid cancer. 60,000 new cases of this deadly disease are diagnosed annually — while a whopping 25 million Americans suffer from various thyroid disorders. Seated right above the collarbone, your thyroid plays a major role in regulating growth, metabolism and reproduction.
Proper thyroid function depends greatly on iodine — deficiency during pregnancy being the most common cause of childhood mental retardation globally. While most Americans get more than enough iodine (thanks to WAY too much iodized salt) we consume far too few vegetables. When Italian researchers looked at two decades of scientific literature, searching for how dietary patterns impact thyroid cancer risk, they found that people with the highest veggie consumption were 20% less likely to develop this particular cancer. We should all eat more produce — but frequent fliers, and airline personnel, should take particular note, being most exposed to ionizing radiation, which increases thyroid cancer risk.
