Some of the best cancer-fighting foods like the bel fruit, elephant foot yam and sessile joyweed come from Indian ethnomedicinal plants. Not only are they safe to eat, these foods are second to none, considering the staggering amount of research that has been carried out for the benefit of the rest of the world.

Bel Fruit (Limonia acidissima)

If travelling to India for tourist purposes, you can put your mind at rest concerning food-poisoning as this condition is completely treatable by juicing some bel fruits from the market. To your relief, the sweet tamarind flavored juice will energize you and you will be up and about in no time. However, you can incorporate these fruits into your diet for some great health benefits.

The bel fruit has a high phenolic and flavonoid content: phenolics to prevent and treat cancer; and phenolics, to kill off cancer cells.

On ripening, the wood apple, as it is also called, emits a pleasant smell that permeates the air. When the hard shell is broken open with a hammer, the pulp is scooped out with a spoon and eaten like a pudding.

Elephant Foot Yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius)

Don’t you think the cormous elephant foot yam is not much to look at? However, a double take will show how much it holds itself out as a root vegetable with personality. Nutritive questions bulk large on meeting up with such a superstar tuber as big as the human head.

With its vast stores of protein, it makes an important staple food, especially in South India; despite the fact that much work goes into its preparation; what with all the peeling, chopping and washing till the water runs clean.

A gem of a friend to human health, this yam species treats chronic diseases like cancer as it contains anti-tumor chemicals like diosgenin, which could be an effective anti-cancer agent with more research.

A rich source of fiber, elephant yam prevents colon cancer with the help of its abundant omega 3 fatty acids and powerful antioxidants.

Sessile Joyweed. (Alternanthera sessilis)

When I go looking for a weed, I would give the cultivated garden a miss; neither do I entertain any hope of finding it in immaculate plant pots. Just as I spied the peperomla thriving in a long forgotten pot, a passerby stopped by the roadside on finding a purplish species of joyweed, flourishing among the tall green grass.

Hunting down bunches of wild, green sessile at an Indian store, I was quite pleased with my find, a notch up on the cultivated red variety sold at the market,

More importantly, it is found that the sessile content of flavonoids and phenolics is in direct proportion to its anti-cancer free radical scavenging activities. This is newsworthy indeed!

The elephant foot yam, bel fruit and sessile joyweed have been the subjects of intensive research owing to a sheer abundance of phyto-chemicals and antioxidants found in these plants. Surely, there is no better way to fortify yourself against disease attacks than through these foods you eat.