The findings revealed that mice fed on a diet rich in indole-3-carbinol (I3C) -- which is produced when we digest these vegetables -- were protected from gut inflammation and colon cancer as it activates a protein called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). AhR acts as an environmental sensor passing signals to immune cells and epithelial cells in the gut lining to protect us from inflammatory responses to the trillions of bacteria that live in the gut. In the study published in the journal Immunity when genetically modified mice -- that cannot produce or activate AhR in their guts -- were
