Neither vitamin nor mineral, these cancer fighters — also now called functional foods — occur naturally in certain plants and they've piqued the interest of researchers.

At a time when 80 percent of the most common cancers are diet related, the national cancer institute is so convinced of the potential of phytochemicals that it's loosed millions of dollars just for scientists to scrutinize them. Tens of thousands of phytochemicals exist in the foods we eat — nearly all of them in fruits and vegetables. And the race is on, in public and private sectors, to identify, isolate and learn how to use them to best advantage. These nutraceuticals, as they're sometimes called, may be the minerals and vitamins of the twenty-first century.