 It is not very common that a single molecule attracts enough interest to merit international scientific conferences of its own, but the AAH receptor belongs to the rare elite of such molecules. That's the receptor on our intestinal immune cells activated by broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables. The latest conference offered exciting new reports about the way plant-derived compounds in our diet are necessary for a fully functioning immune system of the gut. One study in particular expanded our understanding of how diet impacts immunity and health by showing that a plant-derived nutrient profoundly shapes the capacity for intestinal immune defense. And intestinal defense is not just against the pathogens we ingest, but the toxins as well. We're constantly exposed to a wide range of toxins in cigarette smoke, in exhaust fumes, furnace gases, cooked meat and fish, dairy products, and even in mothers' milk because of what they themselves are exposed to. And many of these pollutants exert their toxic effects through the AAH receptor system. For example, dioxins invade the body mainly through the diet, more than 90% of exposure, as it concentrates through the food chain, presenting a serious health concern. But there are phytonutrients in fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine, and beans that block the effects of dioxins at close to the kinds of levels you can find in people's bloodstream after eating fruits and vegetables. But it took like three apples a day to cut dioxin toxicity in half, or about a tablespoon of red onion, more than most people eat in a day, unfortunately. And the half-life of these phytonutrients in the body is only about 25 hours, so we have to keep it up day after day. But if we eat enough, the intake from a plant-based diet should be enough to inhibit the cancer-causing effects of dioxins. See, at first we just thought it was just cruciferous vegetables that were able to lock in these receptors and fend off toxins. But does that make evolutionary sense? Given the variety and flexibility of most mammalian diets, a specific dependence on cruciferous vegetables for optimal intestinal immune function would seem overly restrictive. Here it seems that many other foods contain compounds with similar immune stimulatory properties, and indeed, the search for foods containing similar immune-immunomodulatory compounds has begun. Now we know that a wide variety of natural plant compounds can counteract the chemical pollution to which we're all exposed. Though there is actually one animal product that has also been shown to potentially block the cancer-causing effects of dioxins. Camel urine. Camel urine, but not cow urine, was found to inhibit the effects of a known carcinogenic chemical. Importantly, the researchers emphasize virgin camel urine, showed the highest degree of inhibition, found better than pregnant camel urine, for example. So the next time our kids don't want to eat their fruits and veggies, we can just say, hey, it's either that or camel pee.