Foods to Fight Cancer

8/8/2019 Foods to Fight Cancer

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Foods To Fight CancerDiet is now considered a major weapon against cancer. Recent

research indicates that what you eat may help to significantly

reduce your risk.

Cancer develops over a long time, which means that you haveyears typically decades in which to hinder or promote it.Researchers are finding that what you eat may interfere with

cancer growth at various stages. For example, certain foods can

block the chemicals that initiate cancer.

Anti-oxidants, found in some vitamins and minerals, can snuff out oxygen-free radicals,substances that are thought to make cells more susceptible to cancer, and they can even

repair some of the cellular damage that has been done. And some food wheat bran in

particular has been shown to shrink precancerous cells.

A recent review of 170 studies from 17 nations reveals that people who eat the most fruits

and vegetables have about half the cancer rates of those who eat the least. That includescancers of the lung, colon, breast, cervix, oesophagus, oral cavity, stomach, bladder, pancreas and ovary.

In fact, some research suggests that frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables can cutthe risk of lung cancer even in smokers. It is almost mind-boggling, says Tim Byers, an

epidemiologist with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, that ordinary

fruits and vegetables can be so effective against such a potent carcinogen as cigarettesmoke.

One of the most studied antioxidants in vegetables and fruits thought to protect against

cancer is beta-carotene, concentrated in deep green, yellow and orange vegetables such ascarrots, sweet potatoes and spinach.

Fruits high in beta-carotene include apricots and muskmelons. In test-tube studies atHarvard University, beta-carotene had a direct toxic effect on cells, taken from malignant

tumours. It also reduced the growth of lung cancer cells and altered the proteins needed

for tumours to grow.

Research also shows that beta-carotene can change in the body to retinoic acid, a

substance used in clinical trials to treat certain cancers.

Here are some of the foods that contain cancer-fighting chemicals: >>

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Tomatoes: One of the compounds in tomatoes that is thought to reduce the risk of cancer

is lycopene, the pigment that makes tomatoes red. Lycopene, an antioxidant that is also
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found in watermelons and apricots, quenches certain cancer-triggering oxygen-free

radicals.

Having little lycopene in youn blood is associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer,

according to a Johns Hopkins University study. People with pancreatic cancer showed

lower levels of lycopene compared with healthy individuals. Lycopene is present intomato products, including sauces, tomato paste and even ketchup.

Green Vegetables: A recent Italian study showed that dark green leafy vegetables lowerthe risk of many cancers. Spinach, broccoli, kale (a variety of cabbage) and dark-green

lettuces are chock-full of antioxidants, including beta-carotene, folate and lutein. A good

rule of thumb: the darker the vegetable, the more antioxidants within.

Pungent Preventives: A whole host of chemicals thought to have cancer inhibiting

properties have been identified in allium vegetables, which include garlic and onions.

Animal studies show that many of these chemicals block carcinogens that have been

linked to colon, stomatch, lung and liver cancer.

A study at Pennsylvania State University found that feeding rats various garlic extractsand preparations reduced mammary turmours by as much as 71 percent. In humans,

studies suggest that those who eat more onions and garlic are less prone to

gastrointestinal cancer.

Research suggests that garlic compounds may even interfere with cancer progression. A

recent German study found that ajoene, a garlic compound is toxic to malignant cells.

Garlic may also antagonize existing cancer by boosting immune functions, according toAmerican researchers. Their study; done on mice, found that garlics sulphur compounds

increased the activity of macrophages and T-lymphocytes, two of the components of the

immune system that destroy turmour cells.

Citrus Fruit: Eat oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes as often as possible, says

American toxicologist Herbert Pierson. He calls citrus fruit an all-around cancer packagebecause it possesses every class of natural substances (carotenoids, flavonoids and others)

that individually have neutralized powerful chemical carcinogens in animals.

Citrus fruit may be particularly effective in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer. Onestudy found that in a group of Swedes, those who ate a citrus fruit almost daily reduced

the risk of pancreatic cancer by one-half to more than two-thirds, as compared with

eating citrus fruit less than once a week.

Cruciferous Vegetables>>

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Cruciferous Vegetables: Cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels

sprouts, broccoli, kale, mustard greens and turnips, may reduce the risk of breast cancer.

In fact, one research team found that feeding animals cabbage and collard greens (also acrufiferous vegetable), along with a low-fat diet, reduced the incidence of mammary

cancers.

Eat cruciferous vegetables raw or lightly cooked. Overcooking my destroy the cancer

protective compounds found in these vegetables.

Cruciferous vegetables may also work to head off stomach and colon cancer. Research

has revealed that men who ate the most cruciferous vegetables had a 70 percent lower

risk of colon cancer than those who ate the least of such vegetables.

Soyabeans: Soyabeans contain atleast five compounds believed to inhibit cancer. Infact,

one of the compounds is chemically similar to the drug tamoxifen, which is routinely

used to treat oestrogen-dependent breast cancer and is now being tested in a large clinical

trial to see if it can prevent the disease.

Dried and canned beans: including chick-peas, lentils, kidney, black, and white beans contain possible anti-cancer agents at well. One California study showed that those who

ate beans weekly were 40 percent less likely to die those who ate them less than once a

weak.

Wheat Bran: Wheat bran may lower the risk of colon cancer. A double-blind study of

patients at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Centre found that two 30-gram

servings of wheat bran cereal a day caused premalignant colon polyps to shrink within sixmonths. Most remarkable, say researchers, is that such a small amount of food could have

such an impact within a short period of time, illustrating that dietary intervention may

work even after precancerous warning signs have appeared.

Low-Fat Milk: While the saturated fat in milk seems to promote certain cancers, another

substance in milk may deter them. Researchers at a cancer institute discovered, notsurprisingly, that drinkers of whole milk had higher odds than non-milk-drinkers of

developing cancers of the oral cavity, stomach, colon, rectum, lung, bladder, breast and

cervix. But they also found that those drinking low-fat milk were less likely than non-

milk-drinkers to develop cancers of the oral cavity, stomach, rectum and cervix,riboflavin, or vitamins A, C, and D (present in whole milk, too, but apparently less

effective) may act as anti-cancer agents in ways not yet understood.

To Get the most cancer-protective compounds from your diet, strive for five or more

servings of fruits and vegetables daily, advises the US national Cancer Institute. One

serving means 115 grams of raw leafy vegetables, one medium piece of fresh fruit, orabout 170 grams of fruit juice or vegetable juice. The ideal diet is low in fact and

calories, light in fibre, and it includes a variety of nutrient-rich foods such as fruits,

vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts.

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Foods to Fight Cancer