Anti Cancer Foods
The Latest Health Extracts From The World Of Research Via The Web
Absolutely, without a doubt, eating certain foods can prevent breast cancer. Analysis of 156 studies linking diet and cancer found extraordinarily consistent evidence that some foods actively protect cells from undergoing cancerous changes, especially breast, cervical, ovarian, and prostate cells.1 While these foods don’t guarantee freedom from cancer, they are vital elements of an anti-cancer lifestyle. 16
The plant world is filled with thousands of varieties of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains. It should be easy for people to select enough of these foods to keep themselves healthy and running at peak performance for a lifetime. Unfortunately, the reality is that fewer than 20 percent of Americans eat the minimum recommended servings of 5 fruits and vegetables daily, and even fewer consume the 9 servings recommended for cancer prevention. 3
Since these substances work synergistically, it’s best to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables rather than relying on one particular produce item to serve as a magic bullet against disease. Or as health writer Liz Szabo put it recently in USA TODAY: “A growing body of research shows that, once inside the body, fruits and vegetables spring into the role of superheroes, fighting cancer and other diseases in at least eight simultaneous ways. And, like the Superfriends, they seem to work better as a team.” 15
Here’s the rub: It doesn’t work as well if it isn’t organic.9, 10 An apple a day may even promote breast cancer if it’s been heavily sprayed with pesticides. Eating anti-cancer foods as the mainstay of your diet will improve your chances of living a long life even if they aren’t organic, but choosing organic foods pays the extra dividend of knowing you’re investing in the health of future generations as well as your own. 16
This research supports the importance of a healthy diet that includes cancer fighting foods, most of which are fruits and vegetables, and limits dietary fats. Additionally, there is no substitute for a regular exercise program for weight management. 4
Making drastic changes in your diet can be difficult and frustrating. You may find more success by making little changes over an extended period of time. If the cancer fighting foods mentioned here are not those that you are accustomed to eating, try adding one or two different ones to your diet each month. 4
Research into diet and cancer is getting so advanced that scientists are beginning to link what a person eats with the type of cancer they get. Other researchers are going the other way: pinpointing specific things in the diet that prevent cancer from occurring. For example, researchers at the University of Utah investigated the connection between carotenoids and colon cancer. They found that lutein, but not other carotenoids, is associated with lower risk. Similarly, researchers in the Netherlands found that folate, vitamin C and beta-cryptoxanthin (but not lutein and other carotenoids) are protective against lung cancer. The information from these kinds of studies is stacking up. 6
And yet breast cancer screening is the only form of “prevention” offered by the cancer industry. But it isn’t prevention, it’s detection. Breast cancer screening does nothing to educate women how to really prevent breast cancer, nor does it teach women how to change their diets and lifestyles so that breast cancer never develops in the first place. In fact, the strategy of the cancer industry today can be best described as waiting for women to get cancer, then treating it with toxic drugs that just happen to generate huge profits for pharmaceutical companies. 43
Berries are among the most powerful anti cancer foods. Blueberries have been shown in animals studies to inibit the production of an enzyme responsible for tumor growth. Bilberry has been shown to inhibit the growth of leukemia and cancer cells in the laboratory. Pomegranates (a member of the berry family) are considered cancer fighting foods because of their effect on breast, prostrate and skin cancer in lab studies. Additionally, pomegranate seeds are natural anti-inflammatories. 4
The goal for an anti-cancer diet is to eat mostly plant foods. It appears that diets that are two-thirds fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains are most effective. Recommended anti cancer foods are high in B-complex (shown to provide protection from cell mutation and reduce risk of pancreatic cancer) and D vitamins (curbs growth of cancer cells, reduces risk of breast and lung cancer). 4
It is a humble effort to teach women how to prevent their own breast cancer through scientifically-supported natural health strategies that are easy to understand and simple to follow. They include things like eating more broccoli and garlic, getting more natural sunlight on your skin (to generate the anti-cancer nutrient Vitamin D, which has recently been shown to prevent an astonishing 77 percent of ALL cancers!) and avoiding cancer-causing chemicals in manufactured foods (such as sodium nitrite, found in bacon, sausage and virtually all packaged meats). A more detailed list is offered below. 43
The Cancer Cure Foundation, a non-profit providing information on alternative and complementary therapies since 1976, adds the following anti cancer foods: avocadoes, figs, flax seed, grapefruit, red grapes, green and yellow leafy vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, oranges, lemons, papayas, seaweed, soy, sweet potatoes, tapioca, tomatoes, watermelon and red peppers. You may have noticed that the majority of the cancer fighting foods are particularly colorful. 4
Those same phytochemicals that give these fruits and vegetables there bright colors are cancer fighting agents. Thus, the reason behind the recommendation to eat a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables, every day. 4
Just because you are increasing fruits and vegetables in your diet does not mean that it must be bland. Several spices have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties. 4
Each of these foods has been shown to impact cancer risk on their own. However, countless studies indicate a synergistic effect when eaten together, meaning that plant chemicals work together to produce a greater effect than if they were working alone. The best anti-cancer diet is rich in brightly colored fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, with an emphasis on the foods highlighted above. 3
References
The Panacea offers these health-extracts to help people investigate health-related subjects in greater depth using the references given in each paragraph. Kindly note that these are current extracts from the web, meant for research, and that these are not meant to be medical advise. For all your health-related needs you must consult trained and licensed personnel.
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