Food That Fight Cancer

Foods that fight cancer: fruits, vegetables could save your life

by Charlotte Lyons

No one food or diet can ensure your immunity from cancer, but a simple change in your eating habits can reduce the risk of cancer and can help you live longer if you have cancer.

Some foods, in fact, fight cancers by preventing formation of cancer-causing canrcinogens and by keeping them from reaching crucial body sites. Other foods keep cells that have been exposed to cancer-causing agents from turning malignant. Still others help heal malignant areas in the body.

More Articles of Interest

• A review of fruits, vegetables, and cancer prevention
• Do Fruit, Fiber and Fish Really Help Fight Cancer?
• Foods that fight colon cancer
• Antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties of edible berry anthocyanins
• Whole foods bestow lung cancer protection and improve lung function

The first step in waging your own personal war against cancer is to choose a diet that is high in fiber and low in fat, one that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. The National Cancer Institute suggests that Americans eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day and 6 to 11 servings of grains, as represented on the U.S. Department of Agriculture food guide pyramid. A daily intake of 20 to 30 grams of fiber found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, cereals, dried beans and peas is recommended.

To fight cancer, you should also limit consumption of meats, especially those high in fat. A high-fat diet has been associated with an increase in cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate and endometrium. A great deal of evidence indicates that saturated fat may increase the risk of cancer as well as heart disease. Avoiding fat not only reduces the risk of cancer but improves your ability to manage your weight. The American Cancer Institute suggests that fat should account for 30 percent or less of your daily calories.

Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables also reduces the risk of cancer of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. There is strong evidence that the risk of colon cancer is reduced when people eat fruits and vegetables, especially green and dark yellow vegetables, and those in the cabbage family, soy products and beans.

A lower risk of lung cancer also has been associated with greater consumption of vegetables and fruits. The major risk factor for lung cancer is tobacco, but fruit and vegetables reduce cancer risk whether individuals smoke cigarettes or not.

To understand better how foods fight cancer, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the sometimes frightening words people use to discuss the agents that cause cancer and the food substances that tend to destroy them or to hinder their growth. Take, for example, the word carcinogen, which means simply any substance or agent that tends to produce cancer. Another $50 word is phytochemical, a chemical compound created by plants.

Some phytochemicals prevent the formation of carcinogens and keep carcinogens from reaching important sites in the body. Other phytochemicals keep cells that have been exposed to carcinogens from becoming malignant. Phytochemicals also strengthen the body's immune system and function as antioxidants to flush out free radicals. For example, lycopene, a substance found in tomato-based foods, has been found to have potent antioxidant properties that appear to be particularly effective against prostate cancer. It is also believed that phytochemicals inhibit the growth of budding tumors and block cellular receptor sites for natural hormones, such as estrogen, that might trigger malignancy.

Although research is continuing on how these and other compounds fight cancers, medical experts say you should take personal responsibility for eating well to stay healthy. The best advice today is to base your diet on the food pyramid and to eat a variety of foods to ensure that your body gets all the nutrients it needs.

Eating smart puts you in control of your health and nutrition. It can also save your life.

FOODS FOR CANCER PREVENTION

FOOD SOURCE                         FUNCTION

Carrots, Tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes   Antioxidant

Tomatoes                            Seems effective in fighting
                                    prostate cancer

Citrus Fruits, Onions, Apples,      Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory
Grapes                              and anti-carcinogen

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Turnips,     Suppress tumor growth
Brussels Sprouts

Strawberries, Raspberries, Apples   Neutralize cancer-causing
                                    chemicals

Whole Grain, Flaxseed, Berries      Antioxidant, protect against
                                    colon cancer

Garlic, Onions                      Interferes with cancer-causing
                                    enzymes (antibiotic)

Soybeans                            Lowers risk of breast, ovarian
                                    and prostate cancer

Lemons, Limes, Oranges,             Interferes with the growth of
Grapefruits                         carcinogens

Hot Peppers                         Prevents the activation of
                                    cancer-causing chemicals

Green Tea, Black Tea                Anti-cancer activist; blood
                                    thinner

Excerpted from nklpunya.blogspot.com

Curry to Prevent Alzheimer's

Curry, the new weapon in the war on Alzheimer's

By JENNY HOPE

Daily Mail , UK newspaper, 4th June 2009

Eating a weekly curry can help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's researchers claim

It probably won't be our main priority when deciding what takeaway to order.

But curries - so often criticised by advocates of healthy eating - may protect against Alzheimer's disease.

Eating a curry two or three times a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, an expert said yesterday.

According to Professor Murali Doraiswamy, the magic ingredient is curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric.

Curcumin prevents the spread of harmful amyloid plaques found in the brain of Alzheimer's sufferers, he said.

These plaques are thought to play a key role in symptoms such as memory loss and mental impairment.

Professor Doraiswamy, who grew up in the southern Indian city of Madras , which is famous for its fiery curries, said: 'There is very solid evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has shown benefits.

'Turmeric has been studied not just in Alzheimer's research but for a variety of conditions, such as cancer and arthritis.

Turmeric is often referred to as the spice of life in ancient Indian medical lore.' A trial is under way at the University of California , Los Angeles , to test curcumin's effects in Alzheimer's patients and specifically on amyloid plaque proteins.

Scientists say the spices in curry, including curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric, can help memory

Similar research is about to start at Southampton University, although some British experts suggested that large amounts of curry would have to be eaten to counteract some of the brain changes that are characteristic of Alzheimer's.

Professor Doraiswamy, of the Department of Psychiatry, at Duke University Medical Centre, in Durham , North Carolina , said human studies will build on laboratory research.

He told delegates at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' annual meeting in Liverpool : 'You can modify a mouse so that at about 12 months its brain is riddled with plaques. If you feed the rodent a curcuminrich diet it dissolves these plaques.'

He added: 'Studies looking at populations show that people who eat a curry meal two or three times a week seem to have a lower risk for dementia.' Turmeric is also found in mustard and Professor Doraiswamy predicted a day when those unable, or unwilling, to eat curries might be advised to take a daily 'curry pill'.

Papaya Juice To Fight Cancer

Papaya was the only studied food found to halt breast cancer

Scientists studied 14 plant foods commonly consumed in Mexico to determine their ability to halt breast cancer cell growth. These included avocado, black sapote, fuava, mango, prickly pear cactus (nopal), pineapple, grapes, tomato, and papaya. They also evaluated beta-carotene, total plant phenolics, and gallic acid contents and antioxidant capacity. They found that only papaya had a significant effect on stopping breast cancer cell growth. (International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, May)

Papaya is a store-house of cancer fighting lycopene
The intense orangey-pink color of papaya means it is chock full of cancer fighting carotenoids. Not only beta carotene, but lycopene is found in abundance. The construction of lycopene makes it highly reactive toward oxygen and free radicals.

Scientists at the University of Illinois think this anti-oxidant activity contributes to its effectiveness as a cancer fighting agent. Epidemiological studies have indicated an inverse relationship between lycopene intake and prostate cancer risk. They showed that oral lycopene is highly bioavailable, accumulates in prostate tissue, and is localized in the nucleus of prostate epithelial cells.

In addition to antioxidant activity, other experiments have indicated that lycopene induces cancer cell death, anti-metastatic activity, and the up-regulation of protective enzymes. Phase I and II studies have established the safety of lycopene supplementation. (Cancer Letter, October 8, 2008)

Prostate cancer was the subject of a study in Australia that looked at 130 prostate cancer patients and 274 hospitalized controls.

The scientists found that men who consumed the most lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables such as papaya were 82% less likely to have prostate cancer. In this study, green tea also exerted a powerful anti-cancer effect. When lycopene-rich foods were consumed with green tea, the combination was even more effective, an outcome the researchers credited to their synergy. ( Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007)

Isothiocyanates found in papaya restore the cell cycle to eliminate cancer

Organo-sulfur compounds called isothiocyanates are found in papaya. In animal experiments, isothiocyanates protected against cancers of the breast, lung, colon pancreas, and prostate, as well as leukemia, and they have the potential to prevent cancer in humans. Isothiocyanates have shown themselves capable of inhibiting both the formation and development of cancer cells through multiple pathways and mechanisms. (International Journal of Oncology), October, 2008)
Researchers in Japan clarified the mechanisms of action in a type of isothiocyanate found in papaya known as BITC, that underlies the relationship between cell cycle regulation and appropriate cell death. When cancerous cells die on schedule, they are no longer a problem. The researchers established that BITC exerted cancer cell killing effects that were greater in the proliferating cells than in the quiescent cells. Cancer cells that are proliferating are much more dangerous than cancer cells that are in a state of dormancy. (Forum of Nutrition, 2009)

Enzymes from papaya digest proteins including those that protect tumors

The fruit and other parts of the papaya tree, also known as the paw paw tree, contain papain and chymopapain, powerful proteolytic enzymes that facilitate chemical reactions in the body. They promote digestion by helping to break down proteins from food into amino acids that can be recombined to produce protein useable by humans. Proteolytic enzymes protect the body from inflammation and help heal burns. They do a good job of digesting unwanted scar tissue both on the skin and under its surface.

Research has shown that the physical and mental health of people is highly dependent on their ability to produce proteins they can use effectively. However, as people age, they produce less of the enzymes needed to effectively digest proteins from food and free needed amino acids. They are left with excessive amounts of undigested protein which can lead to overgrowth of unwanted bacteria in the intestinal tract, and a lack of available amino acids.

Eating papaya after a meal promotes digestion, and helps prevent bloating, gas production, and indigestion.

It is quite helpful after antibiotic use to replenish friendly intestinal bacteria that were the casualties in the war against the unwanted bacteria. When the intestinal tract is well populated with friendly bacteria, the immune system is strengthened, and can better protect against flu and cancer.

Being a proteolytic enzyme, papain is able to destroy intestinal parasites, which are composed mostly of protein. To rid the body of intestinal parasites, half a cup of papaya juice can be alternated each hour for twelve consecutive hours with the same amount of cucumber or green bean juice.
Papaya contains fibrin, another useful compound not readily found in the plant kingdom. Fibrin reduces the risk of blood clots and improves the quality of blood cells, optimizing the ability of blood to flow through the circulatory system. Fibrin is also important in preventing stokes. Proteolytic enzymes containing fibrin are a good idea for long plane rides to minimize the potential of blood clots in the legs. People who sit at a desk all day might want to use proteolytic enzymes too.
Proteolytic enzymes are able to digest and destroy the defense shields of viruses, tumors, allergens, yeasts, and various forms of fungus. Once the shield is destroyed, tumors and invading organisms are extremely vulnerable and easily taken care of by the immune system.
Undigested proteins can penetrate the gut and wind up in the bloodstream where they are treated by the immune system as invaders. If too many undigested proteins are floating around, the immune system becomes overburdened and unable to attend to the other tasks it was meant to do. Proteolytic enzymes can digest these rogue proteins, freeing up the immune system.

Let's ensure a slice of papaya every day in our diet. Papaya juice will be great.