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Did You Know That Most Cancers Can Be Linked To Nutrition Deficiency?
Click Here For The Latest In Proven Cancer Nutrition And Supplements!
Cancer Prevention Diet
by Jill E. Stansbury, N.D.
The potential of protective phytochemicals
Many people's lives have been touched in some way by cancer.
Maybe they've lost a relative, a friend or an acquaintance;
maybe they had a scare as a result of an annual physical.
Regardless of what drives your customers to ask about cancer
prevention, it is a perfect opportunity to discuss diet
and supplements.
Cancer is a prominent killer of Americans—second only to
heart disease—and responsible for more than a half million
deaths yearly. The good news is that scientific validation
for the protective power of food is accumulating. And empowering
people to preserve their health through daily choices puts
responsibility in patients' hands.
So where do you start? A dizzying amount of information
exists on cancer-preventive food and supplements. The easiest
step people can take is to modify their diets. By eating
a rainbow of food colors or by emphasizing certain food
groups, people will incorporate a variety of protective
phytochemicals into their diets.
We are exposed to oxidizing- and cancer-producing substances
daily, but compounds found in vegetables help limit the
free radical initiation and DNA damage caused by these carcinogens
and therefore appear to lower the incidence of various types
of cancer.1,2
A Rainbow of Protection
Pigmented
plant compounds appear to be important anti-inflammatories
and antioxidants, and people who eat more of them have a
decreased risk of cancer. Plant pigments are mostly polyphenolic,
meaning they are multiphenol-containing molecules, and include
chlorophyll, carotenoids and bioflavonoids.
Green plants contain particularly large amounts of chlorophyll,
which is a detoxifier and possibly an anticancer agent.3
Foods rich in chlorophyll include chlorella and other blue-green
algae, beet greens, bok choy, collards, dandelion greens,
kale, mustard greens and nettles. These greens—among the
most nutritious of all plants or plant parts—also contain
other diverse nutrients and healthy constituents.4 The blue-green
algae family has a high chlorophyll content and has been
credited with immune-enhancing effects including stimulation
of phagocytosis and enhanced response to tumors and microbes.
Chlorella powder, specifically, may reduce side effects
of chemotherapy for some patients and may possess direct
anticancer activities.5
Orange, yellow and red-orange foods are rich in carotenoids
such as beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene. These constituents
are antioxidants and anticancer agents due to several different
mechanisms.6,7
More than 600 carotenoids occur naturally, but carotenes
are the most widely known. Carotenes seem to offer protection
against lung, colorectal, breast, uterine and prostate cancers.8
Carotenes, which destroy oxygen free radicals in lipids,
enhance immune response and protect cells against UV radiation.9
Foods rich in these flavonoids include apricots, carrots,
citrus fruits, squash and tomatoes in addition to many green
foods.
The anthocyanidins are a type of complex flavonoid that
produce blue, purple or red colors. Foods rich in these
phytochemicals include beets, blackberries, blueberries,
cherries, purple and red grapes, and purple cabbage. Anthocyanidins
support connective tissue regeneration and are anti-inflammatory;
they promote blood flow and reduce cholesterol, in addition
to being antioxidants.10 Anthocyanidins seem to stabilize
and protect capillaries from oxidative damage11 and have
been shown to stabilize connective tissue, promote collagen
formation, improve microcirculation and help protect blood
vessels from oxidative damage.12,13 Thus, by eating these
antioxidant pigments, some believe cancer risk can be reduced
because the antioxidants protect against damage and help
repair connective and vascular tissues.
Procyanidins are the precursors to anthocyanidins, and are
comprised of smaller units including catechins and epicatechins.
Catechins are simple flavonoids that are abundant in green
tea. Several Japanese studies show that tea consumption
is protective against breast and other types of cancer.14,15
Phytochemical Defense
Detoxifying, stimulating and spicy sulfur compounds are
present in a variety of colorful foods including broccoli,
garlic and pineapple. Sulfur-containing compounds in plants
are believed active, or at least protective, against cancer
because many pathogens are deterred by sulfur.
The crucifer family—which includes broccoli, brussel sprouts,
cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes and turnips—has
many sulfur-containing compounds as well as indoles, a subclass
of phytonutrients that binds chemical carcinogens and activates
detoxification enzymes, mostly in the gastrointestinal tract.16
Indoles and related compounds may promote metabolism of
carcinogens17 as well as improve estrogen balance, which
could reduce the risk of estrogen-related cancers such as
breast cancer.18
The lily family includes garlic (Allium sativum) and onions
(A. cepa), both of which also contain sulfur compounds.
Studies have shown the sulfur compounds diallyl disulphide
and diallyl trisulfide—two of the active agents in garlic
oil—and S-allyl cysteine—found in crushed garlic—to inhibit
tumor metabolism and enhance immune response.19-21 Allyl
sulfides also enhance glutathione S-transferase enzyme systems,
which are biochemical pathways involved in the liver's detoxification
of carcinogenic substances. Allium species also have immune-enhancing
actions that include promotion of lymphocyte synthesis,
cytokine release, phagocytosis and natural killer-cell activity.22
Several animal studies have shown that garlic and onions
prevent cancer and inhibit the progression of existing cancers,
especially stomach and gastrointestinal cancers.23 Garlic
appears particularly effective in reducing the risk of N-nitroso-induced
cancers.24 N-nitroso compounds, also known as nitrosamines,
are potent carcinogens formed within the intestines as a
result of bacterial degradation of nitrates and nitrites,
two common food chemicals used in the processing of ham,
sausages and other meat products.
All forms of garlic have been shown to have some medicinal
activity. Which one is best or most effective remains to
be proven. Different forms may be better suited for some
people.
Pineapples
contain bromelain, a sulfur-rich proteolytic enzyme that
has been investigated for antitumor effects. U.S. and French
research shows oral bromelain can reduce cancer in animals.
Some documented cases show cancerous tumors regressing as
a result of bromelain therapy. Bromelain may also have antimetastatic
effects. It has been examined in vitro to both oppose leukemia
by promoting the normalization of blood cells and to reduce
metastasis in lung-cancer cells.25,26
Other protective
phytochemicals include the caffeic, ferulic and ellagic
acids, which have been shown to degrade carcinogenic substances.27
Among other things, caffeic acid helps degrade carcinogens,
and ferulic acid helps prevent nitrates in the digestive
tract from being converted into the carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Caffeic and ferulic acids are found in green tea. Ellagic
acid, which is particularly plentiful in pomegranates, also
prevents carcinogen oxidation of cellular membranes. Ellagic
acid is also found in blueberries, grapes, raspberries and
strawberries.28
Limonene is a bioflavonoid substance found in citrus rinds
that stimulates both the glutathione transferase and the
cytochrome p-450 detoxification systems.29 These enzymatic
liver reactions break down carcinogenic substances in the
body and help prevent them from damaging cellular DNA. Another
bioflavonoid, quercitin, is ubiquitous in higher plants
and has been widely studied for its antioxidant and concommitant
anticancer actions.30
Unexpected
Allies
Whole-grain
foods, rather than those derived from processed grains,
are also worth emphasizing. Whole grains contain essential
fatty acids (EFAs), which serve as precursors to prostaglandins
and are important components of cell membranes.
Lignans, prominent in the woody parts of plants, are found
primarily in rye and flax. They are believed to be converted
by intestinal bacteria into enterolactone and enterodiol,
which are absorbed across the intestinal walls where they
travel to tissues and blood, binding with hormonal receptors.
Like soy isoflavones, these weak estrogens may reduce excessive
hormonal stimulation in tissues and reduce estrogen-related
cancers.31 Fiber is also thought to reduce cancer risk by
binding carcinogens in the intestines and making a favorable
environment for beneficial bacterial flora. Fiber is acted
upon by intestinal enzymes and microbes, yielding short
chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are noted to have anticancer
effects.32
Legumes—especially soybeans—are another source of anticancer
fiber, phytoestrogens, lignans and saponins.33 Whether soy
is a unique superfood or is simply the best-studied legume
remains to be seen. Soy also contains the isoflavones genistein
and daidzein, which have been found to protect against estrogen-related
cancers in numerous animal and epidemiological studies.34
Soy contains protease inhibitors that may inhibit the proliferation
of cancer cells.26 Genistein in soy and in red clover diminishes
the growth of new blood vessels in cancerous tissues.35
Antitumor and anticancer properties also have been studied
in mushrooms. Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) and reishi (Ganoderma
ludidum) have been found to have general anticancer and
immune-stimulating activity.36 Lentinan in shiitake mushrooms
has been shown to be a potent immune potentiator.37 Maitake
(Grifolia frondosa) also contains immune-stimulating polysaccharides.
In a study by Hiroaki Namba, Ph.D., of Japan, mice were
fed either a control diet, a diet that included 20 percent
maitake powder or a control diet plus injections of maitake
D-fraction extract at a rate of 1 mg/kg of body weight.
Results showed that maitake inhibited metastasis by 81.3
percent in the maitake-fed group and by 91.3 percent in
the D-fraction injection group.38
Kelp and seaweed are also anticancer agents, rich in the
mucilagenous alginates, which, like most fibers, gums and
mucilages, swell in the intestines and absorb liquid as
well as toxins and heavy metals.39 Alginates also may stimulate
T cell production and function since numerous other mucopolysaccharides
have been shown to do this. Japanese studies show regular
consumption of kelp reduces breast cancer risk.40 Kelp extracts
have been highly successful in inhibiting laboratory cancer
strains.41
Another place your customers may not expect to find cancer
protection is on their spice rack. Cayenne pepper, ginger,42
rosemary,43 sage, thyme, turmeric44 and many others have
anti-inflammatory, anticancer, immune-stimulating and antioxidant
properties. Research suggests that curcumin, the bright
yellow flavonoid present in turmeric (Curcuma longa) roots,
selectively inhibits thromboxane production while sparing
prostacyclin.45,46 Thromboxane is a potent inflammatory
compound produced by the body in response to injury or irritation.
It causes blood vessels to constrict and the blood to clot,
while prostacyclin is an inflammatory mediator that can
respond to tissue injury without leading to further inflammation.
Inhibiting thromboxane prevents excessive inflammatory response
and reduces damage to vascular endothelia. Curcumin has
also been shown to inhibit tobacco smoke mutagenicity,47
suggesting it may help protect the vascular endothelia from
damage caused by smoking.
Anticancer agents can be found in the supplements section
as well as at the local produce stand. By emphasizing fresh
fruits and vegetables of all colors, customers can reduce
their risk of cancer and many other diseases.
Sidebars:
Prescription for Cancer Prevention
Food Choice in a Nutshell
Anticancer Constituents
Jill E. Stansbury, N.D., maintains a private practice in
Battleground, Wash., where she specializes in botanical
and natural therapies. She heads the botanical medicine
department at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine
in Portland, Ore.
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