Cancer Prevention and a Healthy Diet

Current research has discovered that a large number of available foods that make up a healthy diet actually have a major impact on cancer prevention. These cancer fighting foods seem to have the ability to interfere with the development of cancerous tumors. The initial stage of cancer development usually occurs when the cells are exposed to a toxic substance which generates large quantities of free radicals and damages the cell DNA. Carcinogenic substances contained in our food, ultraviolet rays from the sun, cigarette smoke and air/water pollutants are all capable of damaging our cell’s DNA and initiating cancer development. At this point in time the cancer tumors are only beginning to develop and many food molecules contained in our healthy diet can prevent this development from occurring. Fortunately most tumors that start to develop in our bodies remain micro tumors due to the antioxidants and cancer fighting foods that we ingest in our normal healthy diet.

Researchers previously thought that the foods included in our healthy diet contained fats, carbohydrates and proteins at the macro-level and vitamins and minerals at the micro-level. Researchers also thought that the vitamins and minerals provided the antioxidant capability to eliminate free radicals and prevent chronic diseases. Today we know that fruits, vegetables and other plant products contain another class of compounds called phytochemicals. Phytochemicals were developed by nature to protect plants against damage caused by insects, disease and environmental stress. These phytochemical molecules are the ones that give fruits and vegetables their brilliant colors, provide the smell to garlic and the astringent taste to tea.

It is very likely that these phytochemicals, not the vitamins and minerals, are the source of the cancer prevention capabilities of these healthy foods. It starts to explain why many clinical studies of vitamin supplements have been unable to show any preventative effect against chronic diseases. There are literally tens of thousands of different phytochemicals and simply eating a healthy balanced diet provides up to 10,000 phytochemicals per day. However not all fruits, vegetables and other plant products provide the best anti-cancer phytochemicals. The ten best groups of anti-cancer foods are discussed below.

1. Berries
Most berries are great sources of polyphenol phytochemicals which provide antioxidants and cancer prevention capability. These berries include: raspberries, wild blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, and blackberries. Even when berries aren’t in season you can add frozen berries or dried cranberries to your breakfast cereal.

2. Cruciferous Vegetables
The cabbage family of vegetables is known as crucifers and contains some sulfur-based phytochemicals that seem to be effective in protecting against tumor development. The cabbage family includes cabbage, broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, turnips, Cauliflower, radishes, bok choy and watercress. While all members have phytochemical based cancer fighting capabilities, cabbage, broccoli and brussel sprouts seem to be most effective. Cooking these vegetables in water will reduce the quantity of phytochemicals that will be released when digested. Steaming or quickly stir frying would be a better approach to maximizing the available phytochemicals.

3. Allium Family
The Allium family of vegetables includes garlic, onions, chives, shallots and leeks. Population areas where large quantities of garlic are consumed seem to have significantly fewer cancers of the digestive system. The compounds contained in garlic and onions convert to sulfur based phytochemicals which fight tumor development. Garlic has the capability of neutralizing the effect of potential nitrite carcinogens which are used as preservatives in some foods.

4. Green Tea
After water, tea is the world’s most popular beverage. The tea leaf contains large quantities of phytochemical flavonols, commonly known as catchetins. Although green tea and black tea start out from the same plant leaf, their chemical composition is different because of the way they are processed. Apart from an initial brief steam roasting to stop fermentation, the production of green tea is largely a manual process. Japanese green teas contain more catchetins than Chinese green teas. On the other hand black teas are allowed to go through a fermentation process before they are roasted. This process destroys most of the cancer fighting flavonols. Some black teas like Darjeeling still contain significant quantities of catchetins. Oolong tea is only partially fermented and retains cancer fighting properties somewhere between green tea and black tea. Tea should be steeped longer than 7 or 8 minutes to extract the maximum amount of catchetins.

5. Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids
Our bodies can’t make omega-3 or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. This is not a problem with omega 6’s as we get much more than we need in the meat, eggs, vegetables and vegetable oil that we eat. However we need an equal amount of omega-3’s to balance the omega-6’s and this difficult to obtain in our western diets. We can obtain omega-3 fatty acids from salmon, mackerel, sardines, flax seed, soy and nuts. Omega-6’s allow our bodies to develop inflammatory conditions that can lead to cancer and cardiovascular disease, while omega-3’s help control inflammation and fight chronic diseases. Therefore we need to increase our intake of cold water fish and flaxseed, soy and nuts and decrease our intake of vegetable oils. One way of doing this is to replace vegetable oils with extra virgin olive oil for all our salad dressings.

6. Olive Oil
Virgin olive oil is simply the unrefined oily juice of the fruit. It contains the most phytochemicals and cancer fighting properties. The least acidic of the virgin olive oils are called extra virgin oils. If the oil is too acidic or has an inferior taste, it will need refining. This refining destroys the phytochemicals. Extra light and light olive oil has undergone the most refining. Virgin olive oil is a monounsaturated fat that contains omega-9 fatty acids and phenolic based micronutrients that lower the risk of heart disease, strokes and some cancers. The most flavorful and aromatic virgin olive oils usually contain the most phytochemicals. Heat and light will destroy the phytochemicals so add in the majority of the oil after cooking is completed.

7. Tomatoes
Our bodies are incapable of synthesizing carotenoids, so we must obtain what is necessary from our diet. Tomatoes contain a number vitamins and phytochemicals that are important to our health. Lycopene seems to be most important nutrient in the battle against cancer. We can maximize our lycopene intake by eating products made from cooked tomatoes, especially in combination with olive oil, which allows for easier assimilation into the body. Products such as tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, and tomato soup contain significantly more lycopene than a raw tomato. Countries with heavy tomato and tomato sauce consumption have a much lower incidence of prostate cancer.

8. Soy Products
Soybeans and their products have long been staples of diets in Japan, China and Indonesia but not in our western diet. Soy contains large quantities of isoflavones which are good anti-cancer phytochemicals. Soy products include: soybeans, dry roasted soybeans, Miso, tofu, soy milk and soy sauce. Since soy sauce has been fermented lesser amounts of the isoflavones remain.

9. Red Wine
Red wine contains a number of phytochemical compounds of which the most important seems to be resveratrol. This remarkable phytochemical seems to be able to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease as well as inhibit all three stages of cancer development. Moderate consumption on a daily basis has been linked to lower mortality rates.

10. Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate, containing at least 70% cocoa, supplies our bodies with polyphenol phytochemicals which seem to have a significant impact on inhibiting cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Milk chocolate contains much less cocoa.
 

Articles

1. The Psychiatrist’s Weight Loss Program
(or The Shrink’s Guide to Shrinking)
Do you have high blood pressure? high cholesterol? Do you suffer from sleep apnea? type 2 diabetes? Has your doctor told you to lose weight to help your arthritis and joint pain? Have you tried to diet and exercise to lose weight, and failed? Then this free Weight Loss Program will probably work for you.

2. Healthy Eating
Healthy eating is difficult to achieve because we have so many health factors to consider and food choices to make. We know antioxidants are good for us so we want to eat lots of colorful fruits and vegetables because they contain phytochemicals like carotenoids and flavonoids which neutralize the free radicals that cause the age-related degenerative diseases.

3. The Next Vitamins
For years we assumed it was the vitamins in fruits and vegetables that provided us with a defence against aging and age-related diseases. Recently scientists have theorized that the health benefits due to eating fruits and vegetables may be from other nutrients such as phytochemicals or the combination of phytochemicals and vitamins

4. Regulation of Trans Fats
Should we regulate the amount of trans fats contained in the food we eat?

5. How to Choose a Good Vitamin Supplement
Choosing a good vitamin supplement can be a frustrating ordeal. There are 1000's of supplements to choose from - some are good, but many are total rip-offs.

6. The Acai Palm Berry
The Acai (pronounced ah-SAH-ee) berry is the latest super antioxidant food sweeping the world. This small round fruit is produced by the Acai Palm which is native to Central and South America floodplains and swamps. The fruit is rich in anthocyanin / anthocyanidin phytonutrients which are members of the flavonoid class of antioxidants.

7. How to Buy healthy Vitamin Supplements
Everyone has read the reports and seen the news. Our soil is depleted and lacks the necessary nutrients and minerals that our bodies need. The environment is toxic and wreaks havoc on our health. Free radicals attack our immune system. The only solution seems to be supplementation with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to compensate for environmental deficiencies.

8. Inflammation and Heart Disease
High cholesterol may not be the only major contributing factor to atherosclerosis. Recent studies have found that inflammation may also be a major contributing factor to coronary artery disease.

9. Garlic and a Healthy Cancer Prevention Diet
Garlic belongs to the Allium family of vegetables which also includes onions, chives, shallots and leeks. Current research has shown that a number of readily available foods such as garlic and onions that make up a healthy diet, actually have a major impact on cancer prevention.

10. Berries, Citrus Fruits and a Healthy Cancer Prevention Diet
Current research has shown that a number of readily available foods such as berries and citrus fruits that make up a healthy diet, actually have a major impact on cancer prevention. These cancer fighting foods seem to have the ability to interfere with the development of cancerous tumors.

More Articles...