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Foods, Nutrients and other measures that help prevent or cure cancer
 

It is not not easy to assess the cancer preventing effect of nutrient.

Nutrients work in combination with each other in the human body. Nutrients that have a cancer prevention effect when they are supplied in combination or as an ingredient in the food, may show to have no effect, or even the opposite effect when supplied alone.

Furthermore, substances that prevent one type of cancer seem to increase the  other types of cancer.

Therefore results form scientific projects must not be easily extrapolated to situations outside those investigated by the projects.

However here are a survay of some important study results.

General diet advices

A diet with the aim of preventing cancer is generally the same as a diet to prevent heart disease and other diseases. These are the general diet advices:

- Avoid or reduce the amount of food that are industrially processed, artificially made or heavily fried.

- Eat fish at least every second day. Also eat seafood and fouls.

- Eat 5 fruits or vegetables each day. Each piece should be of the size of an apple or carrot. They should be raw or carefully boiled so that the nutrients are not washed out.

- Eat full corn bread, full corn cereals, peas, beans and potatoes.

- Eat just a moderate amount of fat.

- Ideally most fat you eat, should be of the type mono-unsaturated. You also need some poly-unsaturated fat of the types omega-3, and omega 6, but not too much of omega-6. The consumption of saturated fat should be moderate.

- In order to achieve right fat balance, much of the fat supply should come from a blending of sources like olive, olive oil, canola oil, nuts, nut oil, sunflower, sunflower oil, fish and fish oil.

- Use only a moderate amount of soy oil and corn oil in the diet. Only using such oil types will give you too muchmuch poly-unsaturated fat of the omega-6-type.

- Use just a very moderate amount of fat sources like butter, coconut oil and palm oil. A high consumption of these fat sources gives you too much saturated fat.

- Avoid altogether fat that has been chemically altered, giving so-called trans-fat. This type of fat is often found in margarine, cookies, snacks, fast food and other pre-made food.

- Consume just a very moderate amount of sugar, refined flour or refined cereals.

- Consume just a moderate consumption of tranquilizers and stimulants like alcohol and caffeine.

- Use just a moderate amount of salt in the food. However, in warm weather and by hard physical work, you will need more salt.



Specific cancer preventing foods

Generally plants, fruits and spices with a strong colour or a strong taste have cancer preventing effects because of the contents of bioflavonids and other anti-oxidants.

Broccoli, cabbage, mustard, kale, and cauliflower are vegetables with proven strong cancer preventing effects, probably due to the content of indole-3-carbinole.

Onion and garlic are also thought to help prevent cancer.

Whole grain and bread made of whole grain will help prevent colon cancer because of the fibre content and possibly also because of the vitamins and minerals contained.

Red peppers give a protecting effect against prostate cancer.

Eating fish, and especially fat fish, some times each week also have a protecting effect against prostate cancer.

Evidence points to the conclusion that green tea can help prevent cancer. However studies so far undertaken do not sort out all other variables that may give the same result.

Some studies have indicated that drinking coffee reduces the incidence of cancer, but others studies have thrown doubt upon these results.
 

Vitamins

Supplements of folic acid in combination with B-vitamins seem to protect against colon cancer.

Alfa-tocoferole, a kind of vitamin E: Alfa-tocoferole may  decrease the chance of getting bladder cancer and prostate cancer and colon cancer. Alfta-tocoferol from food sources seem to have the best effect.

Vitamin C, ascorbic acid: Vitamine C may prevent gastric cancer and may even get pre-cancerous changes in gastric tissue to go back.

Minerals

Selenium seem to inhibit the occurance of breast cancer and colon cancer. Calcium may help prevent colonic cancer.

Flavonids and other anti-oxydants

The following natural substances is being investiagted for cancer preventing effects, and some rsults ae allready available: indole-3-carbinol, sulforaphanes, phytoestrogen isoflavones, perillyl alcohol, and green tea polyphenols and genistein

-The Phytoestrogens called  isoflavones reduce the chance of getting lung cancer according to stydies performed. These are found in soy.

-Scientific investigation has found that the component class sulforaphanes found in broccoli slows the growth of cancer cells.

-Indol-3-carbinol found in mani crusiferous vegetables has a preventing effect on many cancers, including lung, stomach, colon and rectal cancers.

-Genistein, a substance ectracted from soy beans also have a established cancer preventing effect, inluding lung, stomach, colon and rectal cancers. Genistein in combination with indol-3-carbinol seem to have an sepecially high effect.
 

Essential fatty oils

Essential fatty acids of the type omega-3 seem to protect against cancers in the intestinal tract and breast cancer, according to some studies. This effect may be a consequence of an anti-inflamatory effect of these essential oils, since inflammation in the intestines promotes cancer. This type of fatty acids are found in fish and sea-food. A newer review of these studies has however not found any cancer preventing effect.

Botanical fibres

Fibers in the diet has proven to reduce the incidense of colon cancer.

The preventing substances listed for each cancer type

Here are some cancer types listed, and the cancer preventing natural substances are listed for each cancer type:

General cances: These substances have a general cancer preventing effects: Sulforaphanes found in broccoli.

Colo-rectal cancer: These vitamins protects against colo-rectal cancer: Alfa-tocoferol (a kind of Vitamin E), Vitamin B-6  (pyridoxine), Folic acid / folate in combination with other B-vitamins, Selenium, Indol-3-carbinol from crusiferous vegetables, Genistein from soy, and vitamin D.

Gastric cancer: Substances that help prevent gastric cancer, and even help cure changes that can evolve into gastric cancer are: Vitamin C, Beta-carotene, (a precursor of alfa-tocoferole ), Indol-3-carbinol from crusiferous vegetables, Genistein from soy.

Breast cancer: The incidence of breast cancer can be lowered by: Folic acid / folate, Vitamin B-6  (pyridoxine), Selenium, and vitamin D.

Prostate cancer: Prostate cancer is prevented by: Alfa-tocoferole (a kind of Vitamine E).

Bladder cancer: Bladder cancer is prevented by: Alfa-tocoferole (a kind of Vitamine E).

Lung Cancer: Lung Cancer seem to be prevented with: Isoflavones from soy. Indol-3-carbinol from crusiferous vegetables, and Genistein from soy.

Results from research projects suggest that supplements of these substances work best if they are supplied together and not alone. This happens if you have a diet that is naturally rich in vitamins and minerals.  If you add supplements to the diet to prevent cancer, you should ideally choose products with many working substances where each substance is in a properly balanced amount so that they can work together dynamically.

Althernative regimes to cure cancer

There exist a lot of althernative routines to cure cancer, performed by different institutions worldwide,  that most standard physicians dany having any effect.

On the other hand, when looking at the evidence that standard physicians have for their denial, one very easily see that in fact they have not done any serious study to prove or disprove the claims of althernative therapists. Furthermore, evidence and documentations offered by althernative therpists are routinesly dismissed as unscientific, without being looked into.

This situation have existed for decades.

However, these institutions do not have the same economical resources as the standard medical establishement. Therefore they are usually not able to perform so detailled research as the official institutions. Evidence offered may therefore be valid, but still less specific than they ideally should be. An althernative institution might for example offer valid proof that their regime cure some per cent of patients using the cure for cancer, but may still not give exact indictations about what type of cancer the cure will be effective for, or in what stages the regime is effective.

If one is offered some kind of althernative regime, the best method of assessing the value of the offered therapy, is to talk with other patients having had the same condition one wants a cure against, and from such investigation take a a disicion.

Some of these althernatives are radical dietary regimes, including such things as a period of fasting, a period of only consuming different kind of natural juices, frequent cleansing enamas, or a period of eating only raw food. Usually the regimes are based strictly on vegataile food ingredients.

Such a regime might well help cure cancer, and in some cases even give a definite cure. However, attending such a radical dietary regime for a longer time will weaken the body of the patient, and this weakening can make the cancer come back or cause susceptibility for other diseases. The same can be said about a vegetarian regime. It might be good for a limited time period, but a permanent vegetarian diet is probably not optimal.

Some undesired effects of nutrients

Beta-caroten supplements seem to increase the chance of getting lung cancer by heavy smokers. It is not clear what effect beta-caroten have on lung cancer in combination with other supplements or by non-smokers.

Vitamin E supplements seem to protect against Cancer, but heavy vitamin E amounts may in fact increase the chance of getting heart problems and stroke.

Increasing the intake of these vitamins by eating food containing great amounts of these vitamins as natural ingredients, however. do not seem to have negative effects.

Enjoying sun-rays with reason

New research indicate that moderate exposure to the sun rays in fact help prevent cancer. One reason for this, is the increased production of vitamine D caused by the sun rays.

However, excessive exposure to sun-rays cause skin cancer, included the most malignant form, malignant melanoma.

References

You can read more about food, diet supplements and cancer prevention at these sites:

The Cancer Project: http://www.cancerproject.org

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/