Fighting Cancer With Foods:
The foods we eat and their effect on cancer is in many ways is as mysterious as the disease itself. The latest research is showing us that there are many foods that help prevent certain types of cancer. Conversely there are also many foods that when eaten increase our chances of getting cancer.
We also know that genetics and environments play a role in cancer cases. The latest studies estimate that less than 30% of a person’s lifetime risk of getting cancer results from uncontrollable factors. Its my personal belief and that of many other Naturopaths that 70% of the factors that bring about cancer are under our control with diet, environment and attitude being the three areas that we can address and work on in conjunction with the allopathic and integrative cancer treatments.
I want to make it perfectly clear that I do not want you to choose diet as a treatment for cancer but to see it as more of a cause-and-effect relationship.
“It’s not 100% certain that consuming more or less of certain foods or nutrients will guarantee cancer protection,But science has found that certain dietary habits tend to have a greater influence,” according to Dr. Edward Giovannucci of Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Seven of My Favorite Cancer Fighting Foods
1 .Raw Cabbage or Sauerkraut: 1/2 cup three times weekly. The anticarcinogenic compounds in cabbage are called glucosinolates. Studies in Poland have shown that people who ate a lot of cabbage in their youth were 40% less likely to get breast or prostate cancer.
2. Raw Flaxseeds: 3 tablespoons daily, One tablespoon breakfast lunch and dinner. It is the lignans in flax that act like a weak estrogen, which can result in a 58% less risk of breast cancer.
3. Raw Reishi Mushrooms: 1/2 cup daily. Reishi mushrooms have a rich content of organic polysaccharides and triterpenes (known as ganoderic acid), which have been proven to enhance the body’s immune functions. In 1986, Dr. Fukumi Morishige, M.D., Ph.D, a renowned Japanese surgeon and a member of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine,found that the active anti-cancer constituent in the reishi mushroom is a polysaccharide called beta-D-glucan, which is thought to stimulate or modulate the immune system by activating immune cells, as well as enhance the immunoglobulin levels to produce a heightened response to foreign cells. Two other studies which were completed in 2008 found reishi mushrooms, combined with green tea, creates a synergetic effect that inhibits the growth of tumors and delayed the time of death in mice with sarcomas.
4. Raw Olives & Olive Oil: 8-10 large olives daily, or 5 teaspoons of raw olive oil. Researchers in Europe have shown that DNA damage is associated with cancer risks. They measured the effects on DNA damage in 183 participants and found that in less than three weeks that those eating five teaspoons of uncooked olive oil had an average DNA damage decrease of 13 percent. This remarkable study shows the impact that the oil of olives have on cancer prevention can be comparable to the positive effect of completely quitting smoking.
5. Raw Pungent Onions: 1/2 cup five times times weekly. Researchers at Cornell University have found, in preliminary lab studies, that members of the onion family with the strongest flavor — particularly New York Bold, Western Yellow and shallots — are the best varieties for inhibiting the growth of liver and colon cancer. Onions were significantly better at inhibiting the growth of colon cancer cells than liver cancer cells, an indication that they are potentially better at fighting colon cancer. The potent antioxidant quercetin which is found in pungent onions, is linked to protection against cataracts, heart disease and now cancer.
6. Raw Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds: 1/4 cup daily. Raw sprouted pumpkin seeds play a great part in the prevention of cancer. Phytosterols contained in pumpkin seeds fight a number of different cancers such as breast, colorectal, gastric, lung and prostate. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with the powerful antioxidant Selenium. Selenium fights free radicals and kills cancer cells. Pumpkin seeds also contain Omega 3, another known cancer fighting ingredient.
7. Raspberries: 1 cup three to five times weekly. Researcher Christine Sardo of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, says berries, particularly black raspberries, are loaded with ellagic acid–a phytochemical shown to inhibit the growth of cancer in laboratory studies. Researchers at Ohio State gave rats a cancer-causing compound and then fed some of the rodents a diet rich in black raspberries. After 30 weeks, the raspberry-eating rats showed a significant reduction in cancers of the mouth and esophagus and an 80 percent decrease in the number of tumors in the colon. Early results of a study involving people at high risk for esophageal cancer also show positive results. It’s not just the ellagic acid in berries that seems to fight cancer, says Sardo. “The numerous phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals and fiber may act together for disease prevention.”
According to Karen Collins, nutrition consultant to the American Institute for Cancer Research, ellagic acid provides “several different anti-cancer methods at once: It acts as an antioxidant, it helps the body deactivate specific carcinogens, and it helps slow the reproduction of cancer cells.”
Dr. Robert Morgan – Bobby
Robert Morgan, Naturopath 