Health
diet
and
cancer
learn about what
foods possess
anticancer properties
Cancer usually develops over a long period.
Latest research shows that what one
eats may interfere with cancer process
at many stages, from conception to growth
and spread of the cancer. Foods can block the
chemical activation which normally initiates
cancer. Antioxidants, including vitamins can
eradicate carcinogens and can even repair some
of the cellular damage caused by them. Cancers
which are in the process of growth can also be
prevented from further spreading by foods. Even
in advanced cases, the right foods can prolong
the patient’s life.
Researches conducted in ascertaining links
between diet and cancer since 1970 have now
conclusively proved that fruits and vegetables can
serve as antidote to cancer. According to Dr. Peter
Greenwald, Director of the Division of Cancer
Prevention and Control at the American National
Cancer Institute: “The more fruits and vegetables
people eat, the less likely they are to get cancer,
from colon to stomach cancer to breast and even
lung cancer. For many cancers, persons with high
fruit and vegetable intake have about half-the risk
of people with low intake. Some studies indicate
that eating fruit twice a day instead of less than
three times a week cut the risk of lung cancer 75
per cent, even in smokers.”
The normal servings of fruits and vegetables are
two fruits and three vegetables a day. Adding
more fruits and vegetables to these servings can
reduce the risk of cancer.
The plant foods which are considered to possess
anticancer properties by the American National
Cancer Institute include vegetables like garlic,
cabbage, tomato, soya beans, ginger, carrot,
celery, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels
sprouts’ and cucumber; citrus fruits like orange,
grapefruit, lemon and lime; other foods like
turmeric, whole wheat, brown rice, barely and
berries; and herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme,
chives and basil.
According to several studies, Vitamin A exerts
an inhibiting effect on carcinogenesis. It is one
of the most important aids to the body’s defense
system to fight and prevent cancer. A recent
British study found that cancer rates dropped
by 40 per cent in men with the most blood beta
carotene (a precursor of Vitamin A), compared
with those with the least. Other research has
found that those with higher levels of folic acid
( found in green vegetable) and lycopene (a
tomato compound) are much less vulnerable to
all cancers, particularly of the lung, cervix and
pancreas.
Article by Krishan Bakhru
6 WomanToWomanMagazine.com
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