Great Foods That Fight Cancer

Since science is constantly discovering new things, it is good to know that this article was written in April 2011.

First see this article about Cancer and the Power of Vitamin D. It is more important that you make sure to get enough vitamin D than what you eat. Moores Cancer Center proposes that cancer may be a vitamin D deficiency. Doctor of Public Health, Cedric Garland says that enough (lifeguard levels) vitamin D can virtually eradicate breast cancer. Harvard says that vitamin D can reduce all non-skin cancers by 77%.

Note that when they list the types of cancer, they say that breast cancer is the biggest among women and prostate cancer is the biggest among men and colon cancer is the biggest among all Americans. Lung cancer kills the most people. Actually skin cancer is the biggest cancer but they do not count it since most skin cancer is mostly cosmetic and not deadly. For foods to focus on fighting certain kinds of cancer see my article: Fight Different Kinds of Cancer.

Green or White Tea

Please note that tea can be made with cold or warm (not hot) water and will contain more of certain phytochemcals. But the article did not conclude that it was better than hot tea or that hot tea was better.Possibly the best food for fighting, treatment and prevention of cancer is green or white tea. They are less fermented than black tea. White tea is made from the tea buds and they may be higher in anti-oxidants than green tea that are made from tea leaves. You can buy tea bags that contain both.

Many studies show that the more tea that people drink, the less chance they have of getting cancer. Please note that foods that prevent cancer are also good to treat cancer. It is much easier to prevent a disease than to cure a disease. Studies show that green tea and white tea help people to lose excess weight, prevents cardiovascular problems and prevents dementia and Alzheimer disease. It is much easier to prevent cancer than to cure cancer.

Tea contains catechins like EGCG (also fights obesity) that is one of the most powerful nutritional molecules against the formation of new blood vessels by cancerous cells. After 2 or 3 cups of green tea, EGCG is plentiful in the blood.

Green tea blocks tissue invasion and stops the cancer from creating new blood vessels. This is called angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the creation of new blood vessels. The book Anticancer , by an medical doctor (M.D.) (2009), says "New blood vessels grow when there is a need to repair wounds and after menstruation. This mechanism of 'normal' angiogenesis is self-limiting and firmly controlled.... In order to grow, cancer cells hijack the body's capacity to create new vessels for their own use."

The book Anticancer has a whole page about green tea (page 102):

Green tea also acts as a detoxifier for the body. It activates mechanisms in the liver that can then eliminate cancerous toxins from the body more rapidly.

Decades ago the theory about acid and alkaline foods was created by a chemist. It said that alkaline foods are good for health and acid foods are bad for health and lead to diseases like cancer. Each food has different degrees of acid and alkaline.

Note that acid fruits are alkaline since it refers to the ash that is left after digestion (or burnning in the laboratory). Green tea is the most alkaline food that there is. See my article about the Real Cause of Osteoporosis or Weak Bones and how acid foods cause people to urintate out a lot of calcium.

Turmeric: The Most Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Food

Another food that fights cancer is turmeric that is a spice that is used in curry. It is an anti-inflammatory food. Anti-inflammatory foods fight cancer, arthritis and help cardiovascular health to prevent heart attacks and strokes. They reduce all diseases associated with aging! In the book, Anticancer , the author says that it is 100 time more bio-available to the body if eaten with black pepper. It is also the main herb or spice in curry.

The phytochemical in the turmeric that is credited with most of its health benefits is curcumin. Phytochemicals are defined as "any of various bio-active chemical compounds found in plants, as antioxidan­ts, considered to be beneficial to human health." Other ones are resveratrol in grapes and lycopene in tomatoes, red grapefruit and watermelon. Both of these phytochemicals also fight cancer.

This is a December 2011 addition. Here is a link to a webinar that you can watch about how curcumin (in turmeric ) prevents and fights cancer. It is from the National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Prevention, Nutritional Science Research Group. Is Curcumin the Spice of Life? A Look at Cancer Prevention Evidence

Cruciferous or Cabbage Family Vegetables

In general fruits and vegetables are good to eat for cancer prevention and cancer treatment. The cabbage family vegetables (also called cruciferous vegetables) are especially good at fighting cancer. They include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, kale, cauliflower, collard greens, turnips, arugula, watercress, radish, horseradish and wasabi. The best cure for cancer is to not get it or prevent it. There are articles saying that kale is the new beef. Whole Foods markets uses an ANDI scale with foods and kale is ranked 1,000 (the highest on that scale). ANDI-- agregate nutrient density index. It measures certain phytochemicals in foods besides vitamins and minerals.

Tomatoes, watermelon and red grapefruit contain the phytochemical lycopene that is a good cancer fighter. Early research suggests that it reduces cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis. My hub page about fruit being the healthiest and best tasting food mentions how it is also in goji berries and gac fruit has 70 times the lycopene that is in tomatoes.

The Power of Grapes

The phytochemical resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes, blueberries, and pomegranates. Smaller amounts are also found in peanuts and chocolate (cacao). Resveratrol is anti-inflammatory. It is a powerful antioxidant that protects the body's cells and is good for nervous and cardiovascular systems. It may be of particular benefit to those who are recovering from illness or have a compromised immune system.

Resveratrol boosts the metabolism, aiding in weight loss, and it improves autoimmune response. Its greatest promise may be as a cancer preventative . A National Institutes of Health survey shows convincing evidence of resveratrol’s effects against cancer. It also improves cardiovascular performance in healthy people. New research is showing that resveratrol is the best anti-aging nutrient that exists!

They credit grapes for the French Paradox where the French can eat lots of food bad for the heart and yet have great cardiovascular health. But scientists disagree if this from the resveratrol or the proanthocyanidins.

Phytochemicals are chemicals in plant foods that have different effects on the body. There are thousands of them and over 900 have been identified. The phytochemical proanthocyanidin or oligomeric proanthocyanidin (OPC) helps blood vessels to be stronger and more flexible. It is also being studied for protection against cancer. Dragon's Blood or Sangre de Drago is 90% OPCs.

Grapes are one of the dirty dozen that are foods that are not supposed to be eaten if not organic. Organic is better but if you can't get the organic grapes (red or black), then just eat the conventional ones. They have a powerful cleansing effect on the body. Try eating a pound of grapes on an empty stomach and then waiting 15 minutes to eat dinner or other foods. You can feel the benefits even if they are conventional grapes.

This will help you to live longer, lose weight, feel better, help your cardiovascular health and help your immune system to prevent cancer. There is even a book from many decades ago called The Grape Cure . It tells about a woman who was battling cancer for years and learned about the grape cure for cancer. It healed her cancer. Then she worked with an MD and tried it on the 10 worse cases of cancer they could find and it cured all of them which even surprised them.

It consists of not eating any foods for 2 days (fasting for 2 days) and then eating only grapes and nothing else for a while like weeks. She then later on learned this grape cure had been used in Europe for hundreds of years. Also the parts of Europe where they grew a lof of grapes also had very low levels of cancer. Note that the information about the grape cure is historical and to emphasize that eating grapes can help you live longer and to prevent cancer and cardiovascular problems.

For the prevention and treatment of cancer and virtual cure for breast cancer, the most powerful thing today may be getting enough vitamin D. The best source is sunlight or supplements but foods are not good sources of it. There is also an herbal Cure for Cancer.

Certain Mushrooms Improve the Immune System and Fight Cancer

Shiitake mushrooms improves immune system function, are good for preventing high blood pressure and heart disease and fighting diseases such as AIDS/HIV and cancers. Maitake mushrooms are best known for their cancer fighting ability. Tests in mice show that it blocks tumor formation and boosts the immune system.

Reishi mushrooms fight cancer. They prevent tumor growth and are anti-inflammatory. Cordyceps mushrooms are also good at fighting cancer and helping the immune system to recognize tumors.

Seaweed and Iodine

Many doctor say that Americans do not get enough iodine in their diet and that puts them at greater risk of getting cancer and thyroid problems. Seaweed is a great source of iodine and other trace minerals. To learn how good seaweed is at fighting cancer see Health Benefits of Seaweed like Kelp.

The book below, Foods to Fight Cancer , talks about cabbage family or cruciferous vegetables; garlic, onions and allium family vegetables; soybeans and soy foods; turmeric; green tea; berries [also great for cardiovascular health]; omega-3 fats, tomatoes; citric fruit, red wine [this is from the grapes not the alcohol] and dark chocolate.