This article about cancer is not opinion or editorial, its facts. There are many studies from highly respected Universities and Health Organizations that this information is available from. I have listed many of the studies in this document so you can fact check for yourself if you wish.
Let me say to everyone of you that is dealing with cancer today, I pray for a healing outcome for you. Truly, I want you to be well and have vibrant health. To those of you that have lost friends and family to this terrible disease I am very sorry for your loss.
Every month is a focus for a particular type of cancer. The month of October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Liver Cancer Awareness Month.
I deal with a lot of people with cancer in my business as a health coach. For every person it is a unique situation. But regardless of the type or situation it still brings the same paralyzing fear of the unknown. Cancer affects the very young to the elderly, the rich, the poor and every religious and ethnic group in the world.
It’s difficult to put a fence around understanding cancer because there are so many different types and variants within the different types of cancer.
Our lifestyle plays a role as well. However, even those living a lifestyle that reduces the risk of cancer are not totally free from the risk of developing cancer. We all know people that eat cancer-promoting foods, smoke, are sedentary, drink alcohol like crazy and live stressful lives that live to be 90 years old. They are not the norm when it comes to cancer and heart disease..
So what do we know? Cancer can be caused by the consistent exposure to certain chemicals over time. Like those in cigarettes, industrial chemicals, petrochemicals, pollutants in the air we breathe and toxic compounds in the foods we eat and drink. There are ten’s of thousands of these chemicals in our world today.
These chemicals can damage the DNA in the cell so that at some point they mutate to a cancerous state. These are called carcinogenic compounds.
Cancer can be caused through genetic expression. Some people have genes in cells that are more predisposed to become cancerous.
Some genes wake up and through genetic expression cause the cell to become sick, then replicate to a sicker cell and then eventually become a form of cancer. Carcinogenic compounds in what we breath, touch, eat and drink can also cause the predisposed gene to wake up and become cancerous. The chemicals in these foods promote the expression of genes that cause cancer.
We know stress and obesity both play a role in promoting cancer. Add these with the other factors listed above and you may set up the perfect storm for developing cancer of some form in your lifetime.
Like wise, we know there are compounds in certain foods that can suppress the expression of those genes that may cause cancer. We know through studies that certain healthy lifestyle principles such as eating a mostly plant based diet, exercising, reducing weight to normal levels, avoiding chemical laden foods, reducing stress and stopping smoking greatly reduce the risk of getting cancers.
Interestingly, those same healthy lifestyle principles also reduce the risk of almost every other disease and illness that are the biggest takers of life in America.
How Can We Help Prevent Cancer?
Studies tell us that an abundant consumption of plant-based foods has a chemo protective effect in our body. There are chemicals and compounds present in plant foods that block precancerous cells from developing into malignant cells. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2231485/
“The field of investigation of the role of nutrition in the cancer process is very broad. It is becoming clearer as research continues that nutrition plays a major role in cancer. It has been estimated by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund that 30–40 percent of all cancers can be prevented by appropriate diets, physical activity, and maintenance of appropriate body weight. It is likely to be higher than this for some individual cancers.”
Source : https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-3-19
There are also plant compounds that reduce chronic inflammation, which is thought to be a major cause of some cancers.
There is much evidence that the American diet (also known as the Western diet) is rich in cancer promoting chemicals through food ingredients such as excessive sugars, artificial sweeteners, artificial coloring agents, preservatives, stabilizers, flavor enhancers, trans fats, and other additives that promote cancer and other illnesses and diseases. Additionally, the American diet is rich in Omega 6 fatty acids that are pro-inflammatory and deficient in Omega 3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory.
The American diet is rich in read meat, processed meats, fast foods, salt and chemicals. To reduce the risk of cancer the intake of these foods should be greatly reduced. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20695357
Lifestyle Changes/ Foods to Eat and Drink to Reduce Your Risk
· Exercise at least 30 minutes daily (yoga, walking, tai chi, swimming cycling)
· Limit and remove stress by adding laughter and love to your life.
· Limit alcohol intake
· Limit saturated fat intake
· Limit processed food intake
· Avoid dairy (there is a link between some cancers and dairy consumption) http://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/cancer/does-milk-cause-cancer/
· Limit the intake of refined grains (they increase insulin which has a tie to increased cancer risk) http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2016/6/The-Insulin-Cancer-Connection/Page-01
Food preparation
There is a role in food preparation that can cause advanced glycation end products (AGE’s) in our foods. These can also be tied to cancer. That’s another subject for another blog, which you can find at this link. https://wallysdailybites.com/2011/05/24/what-are-you-eating-better-find-out/
The following foods, herbs and spices have anti-cancer properties and should be a part of your regular dietary routine.
Sources: http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/
Anti-cancer vegetable foods
· Leafy Greens like kale, spinach, collards, mustard greens, romaine, watercress
· Cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and collard greens
· Artichoke
· Asparagus
· Carrots (most powerful when cooked)
· Peppers of all kinds
· Radishes
· Winter squashes
· Tomatoes (most powerful when cooked)
· Onions
· Shallots
· Garlic
· Mushrooms (particularly shitake, button and Portobello)
Fruits
· Berries of all types (particularly blackberries and black raspberries)
· Cherries
· Apples
· Red and purple grapes
· Grapefruit
· Pineapple
· Lemons
· Limes
· Dates
· Pomegranate
Legumes
· Beans, lentils and peas
Nuts and Seeds
· Ground flax seed (great source of omega 3’s)
· Chia seeds (great source of omega 3’s)
· Walnuts (good source of omega 3’s)
· Brazil nuts (limit to 1 ounce daily only) extremely rich in selenium
Antioxidant Rich Drinks
· Dark chocolate (85% dark or higher) raw cacao powder
· Green tea
· Coffee
· Matcha tea
Spices (all spices are cancer protective, I am listing the most popular)
· Basil
· Cumin
· Turmeric (Curcumin is the anti cancer compound in turmeric)
· Ginger
· Cinnamon
· Nutmeg
· Clove
· Coriander
· Thyme
· Rosemary
· Cardamom
· Black pepper
· Probiotics or fermented foods should be consumed on a regular basis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25575572
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20187714
If you want more information on alternative cancer information please feel free to contact me.
Eating a cancer preventive diet can greatly reduce your risk of getting cancer. Many studies point to an increase of plant based foods as being cancer protective.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/22/2/286
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/vegetarian-foods-powerful-for-health
Leave the processed and refined foods alone, laugh and love often and eat abundantly from Mother Nature!
Healthy wishes
Wally Bishop C.N.C.
Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
The contents of this blog is not and should not be considered medical advice. This blog is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/22/2/286
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/vegetarian-foods-powerful-for-health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25575572
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20187714
http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/
http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2016/6/The-Insulin-Cancer-Connection/Page-01
http://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/cancer/does-milk-cause-cancer/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20695357
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-3-19
