Cancer Fighting Superfoods

It used to be that 1 in 30 would die from cancer.  Now it is 1 in 3.  What happened?  Well for one there are 500 times the amount of chemicals dumped in the environment than there was 100 years ago.  Our food is laved with pesticides, we eat hormones and anti-biotics from animals raised in cages, we don’t eat fresh picked from a garden…and it’s mostly processed.  I could go on but you get the picture.  But what happens when you get your food out of a window?  Does a sandwich and fries have any nutritional value?

Everyday, you choose what you put in your mouth and it doesn’t just go out the other end.   It makes a pit stop in your blood which travels throughout your entire body and all those chemicals in processed food even cross the blood brain barrier.  No wonder your tired, sick and running like a 1967 Pinto that hasn’t had an oil change in 14 years.  With cancer on the rise in our society, it has never been more important to eat foods that heal, replenish needed nutrients and flush out the crap.  After all, food is fuel. It is your pharmacy. There are definitely some qualified cancer fighting super foods that will help you begin rebuilding your motor.

1. Garlic is used mostly for adding flavor to just about anything in my house.  Whether it’s Thai, Mexican or Italian, we sometimes forget the super power that is in the bulb of super savory garlic.  In addition to having a high sulfur content, garlic also contains arginine, oligosaccharides, flavonoids, and selenium, all of which may be beneficial to health. Several population studies show an association between increased intake of garlic and reduced risk of certain cancers, including cancers of the stomach, colon, esophagus, pancreas, and breast.

The characteristic odor and flavor of garlic comes from sulfur compounds formed from allicin, the major precursor of garlic’s bioactive compounds, which are formed when garlic bulbs are chopped, crushed, or damaged (2). Bioactive compounds are defined as substances in foods or dietary supplements, other than those needed to meet basic nutritional needs, that are responsible for changes in health status. 

2. Little baby trees never tasted so good!  Broccoli – considered a good source of nutrients because it is rich in vitamin C, carotenoids (vitamin A-like substances), fiber, calcium, and folate. Broccoli is also a source of many substances called phytochemicals, or plant chemicals, that may have anticancer properties. For example, broccoli contains several compounds called isothiocyanates, including sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol (I3C), which have been touted as possible anti-cancer agents in recent years. Early studies have shown these substances may act as anti-oxidants and may boost detoxifying enzymes in the body. Some studies have also suggested they may alter the levels of estrogen in the body, which might affect breast cancer risk.

3. Beans – Beans…Good for your heart but they sure do make you…….black and navy beans significantly reduced colon cancer incidence in rats, in part because a diet rich in the legumes increased levels of the fatty acid butyrate, which in high concentrations has protective effects against cancer growth. Another study, in the journal Crop Science, found dried beans particularly effective in preventing breast cancer in rats.

4. Berries – now this is one I do not have to fight and stuff in my children’s mouth without permission.  They will gobble a pint alone!  Not only do they taste good but berries contain powerful antioxidants, which means that they can stop a naturally occurring process in the body that creates free radicals that can damage your cells. Compounds in berries may also help keep cancers from growing or spreading.

5. Walnuts – All nuts are not created equal.  They all have different qualities.  Some people worry about the fat content but it is an omega 3 fatty acid which is a stellar reason to make walnuts a staple in your diet.  Walnuts also contain high amounts of polyphenols, phytochemicals that have antioxidant properties. They also contain a broad range of other potentially protective compounds including Elligitannins, Gamma-tocopherol, omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols (including flavonoids and phenolic acids), phytosterols (under study for their antioxidant  and anti-inflammatory effects) and Melatonin (a hormone and antioxidant).

Walnuts are also an excellent source of copper and manganese, and a good source of magnesium.

 

6. Tomatoes – Vegetable or fruit?  Does it matter when it contains not only fiber but Lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant, a compound that blocks the action of free radicals, activated oxygen molecules that can damage cells, and that several scientific studies have found lower risk of cancer among people who eat lycopene-rich foods.

With so much cancer causing food out there isn’t it important to know what foods will help you develop an arsenal to protect your body.  Good nutrition is the beginning of staying healthy when cancer is knocking at your door.  Stay away from sugar, cancer feeds on it, animal protein, processed foods, alcohol and each as much raw food as possible.  The less your body has to digest the better your body can used stored energy to fight the cause rather than dealing with day to day digestion which consumes a large portion of your energy.

The battle can be won, and a little education can really mean the difference between life and death.  More to come on this topic!

Take care of your body, you are the only one who lives in it…

LL

Sources
1. https://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/garlic-and-cancer-prevention
2. https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/dietandnutrition/broccoli
3. https://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20430736_7,00.html
4. https://www.everydayhealth.com/cancer-photos/top-foods-to-fight-cancer.aspx#/slide-3
5. https://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/walnuts.html
6. https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/dietandnutrition/lycopene