Worry about Cancer? There are natural preventatives you can take

I recently had to write a paper for my Pathophysiology class this past week on cancer prevention. It was a very interesting assignment to research a little and read that there are natural fresh fruits and vegetables that help your body prevent cancer cells from growing. 

Some of the best sources to help your immune system and overall heath to help prevent cancer would be to increase your daily intake of organic or locally grown fruits and vegetables. There are substances found in them that are known to protect the body against cancer. Phytochemicals include pigments such as carotenes, chlorophyll, and flavonoids, dietary fibers, enzymes, vitamin- like compounds, and other minor dietary constituents. It is important to choose fruits and vegetables that change with the season help get your bodies organs ready for that new season. Also, it’s a very good idea to cleanse and detox the body for spring and fall. Some of the fruits and vegetables that have been helpful are colors that are green, yellow, and orange. I have listed some of them that were listed to be helpful:

Green (Dark)	Yellow/ Light Green	Orange
Artichoke Asparagus Green Bell Pepper Broccoli Brussels sprouts Chard Collard Greens Cucumber Green Beans Green Grapes Honeydew melon Kale Leeks Lettuce (Dark greens) Mustard greens Peas Spinach Turnip Greens	Apples (green and yellow) Avocado Bananas Yellow Bell peppers Bok choy Cabbage Cauliflower Celery Fennel Kiwi Lemons Light green lettuce Limes Onions Pears (green and yellow) Pineapple Squash Zucchini	Apricots Orange Bell pepper Butternut squash Cantaloupe Carrots Mangoes Oranges Papaya Pumpkin Sweet potatoes Yams

The information provided in the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine was very informative for preventing cancer. There are some helpful ways to help keep optimal health. The optimal health food diet is based on the following principles:

1.    Eat an assortment of fruits and vegetables – mainly green, yellow, and orange colors, but the other colors can be good too.
2.    Reducing your daily exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, and food additives. If you can’t afford organic you can peel off the skin or remove the outer layers of the leaves to reduce the pesticide levels.
3.    Eat to support your blood sugar control. You don’t want to eat more sugar than your body actually needs.
4.   Consuming high intakes of meats and other animal products put ones self at a higher risk for heart disease and cancer. If you want to eat meats it should be fish, white meat or poultry.
5.  Eat the right types of fats. Some healthier options are olive oil, coconut oil or macadamia nut oil. Keep salt intake low, potassium intake high. Try to use salt substitution or low-sodium foods. American diets is the reverse of sodium to potassium with a ratio of 1:2. The average health ratio for potassium to sodium is 50:1. The average K: Na ratio for some common fruits and vegetables are carrots 75:1, potatoes 110:1, apples 90:1, bananas 440:1, oranges 260:1.
6.     Avoid food additives. If you can avoid foods that have artificial food colors, especially those that begin with FD&C. Also, cutting out artificial sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame-K, and Saccarin)
7.  Take measures to reduce foodborne illness. Washing your fruits and vegetables with spray or some soap and water will help remove and unwanted germs from the outer layer. Keeping the temperature of chicken and other meats used when sitting out. Make sure any canned or boxed foods you purchase don’t have dents or cut open.
8.     Drink sufficient amounts of water each day. It’s good to drink a minimum of 48oz a day.
9.    Exercise is an important aspect of removing toxins that build up in our muscles. This is just another way to detox the muscles from unwanted build-up of lactic acid and other things. 

Here is a diet below includes anticancer phytochemicals

Upon Rising

·         8 ounce glass pure water with fresh juice from half a lemon (carotenes, coumarins, flavonoids and limonoids)

Morning – Breakfast

·         3 egg white omelet with tomatoes, peppers, celery, and spinach (carotenes, coumarins, flavonoids and limonoids)

·         2 cups green tea (polyphenols)

Morning – Snack:

·         Handful of raw natural almonds (lignans and sterols)

Afternoon – Lunch

·         Smoothie – scoop of whey protein powder, flaxseed, kale, ½ avocado, ½ cup blueberries, ½ cup raspberries, ½ cup blackberries, unsweetened green tea (carotenes, dithiolthiones, glucosinolates, and thiocyanates, flavonoids, lignans, and polyphenols)

Afternoon – Snack

·         1 ounce dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao)

·         Handful of pumpkin seeds (lignans and sterols)

Evening – Dinner

·         4 ounces chicken breast

·         Serving of baked sweet potatoes

·         Serving of brussels sprouts

·         Bowl of fresh mixed berries

·         2 cup of green tea (carotenes, dithiolthiones, glucosinolates, and thiocyanates, flavonoids, and polyphenols)

The above diet calls for drinking an adequate amount of fresh water.  For a 150 pound individual this would mean 75 ounces per day.  Fiber goal should be 25 grams daily.  Eat more fish and use turmeric which is a polyphenol for flavoring.  Avoid red meat and limit alcohol consumption, red wine in moderation is a good polyphenol.  Do not eat trans fats and limit your salt intake. 

Eating a healthy diet and being physically active are good for you. That's why the American Cancer Society developed nutrition and physical activity guidelines. This printable pdf contains tips to help you make those guidelines a part of your everyday life and to help you stay well (Living Smart, 2010).  Once you learn the food items that help to prevent cancers you can easily incorporate them into your daily diet.  The diet plan I made above is very extreme and includes mostly foods that have phytochemicals that have antioxidants, enhance the immune function, antitumor properties, enhance antioxidant mechanisms, block cancer-causing compounds from damaging cells, enhance detoxification, direct antitumor effects, block estrogen receptors, modulate hormone receptors, block carcinogens, and block carcinogen formation.  

Reference:

Murray, M. T., & Pizzorno, J. E. (1998). A Health Pomoting Diet. In Encyclopedia of natural medicine (3rd ed., pp. 48-67). Rocklin, CA: Prima Pub.

Stay Healthy. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2015, from http://www.cancer.org/healthy/index

How to Avoid Food Additives & Preservatives. (2013, January 16). Retrieved June 25, 2015, from http%3A%2F%2Fhealthychild.org%2Feasy-steps%2Favoid-risky-food-additives-preservatives%2F

Living smart: The American Cancer Society’s Guide to Eating Healthy and Being Active [Consumer brochure]. (2010). Retrieved from American Cancer Society Inc. website: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@editorial/documents/document/acspc-044197.pdf