Today I thought I'd pass on what I have learned by reading the above book... a synopsis, of course.
According to the authors, foods that were selected by our fore-bearers during the evolution of human diets contained compounds that benefited human health and displayed anti-cancer properties similar to those of man-made drugs. Because the people included these foods full of beneficial compounds in their daily diet, their bodies' health condition prevented the development of tumors over their lifetime. Of course, they also didn't live as long as we do today.
Nonetheless, preventing cancer by ingesting foods with anti-cancer molecules that fight cancer at it's source before it matures does make sense. Since the authors claim that one third of all cancers are related to diet, it would seem judicious to evaluate what they have to say. According to them, eighty percent of studies show that diets high in fruits and veggies result in a lower incidence of cancer. Low fruit and veggie eaters, like me, have double the chance of being diagnosed with cancer. I don't much like that data so... I'd like to see the other twenty percent of studies.
There are several substances that are essential to life. The ingested substances include:
- water
- amino acids
- fatty acids
- vitamins
- minerals
- phytochemicals
We'll focus mainly on the phytochemicals since these compounds have powerful anti-cancer activity. So let's talk about several groups of foods with important anti-cancer phytochemicals.
Cruciferous veggies contain many glucosinolate compounds that slow the development of cancer by preventing carcinogenic substances from damaging normal cells. Excessive cooking or boiling destroys the all important glucosinolates. In order to maximize these compounds it is important to cook them the least amount possible with the minimum amount of water possible - steam, stir fry, or eat raw. The freezing process and chopping the products heavily depletes the glucosinolates. Basically, light cooking and thorough chewing is needed to maximize their phytochemical potency. Thank God for Pat's peanut butter dip! These nasty veggies would include my most hated:
- broccoli and their sprouts
- brussel sprouts
- collard greens
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- kale
- mustard
- watercress
- turnip
Veggies in the Allium family contain sulfur compounds that slow the development of cancers and have a protective action for damaged cells. The important molecules are released when crushed, chopped or chewed. Therefore, using freshly crushed or cut products are best... use of supplements is out. So much for that huge jar of chopped garlic I have in the fridge. These handy veggies include:
- garlic
- onion
- leek
- shallot
- chives
Soy contains phytochemicals called isoflavenes that prevent blood supply formation for tumors. Now isoflavenes are generally contra-indicated for hormone related cancers, like breast cancer, but it's the isoflaven supplements that need to be avoided, NOT the whole foods. (2 oz (50 gm) per day is recommended).
- soy beans, raw or dry
- edamame
- miso
- soy sauce
- roasted
- tofu
- soy milk
Tumeric is an Indian spice with the active ingredient curcumin. Tumeric comes from the ground rhizome (root) of a plant in the ginger family. It is the spice that gives curry powder and prepared mustard their yellow color. Curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory. How does this relate to cancer? Well, chronic inflammation can lead to cell changes that lead to cancer. The one major problem with Tumeric is that the curcumin is not necessarily readily available (bio-available) to our bodies during the digestive process. This can be improved by adding pepper which has the active ingredient piperine. Piperine increases curcumin's bio-availability by 1000 fold! So, add 1 teaspoon of tumeric AND pepper to your soup, salad or pasta dishes daily. Alternatively, you could use curry powder since it is a mix of spices that includes 20-30% tumeric, coriander, cumin, cardamon, fenugreek and several peppers (cayenne, red, black, etc).
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