To Your Health
July, 2010 (Vol. 04, Issue 07) |
|
|
Since then, these researchers have gone further to show that blending some of these fruits and vegetables together into a cocktail and feeding it to immune-deficient mice, who were injected with human lung cancer cells under their skin, resulted in better health outcomes than occurred in nude mice who were injected with lung cancer cells, but did not receive the fruit and vegetable cocktail.
(A more in-depth description of these experiments and pictures of the mice can be found in the book
Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD.) The specific brewed cocktail given to these mice closely matched what would be attainable for humans to mirror and included:
- Cabbage
- Blueberries
- Brussels sprouts
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Scallions
- Turmeric
- Black pepper
- Cranberries
- Grapefruit
- Green tea
The implication is that individuals who have cancer may wish to use a daily cocktail of this nature in conjunction with their standard medical treatment, as a means to enhance certain biological mechanisms that may help their body fight the disease.
Anti-Cancer Foods for Daily Use
For the rest of us, Drs. Beliveau and Gringas suggest there is a daily preventive threshold level of cancer-fighting foods that each of us should strive to attain. Their suggestions for the prevention of cancer include consumption of the following items each day:
- Brussels sprouts - ½ cup
- Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage - ½ cup
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Onions, shallots - ½ cup
- Spinach, watercress - ½ cup
- Soy (edamame, dry roasted beans) - ½ cup
- Freshly ground flaxseeds - 1 tablespoon
- Tomato paste - 1 tablespoon
- Turmeric - 1 teaspoon
- Black pepper - ½ teaspoon
- Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries - ½ cup
- Dried cranberries - ½ cup
- Grapes - ½ cup
- Dark chocolate (70 percent cacao) - 40 g
- Citrus juice - ½ cup
- Green tea - three 250 ml servings
- Red wine - 1 glass (5 ounces)
What About Supplements?
While Drs. Beliveau, Gringas and Servan-Schreiber don't recommend the use of dietary supplements to prevent cancer, or in the adjunctive nutritional management of cancer, numerous studies have appeared in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals in recent years showing important anti-cancer properties provided by various nutritional supplements. This includes studies demonstrating their ability to help prevent cancer, reduce cancer incidence, and be used in conjunction with medical practices as an adjunctive measure to enhance the efficacy of some forms of chemotherapy and/or slow the progression of cancer and/or decrease the recurrence of cancer.
As a practitioner who is affiliated with a leading cancer treatment facility in Toronto, my patients are provided with the best that medicine, diet and supplementation have to offer, based on the total pool of peer-reviewed scientific evidence. I have published numerous review papers on subjects pertaining to the use of nutritional supplements and cancer. I am also a lecturer on this subject in the Cancer Fellowship Program for medical doctors through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. So, I can proudly state that diet, nutrition and nutritional supplementation can all play a significant role in preventing and fighting cancer. Talk to your doctor to learn more.
James Meschino, DC, MS, practices in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is the author of four nutrition books, including The Meschino Optimal Living Program and Break the Weight Loss Barrier.
