The Best Cancer-fighting Foods
The foods that you eat can significantly affect many aspects of your health, such as the risk of developing chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Studies have shown that the development of cancer is heavily influenced by what you eat. Many floods contain beneficial compounds that help the body fight the growth of cancer. Several studies have shown that a higher intake of certain foods could be associated with a lower risk of cancer.
1. Cruciferous vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables include cauliflower, broccoli, and kale. These vegetables are rich in beneficial nutrients that help fight cancer, such as vitamin C and K, and manganese. They also contain sulforaphane, a compound that is believed to have anti-cancer properties. This compound has shown to significantly prevent the grown of cancer cells while stimulating the death of colon cancer cells.
Other studies have shown that the combination of sulforaphane and genistein, a compound found in soybeans, can inhibit the growth of breast cancer tumors. It also inhibits histone deacetylase, an enzyme that is linked to the development of cancer.
2. Carrots
Carrots are rich in antioxidants and the essential nutrients Vitamin A and K. It is also rich in beta-carotene. Studies have shown that the vital role of beta-carotene in boosting the immune system. Carrots help prevent certain types of cancer and immune to corona virus.
3. Fatty fish
Certain types of fish such as salmon and mackerel are classified as fatty fishes, which are rich in essential nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, and vitamin B.
A study found that people who regularly eat freshwater fish have a 53 percent lower risk for colorectal cancer than people who hardly eat this type of fish.
Another study has shown the significantly lower risk for prostate cancer by people who consume fish oil. Even people who are taking fish oil supplements are found to have a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer.
4. Apples
People have not been claiming “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” for nothing. Polyphenols, a compound found in apples has very promising anti-cancer properties.
Polyphenols are plant-based compounds that are good in preventing infections, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. The belief in the medical community is that polyphenols have anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
Polyphenol phloretin is known to inhibit glucose transporter 2, a protein that plays an important role in advanced-stage cell growth in some types of cancer. A study published in the Journal of Food and Drug Analysis claimed that the phloretin from apple can significantly inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells while having no effects on normal cells.
5. Walnuts
The American Institute for Cancer Research believes that all nuts have cancer-preventing properties. However, scientists have their focus on walnuts more than the other types of nuts.
Walnuts contain pedunculagin, an ellagitannin found in many plants. The substance is believed to exhibit anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. It is considered to be a potent dietary antioxidant.
The body metabolizes pedunculagin into urolithins, compounds that bind to estrogen receptors and may play an important role in preventing breast cancer. In an animal study, mice that were fed whole walnuts and walnut oil proved to have higher levels of tumor-suppressing genes that the mice that were given only vegetable oil.
While the study on preventing cancer through diet requires further testing, it is important that people should eat a balanced diet that is rich in fresh vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats for better health.