Cancer is a deadly disease that is characterized by uncontrollable growth and division of body cells, worldwide this disease takes thousands of life yearly and yet no cure has been found for it.
Some symptoms of cancer are vertigo, seizures, headaches, cough, hemoptysis, dyspnea, depression, suicidal thoughts, compression of the spinal cord, jaundice, pain, fractures, liver problems, tumors or growths, extreme fatigue and other uncomfortable symptoms.
Medically, chemotherapy and other drugs can be used to treat cancer, but these treatments are expensive and deadly and most cancer patients are said to die from the chemotherapy itself and not the cancer, this may be due to the fact that chemotherapy cannot recognize cancerous cells, it just kills all the cells of the body and this worsens the situation.
Although it is widely speculated that the main cause or causes of cancer is not known yet there are many scientific researches that proves bad lifestyles and some foods can cause cancer alongside faulty genes inherited from ones parents.
According to scientific research and studies, faulty genes, genetic mutations caused by environmental factors and bad diet and infections caused by parasites (bacteria, fungi and viruses) are the main causes of cancer.
Cancer can occur when one inherits faulty genes from his/her parents and do nothing to prevent having cancer but rather lives bad lifestyle and eat unhealthy foods as his/her main meal.
Genetic mutation which is also another cause of cancer includes factors like bad diet, chemical pollution, exposure to harmful and ionizing rays, tobacco and alcohol use, obesity, sedentary lifestyles and side effects of some drugs and medications over prolonged use.
Parasites like bacteria and viruses can enter the body, insert their own DNA into the host cells and this can cause the cells of the body to multiply out of control, leading to cancer.
In this article, we will be looking at the role good nutrition play in preventing, treating and managing cancer symptoms. We will also be looking at foods to avoid to cut down the risk of cancer and foods and nutrients that are powerful inhibitors of cancer cells.
Nutrition is not just what we put in our body; it communicates with our DNA, the body uses the nutrient from the food we give it to build, repair and defend itself from foreign bodies and diseases.
That is you are what you eat; what you eat can either heal you or make you sick, it can either break you or make you, it can either fight diseases or feed diseases, this is why it is highly advised to make healthy nutritious foods your main meals and avoid junks and empty calorie foods.
According to dieticians and nutritionists, cancer fighting foods are foods that reduces the risk for developing cancer and helps one heals fast when down with cancer; they contain powerful phytochemicals that protects the cells against damage from harmful compounds in foods and the environment. To gain the immense health benefits of these foods, they should be mixed together and eaten regularly as ones main meal.
Nutritionists have proved a connection between diet and cancer, they believe eating healthy foods, avoiding unhealthy foods and maintaining a healthy weight can cut the risk of cancer by half; and if already diagnosed with cancer, good nutrition can hasten healing, make the action of drugs effective, they can help one manage the side effects of chemotherapy and help one recover fast if the case is arrested early.
Good and healthy nutrition also support a strong immune system, it boosts its function and makes sure it operates optimally thereby defending the body from diseases like cancer.
All the studies on cancer and nutrition prove that plant based foods leads in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Know that there is a long list of cancer fighting foods but in this article, we will be looking at common foods and nutrients that beat cancer.
Vitamin B complex
This vitamin corrects and control cellular division and replication of DNA; it also helps in keeping the spread of cancer under control and helps in replacing the amount of good bacteria destroyed by chemotherapy and anti-biotic. Natural sources of this vitamin are legumes, organic cereals and green vegetables.
Vitamin C
This is the best and most powerful immune boosting anti-cancer supplement; it boosts immune strength and functions and kills cancer cells at higher doses by producing hydrogen peroxide inside tumors making them to self-destroy. Good sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, red peppers and green vegetables.
Vitamin E
This vitamin is a very powerful immune booster; almonds, spinach, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, palm oil and wheat germ are good sources of this vitamin.
Vitamin D
This vitamin is actually a hormone that helps in activating and strengthening the immune system; research proves that it corrects cancer cells and reduces the risk of one coming down with cancer when taking regularly.
It does this by positively influencing over 200 genes in the body; it reduces inflammation, inhibits cancer cell growth and replication, stops new tumors from forming and makes cancer cells to self-destruct.
It also promotes growth of healthy cells. You can get this vitamin from sunlight, food sources like eggs and poultry.
Melatonin
This is a powerful anti-oxidant that is produced by the brain but many of us don;’t make enough due to electromagnetic stress and artificial lighting at night, so it can be taken as supplements to help cancer patients win the war.
It has cytotoxic effects on different types of cancer cells; it lowers the risk of any type of cancer by 34%.
Coenzyme Q
This supplement has anti-aging, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties; it strengthens the action of macrophages which are part of your immune cells that eats up cancer cells and any other foreign or harmful substance in the body, it also aids the actions of granulocytes, immune cells involved in healing. Take it at the prescribed dosage to avoid wasting.
Quercitin
This potent anti-oxidant and immune strengthening supplement helps the body manage inflammation and stress; it also makes cancer cells to kill themselves, stops growth of tumors and reduce the resistance of cancer to chemotherapy. It removes heavy metals and other toxins from the body.
Selenium
Helps to detoxify the body by displacing heavy metals from the body which are carcinogenic when left to accumulate in the body and it is potent in reducing the risk of prostate cancer.
Garlic
This powerful herb has an active ingredient Allicin and other organosulphur compounds; these are toxic to cancer cells and stop the spread of cancer in varieties of ways; it stops blood supply to tumor cells, it directly attacks and kills cancer cells; stops the formation of nitrosamines, a carcinogen formed in the stomach when nitrates a common food preservative is consumed.
Eating three cloves of garlic everyday will help to ward off any type of cancer; as research has proven that people who eat garlic regularly have increased number of natural killer cell count (front line immune cells that fights cancers) compared to those who don’t.
It also removes heavy metal, toxins and carcinogens from the body; it also helps in the production of glutathione, another powerful anti-oxidant of the body.
Berries
This included strawberries, blueberries and blackberries; they are all packed with cancer fighting phytochemicals.
Blackberries have the highest concentration of Anthocyanins, a powerful phytochemical that slows the growth premalignant cells and starves cancer tumors of blood. A fresh juice daily of blackberries will help; berries are potent against skin, colon, oral and esophageal cancer.
Aloe vera
Research has proved that aloe vera contains anthraquinone a compound which cause death of cancer cells. This plant is so smart that it can differentiate between cancerous cells and healthy cells, unlike chemotherapy.
The best way to take Aloe vera for cancer is to cut the leaf and add the fresh gel to your smoothies every morning. Blend it along with your smoothie’s ingredient in the blender so that the tough cellulose can be broken.
Green tea
This contains good amount of polyphenols that are potent anti-cancer compounds. They scavenge free radicals and inflammatory agents; they fight inflammation and protect the DNA from damage. It stops the development of tumor blood vessels, makes cancer cells to destroy themselves.
Turmeric
This spice has tremendous anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties when ingested; it is used mostly in treating colon cancer traditionally.
It’s powerful active ingredient Curcumin is able to shrink cancer tumors and stops the flow of blood to the tumors; in many research it outperformed cancer drugs and anti-inflammatory drugs without side effects. Taking this herb in generous amounts everyday will make you heal quickly.
Ginger
Fresh raw ginger have a number of powerful cancer fighting compounds, it has a powerful anti-body effects and helps to reduce the effects of carcinogens.
Ginserols, one of the compounds present in ginger is potent against breast cancer, leukemia and other cancer cells. It also helps in reducing the spread of cancer to other body parts.
It also contains helpful vitamins and minerals that aids in fighting cancer and it benefit the whole body generally. You can ingest ginger essential oil, take ginger and lemon tea every morning and generously add ginger to your meals during preparation.
Tomatoes
According to research taking tomatoes regularly like 7-10 servings a week helped to cut down the symptoms of prostate cancer by 40%; it also has influence on other types of cancers.
Lycopene its active ingredient is responsible for this and lycopene can also be found in peppers, carrots, strawberries and peaches; but the highest concentration of lycopene is found in tomatoes.
It is advisable to cook the tomatoes before eating because heat was found to increase the amount of lycopene the body can absorb. Lycopene is potent against lung, prostrate, endometrial and stomach cancers.
Oily fish
Oily fishes are loaded with plenty omega-3-fatty acids which have powerful anti-inflammatory effect in the body; it also minimizes the effects of carcinogens and reduce inflammation by inhibiting the actions of eicosanoids (negative hormones that cause inflammation).
Omega-3 also lengthens lifespan, fish oil has been proven by research to be potent in reducing the levels of prostrate, breast and colon cancers; they also help to prevent cachexia during chemotherapy.
Carotenoids
Carotenoids are powerful cancer fighting compounds and they also convert to vitamin A in the body. Foods high in carotenoids are red and yellow peppers, kale, green leafy vegetable, carrots, apricots and carrots.
Onions
Onions are high in anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic and anti-cancer compounds; it lowers the risk of all kinds of cancer and there are also rich in polyphenols.
Seeds and nuts
Sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds are all full of immune strength.
