The greatest ally against chronic disease may be found in your everyday diet, from fresh, raw fruits and vegetables to popular beverages such as coffee and green tea. Food is life and this couldn’t be truer elsewhere than in disease prevention. An estimated 42% of all cancers, for one, may be prevented by diet and lifestyle alone. The numbers are likely to be even higher for some types of cancer. There’s increasing awareness of the power of food and herbs in preventing and helping to heal cancer. GreenMedInfo.com houses some of the biggest open-access databases on this topic, providing more than 10,000 studies on the value of nearly 1,000 natural substances for cancer. Following are some commonly available foods that are natural chemopreventive agents.
Foods With Anticancer Properties
1. Fruits The consumption of fruit and vegetables has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer. According to a report from the 2007 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research, foods containing vitamin C probably protect against esophageal cancer, with fruits in particular helping against gastric cancer. Consuming citrus fruits has also been tied to decreased bladder cancer risk squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma, along with a non-significant risk reduction in gastric cardia cancer also a significantly reduced risk of lung cancer in current smokers..
2. Cruciferous Vegetables The family of vegetables that includes cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, is renowned for its outstanding action against cancer. Cruciferous veggies have been found to have anticancer properties, with research showing a high intake was inversely associated with renal cell carcinoma, a modifiable risk factor for ovarian cancer, and a reduced risk of prostate cancer progression. They may reduce lung cancer risk among men who currently don’t smoke
3. Turmeric Has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Due to the role of oxidative damage in a range of conditions such as cancer, atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative diseases, curcumin is believed to play an important role.
4. Coffee Is a powerhouse against various types of cancer. Observational studies showed a link between coffee intake and a reduced risk of oral, pharynx, liver, colon, prostate and endometrial cancers, as well as melanoma. There is evidence of the cancer-fighting properties of coffee against liver cancer, especially when green tea and caffeine are associated. A separate study confirmed the inverse relationship between coffee intake and hepatocellular carcinoma risk, with the protective effect detected in healthy populations as well as those with chronic liver
5. Green Tea Green tea scores high in chemoprevention. Among Chinese women, researchers concluded that higher intake of mushrooms slashed breast cancer risk in pre- and post-menopausal women and observed an additional reduced risk from the joint effect of mushrooms and green tea. Women who reported drinking at least one cup of green tea a day had a 54% reduction in ovarian cancer risk.
Ref: https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/these-foods-have-natural-chemopreventive-properties1
