Preventing and Reversing Cancer Naturally: The Anticancer Diet Shopping List

Sunday, February 9th 2014 at 8:15 am

Written By:

Gary Null, PhD

This year alone, nearly 600,000 Americans will lose their lives to cancer. Recent estimates tell us that 41 percent of all Americans will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetimes and 21 percent of the population will lose their lives to this devastating disease.[1] A new report released by the World Health Organization's (WHO) forecasts that by 2035, an incredible 24 million people will be diagnosed with cancer globally.[2] These numbers reflect the need for a complete overhaul of our approach to cancer.
Despite being overlooked for decades, volumes of scientific evidence prove that diet and nutrition play a leading role in cancer development. Only in recent years have mainstream physicians and health groups begun to recognize the importance of our lifestyle choices when it comes to preventing and reversing cancer. Even the WHO report recommends a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains as a powerful way to help stave off this disease. Here is my list of anticancer superfoods that you can begin incorporating into your diet today for greater health and vitality. I've included dozens of scientific citations demonstrating the benefits of each of these nutrient-rich foods.

Alkaline Foods

The vast majority of Americans consume an excess of acid-forming foods. Research has shown that tumor growth increases in an acid environment.[3][4][5] The blood is maintained in the body at a slightly alkaline level of between 7.2 and 7.4.
Eating alkaline foods keeps the blood pH in its ideal range, which is important for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Ideally, the diet should consist of 80 percent alkaline-forming foods, such as those available from many raw fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. What follows is a list of recommended alkaline-forming foods:
Fruits: Berries, apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, currants, dates, figs, grapefruit, grapes, kiwis, lemons, limes, mangos, melons, nectarines, olives, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, persimmons, pine­apple, quince, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, and water­melon. (The most alkaline-forming foods are lemons and melons.)
Vegetables: Artichoke, asparagus, sprouts, beets, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, col­lards, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, ginger, horseradish, kale, kelp, seaweeds, mustard greens, okra, onions, parsley, potatoes, rad­ishes, spinach, squash, tomatoes, watercress, and yams.
Whole Grains: Amaranth, barley, oats, quinoa, and wild rice.
Beans/Legumes: Almonds, chestnuts, chickpeas, green beans, lima beans, peas, and soybeans.
Seeds: Alfalfa, chia, coconut, radish, and sesame.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Vegetables in the cruciferous family include kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, arugula, watercress, turnips, mustard plant, Brussels sprouts, and bok choy. Cruciferous vegetables contain detoxifying compounds called indoles and isothiocyanates, which have been proven to help prevent and reverse cancer[6][7][8][9] Recent research has identified sulforaphane, a compound found in broccoli, cabbage, and other cruciferous vegetables as a potent anticancer agent.[10]

Green Foods

Wheatgrass, barley grass, alfalfa, blue-green algae, arugula, spinach, chlorella and spirulina, and other green foods are rich in blood-purifying chlorophyll and other important phytonutrients for detoxifying the system and rejuvenating organs. Laboratory tests have established that chlorophyll inhibits the activity of carcinogens at a molecular level.[11] Studies have demonstrated the capacity of chlorophyll-rich foods to reduce tumor growth.[12][13][14].Green powders are loaded with phytonutrients proven to be highly beneficial in cancer prevention and healing.

Red Foods

Research confirms that red foods such as strawberries, tomatoes, raspberries, tart cherries, cranberries, and goji berries are high in immunosupportive and cancer-fighting nutrients such as lycopene and carotene.[15][16][17]Many red foods also have high antioxidant content, making them an integral component of any anticancer diet. The antioxidant power of raspberries, strawberries, pomegranate, and dozens of other nutrient-rich fruits make some red and berry powders cancer superfoods.

Fiber

Though not a food itself, fiber is an important component of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The typical American diet includes about 14 g of fiber each day, which falls short of what is necessary for cancer prevention. Studies have indicated that 30g of dietary fiber daily decrease the risk of colorectal cancer. Research has also suggested that high fiber intake may lower the risk of breast, colorectal, uterine and prostate cancers.[18][19]

Olive Oil

Olive oil has been shown to possess anticancer properties. Studies have demonstrated that the monounsaturated fatty acids contained in olive oil have a protective effect against cancer growth. [20][21] Research has also shown that the phytochemicals abundant in olive oil inhibit cancer growth in vitro.[22] But remember, more isn't always better. Olive oil still has 120 calories per tablespoon, so don't go overboard. For maximum benefit, olive oil should be used in moderation. Choose a good-quality, extra virgin, cold-pressed variety.

Juices

Freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices provide valuable enzymes and antioxidant nutrients that are easily digestible. Compounds in cabbage juice have been observed to have favorable effects on stomach and colorectal cancer.[23][24] Rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A, carrot juice is beneficial but should be watered down, as it is also high in sugar, and can potentially spike blood sugar levels.[25] Adding a teaspoon of vitamin C to juices creates an even more potent preventive tonic.

Green Tea

High in antioxidants known as polyphenolic catechins, green tea has been shown to help prevent skin, lung, esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, and bladder cancer in animals.[26] Studies have demonstrated that green tea extract halts the spread of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.[27] Recent research also indicates that green tea contains compounds that considerably slow the growth of cancer cells.[28]

Mushrooms

Several varieties of mushrooms have powerful healing properties. The maitake mushroom kills cancer cells by enhancing the activity of T-helper cells.[29] Research has shown the maitake mushroom to exert a favorable effect on various types of cancer, including breast, colon, and prostate.[30][31][32]Both shiitake and reishi mushrooms have also been observed to have strong antitumor properties in animals.[33][34][35]Research has revealed that the cordyceps mush­room inhibits the division and proliferation of cancer cells.[36] And, surprisingly, the common white button mushroom has been shown to suppress aromatase activity and estrogen biosynthesis, which make it an excellent breast cancer chemopreventive agent.[37]

Seaweeds

Chinese medicine has long recognized the value of seaweed for treating cancers, as it softens hardened tumors. More recently, research has shed light on the powerful mix of micronutrients, including Vitamin C and Vitamin E, as well as minerals, iodine, fiber, and polysaccharides in seaweed, which make it a powerful nutritional tool in combating cancer.[38][39] Considered to be one of the healthiest populations on earth, the Japanese consume more seaweed than any other nation.

Spices

Spices offer numerous health-promoting benefits, and certain spices have been found to aid in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Research has associated black pepper and black cumin seed intake with a lower incidence of colon cancer.[40][41][42] Rosemary is known to help prevent DNA damage by carcinogens and suppress cancer cell proliferation.[43][44][45] Capsaicin, an ingredient found in chili peppers, kills prostate cancer cells.[46] Evidence suggests that parsley combats lung and breast cancer.[47][48]

References

[1] "41 percent of Americans will get cancer." UPI.com. http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2010/05/06/41-percent-of-Americans-will-get-cancer/UPI-75711273192042/ (accessed December 2, 2013).
[2] World Health Organization. "World Cancer Report 2014 (ePUB)." WHO.int. http://apps.who.int/bookorders/anglais/detart1.jsp?codlan=1&codcol=80&codcch=275 (accessed February 2, 2014).
[3] Smallbone, Kieran, David J. Gavaghan, Robert A. Gatenby, and Philip K. Maini. "The Role Of Acidity In Solid Tumour Growth And Invasion." Journal of Theoretical Biology 235, no. 4 (2005): 476-484.
[4] Robey, IF, et. al. "Bicarbonate Increases Tumor PH and Inhibits Spontaneous Metastases." Cancer Res 69, no. 6 (2009): 2260-8.
[5] Rofstad, Einar K., et al. "Acidic Extracellular pH Promotes Experimental Metastasis of Human Melanoma Cells in Athymic Nude Mice." Cancer Research 66 (2006). http://can­cerres.aacrjournals.org/content/66/13/6699.abstract?ijkey=6f1de3dcb24df43416f5003b8f89 2f1b6fd9d741&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha (accessed March 5, 2012).

Follow link for more references - http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/preventing-and-reversing-cancer-naturally-anticancer-diet-shopping-list?page=2

Michael Pollan: 5 Reasons the Paleo Diet Is B.S. -- And How to Eat Right

The celebrated food author dishes on how to eat well: less meat, more microbes, and cook it yourself. 

http://www.alternet.org/michael-pollan-5-reasons-paleo-diet-bs-and-how-eat-right

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

January 22, 2014  |  

 

The following article first appeared on Mother Jones. For more great Mother Jones content, subscribe here. 
The paleo diet is hot. Those who follow it are attempting, they say, to mimic our ancient ancestors—minus the animal-skin fashions and the total lack of technology, of course. The adherents eschew what they believe comes from modern agriculture (wheat, dairy, legumes, for instance) and rely instead on meals full of meat, nuts, and vegetables—foods they claim are closer to what hunter-gatherers ate.
The trouble with that view, however, is that what they're eating is probably nothing like the diet of hunter-gatherers, says Michael Pollan, author of a number of best-selling books on food and agriculture, including Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation. "I don't think we really understand…well the proportions in the ancient diet," argues Pollan on the latest episode of the  Inquiring Minds podcast (stream below). "Most people who tell you with great confidence that this is what our ancestors ate—I think they're kind of blowing smoke."

The wide-ranging interview with Pollan covered the science and history of cooking, the importance of microbes—tiny organisms such as bacteria—in our diet, and surprising new research on the intelligence of plants. Here are five suggestions he offered about cooking and eating well.

1. Meat: It's not always for dinner. Cooking meat transforms it: Roasting it or braising it for hours in liquid unlocks complex smells and flavors that are hard to resist. In addition to converting it into something we crave, intense heat also breaks down the meat into nutrients that we can more easily access. Our ancient ancestors likely loved the smell of meat on an open fire as much as we do.

But human populations in different regions of the world ate a variety of diets. Some ate more; some ate less. They likely ate meat only when they could get it, and then they gorged. Richard Wrangham, author of  Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, says diets from around the world ranged greatly in the percentage of calories from meat. It's not cooked meat that made us human, he says, but rather cooked  food.

In any case, says Pollan, today's meat is nothing like that of the hunter-gatherer.

One problem with the paleo diet is that "they're assuming that the options available to our caveman ancestors are still there," he argues. But "unless you're willing to hunt your food, they're not."

As Pollan explains, the animals bred by modern agriculture—which are fed artificial diets of corn and grains, and beefed up with hormones and antibiotics—have nutritional profiles far from wild game.

Pastured animals, raised on diets of grass and grubs, are closer to their wild relatives; even these, however, are nothing like the lean animals our ancestors ate.

So, basically, enjoy meat in moderation, and choose pastured meat if possible.

2. Humans can live on bread alone. Paleo obsessives might shun bread, but bread, as it has been traditionally made, is a healthy way to access a wide array of nutrients from grains.

In Cooked, Pollan describes how bread might have been first created: Thousands of years ago, someone probably in ancient Egypt discovered a bubbling mash of grains and water, the microbes busily fermenting what would become dough. And unbeknownst to those ancient Egyptians, the fluffy, delicious new substance had been transformed by those microbes. Suddenly the grains provided even more bang for the bite.

As University of California-Davis food chemist Bruce German told Pollan in an interview, "You could not survive on wheat flour. But you can survive on bread." Microbes start to digest the grains, breaking them down in ways that free up more of the healthful parts. If bread is compared to another method of cooking flour—basically making it into porridge—"bread is dramatically more nutritious," says Pollan. 

Still, common bread made from white flour and commercial yeast doesn't have the same nutritional content as the slowly fermented and healthier sourdough bread you might find at a local baker. Overall, though, bread can certainly be part of a nutritious diet. (At least, for those who don't suffer from  celiac disease.)

3. Eat more microbes. Microbes play a key role not just in bread, but in all sorts of fermented foods: beer, cheese, yogurt, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut, pickles. Thousands—even hundreds—of years ago, before electricity made refrigeration widely available, fermentation was one of the best means of preserving foods.

And now we know that microbes, such as those in our gut,  play a key role in our health, as well. The microbes we eat in foods like pickles may not take up a permanent home in our innards; rather, they seem to be more akin to transient visitors, says Pollan. Still, "fermented foods provide a lot of compounds that gut microbes like," and he says he makes sure to eat some fermented vegetables every day. 

4. Raw food is for the birds (too much of it, anyway). There's paleo, and then there's the raw diet. Folks who eat raw tout the health benefits of the approach, saying that they’re accessing the full, complete nutrients available because they're not heating, and thus destroying, their dinner. But that's simply wrong. We cook to get our hands on  morenutrients, not fewer. According to Wrangham, the one thing absolutely all cultures have in common is that they cook their food. He points out that women who move towards 100 percent raw diets often stop ovulating, because even if in theory they're tossing sufficient food into the blender to fulfill their caloric needs, they simply can't absorb enough from the uncooked food.

Our hefty cousins, the apes, spend half their waking hours gnawing on raw sustenance, about six hours per day. In contrast, we spend only one hour. "So in a sense, cooking opens up this space for other activities," says Pollan. "It's very hard to have culture, it's very hard to have science, it's very hard to have all the things we count as important parts of civilization if you're spending half of all your waking hours chewing." Cooked food: It gave us civilization.

5. Want to be healthy? Cook. Pollan says the food industry has done a great job of convincing eaters that corporations can cook better than we can. The problem is, it's not true. And the food that others cook is nearly always less healthful than that which we cook ourselves.

"Part of the problem is that we've been isolated as cooks for too long," says Pollan. "I found that to the extent you can make cooking itself a social experience, it can be a lot more fun."

But how can we convince folks to give it a try? "I think we have to lead with pleasure," he says. Aside from the many health benefits, cooking is also "one of the most interesting things humans know how to do and have done for a very long time. And we get that, or we wouldn't be watching so much cooking on TV. There is something fascinating about it. But it's even more fascinating when you do it yourself."

For the full interview, in which Pollan also discusses cheese made from his belly button microbes and the latest research on how plants can hear insects snacking on neighboring leaves, listen here: