Top 10 Best Cancer-Fighting Foods

Posted by Patrick McDowell in Healthy Living | Comments Off

No single food or food substances can protect you against cancer. But scientists believe that the right combination of foods in a predominantly plant-based diet may.

According to the majority of the laboratory research on diet and cancer suggests that eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans will lower your risk of developing the disease. Scientists are trying to determine precisely how and why these foods may prevent or stop the development of tumors.

Here is a list of foods we get asked about most often. Click each one to learn what current science can tell us about its role in protecting our health.

Beans

Beans (also known as legumes) include lentils and peas along with many other varieties. Beans are also rich in fiber. Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, found probable evidence that foods containing dietary fiber, like beans, can decrease one’s risk of developing colorectal cancer.

The active ingredients in beans that scientists believe may play a role in cancer prevention include: saponins, protease inhibitors and phytic acid. These compounds, called phytochemicals, are found naturally in plants and appear to protect our cells from damage that can lead to cancer.

Berries

Berries are known as good sources of vitamin C and fiber. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, foods high in vitamin C probably protect against cancer of the esophagus, while foods containing dietary fiber can probably decrease one’s risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Strawberries also contain a wide range of other phytochemicals, called flavonoids, each of which seems to employ a similar array of anti-cancer strategies.

Blueberries contain a family of phenolic compounds called anthocyanosides, which many scientists believe are among the most potent antioxidants yet discovered.

Tomatos

The tomato’s red hue comes chiefly from a phytochemical called lycopene. Tomatoes have attracted particular attention from prostate cancer researchers because lycopene and its related compounds tend to concentrate in tissues of the prostate.

Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, found substantial and convincing evidence that foods containing lycopene probably protect against prostate cancer.

Green Tea

Since ancient times, tea has been used as both beverage and medicine. Both black and green teas contain numerous active ingredients, including polyphenols and flavonoids, which are potent antioxidants.

One class of flavonoids called catechins has recently become the focus of widespread study for their anti-cancer potential. Tea is the best source of catechins in the human diet, and green tea contains about three times the quantity of catechins found in black tea.

Studies that track the diets of human subjects over several years (particularly studies conducted in Asia, where green tea consumption is common) have also associated regular usage of green tea with lower risk for bladder, colon, stomach, pancreatic and esophageal cancers.

Whole Grain

The term “whole grain” means that all three parts of the grain kernel (germ, bran and endosperm) are included. Refined grains usually have the bran and germ removed, leaving only the starchy endosperm. Brown rice is a whole grain, white rice is not. Other whole-grain foods include wheat breads, rolls, pasta and cereals; whole grain oat cereals such as oatmeal, popcorn, wild rice, tortilla and tortilla chips, corn, kasha (roasted buckwheat) and tabouleh (bulghur wheat).

Whole grains are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and hundreds of natural plant compounds, called phytochemicals, which protect cells from the types of damage that may lead to cancer. In addition research points to specific substances in whole grains that have been linked to lower cancer risk, including antioxidants, phenols, lignans, phytoestrogens and saponins.

Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, found probable evidence that foods containing dietary fiber, like whole grains, can decrease one’s risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Cruciferous Vegetables

The cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and kale. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, non-starchy vegetables, like those listed above, probably protect against some types of cancers. This protective effect is strongest for cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and stomach.

Several laboratory studies have suggested that cruciferous vegetables help regulate a complex system of bodily enzymes that defend against cancer. Components of these vegetables have shown the ability to stop the growth of cancer cells in various cell, tissue and animal models, including tumors of the breast, endometrium, lung, colon, liver, colon and cervix.

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

Spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, mustard greens, collard greens, chicory and Swiss chard are excellent sources of fiber, folate and a wide range of carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin, along with saponins and flavonoids.

Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, foods containing carotenoids probably protect against cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx.

But also noted probable evidence that foods containing folate decrease risk of pancreatic cancer and that foods containing dietary fiber probably reduce one’s chances of developing colorectal cancer.

Garlic

Garlic belongs to the family of vegetables called Allium, which also includes onions, scallions, leeks and chives.

Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, foods belonging to the allium family of vegetables probably protect against stomach cancer. Moreover, the evidence in the report shows that garlic, in particular, probably decreases one’s chances of developing colorectal cancer.

Grapes and Grape Juice

Both grapes and grape juice are rich sources of resveratrol, a specific type of natural plant chemical that belongs to a much larger group of plant chemicals called polyphenols.

The skin of the grape contains the most resveratrol, and red and purple grapes contain significantly more resveratrol than green grapes. Grape jam and raisins contain much smaller amounts of this phytochemical.

In one series of studies, resveratrol blocked the development of skin, breast and leukemia cancers at all three stages of the disease (initiation, promotion and progression).

Flaxseed

Flaxseed is available as flaxseed flour, flaxseed meal (which has the texture of cornmeal), flaxseed oil and whole flaxseeds. The whole seeds cannot be digested, so they provide no nutritional or health benefits unless they are ground.

Flaxseed is the best dietary source for substances called lignans. Lignans are classified as phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) because they seem to mimic the action of estrogen in the body. In some studies, this behavior has been linked to reduced cancer risk. Note that flaxseed oil does not naturally contain lignans, although some manufacturers add them during processing.

Flax is also the richest plant source of one kind of omega-3 fatty acid, alphalinolenic acid (ALA). In several large scale studies, this fat has shown promising health benefits, including offering protection from heart disease and some cancers.

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Source: The American Institute for Cancer Research