We all know
the danger of lung cancer from smoking, but most are ignorant of the risk of
throat cancer from alcohol excess, or obesity .
Recent World Health Organisation
statistics for the EU show that 40-50% of men and 25-35% of women are
overweight thanks to poor diet and sedentary habits, and some 50% of these are
obese. In USA the figures are worse: 68% of adults are overweight and 33.8%
obese. In UK, one in five children aged 10 are now considered obese
Obesity is now a major causation factor or risk elevation for a
considerable number of cancers. Indeed obesity looks set to overtake smoking as
the major cause of cancer.
The list of cancers that can be caused
from obesity is daunting: cervical; colorectal; endometrial, (lining of the
uterus); oesophagus, (gullet); hepatocellular, (subtype of liver cancer);
gallbladder; kidney; malignant melanoma;
post-menopausal breast cancer; non-Hodgkinson’s Lymphom, thyroid cancer. The present parlous state of the NHS in
the UK, together with the US President’s desire to slash federal funding for
Medicare, Medicaid and the US Institute of National Health, make the reduction
of obesity ever more crucial in primary cancer prevention as well as in
cancerous growth and metastasis, (development of secondary malignant tumour
growths at a distance from a primary cancer site).
In addition
to essential weight loss and a healthy lifestyle in cancer prevention, there
are a number of plant-based foods that have nutrients, which appear in studies
to have cancer-preventive properties as well as inhibiting cancer growth and
metastasis. Unlike sugar, which feeds sucrose-loving cancer tumours, they help
to starve and eliminate cancer cells and the growth of blood cells that tumours
feed on. Their phytochemical interferes with the cellular communication that
triggers inflammation and stimulates the emergence and progression of cancer
tumours in the body. In effect they become biological response
modifiers, changing the way the body works.
While all the nutrients shown
below can be taken as (sometimes expensive) supplements, they are present in
the sort of fresh organic vegetables, fruits, fish and dairy products that can
be found in healthy eating such as the Mediterranean Diet.
Ursolic Acid. Present in apples, basil,
bilberries, cranberries, elderflower, peppermint, rosemary, lavender, oregano,
thyme, hawthorn, prunes.
Vitamin D. Present
in wild caught, (as opposed to farmed) fatty fish like salmon, free
range eggs, whole milk, Sunlight. Cooking reduces vitamin D by 30%.
Curcumin. Present in turmeric
root.
Sulforaphane. Present in many cruciferous
vegetables such as cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi,
turnip, radish, watercress.
Quercentin. Present in
onions, capers, blackberries, dark cherries, cocoa, kale, apples.
Apigenin. Present in
fresh grapefruit, onions, oranges, parsley, chamomile tea.
Luteolin. Present in green
peppers, celery, chamomile tea.
Anthraquinones. Present in
rhubarb,
Ian MacWatt
