In the modern world in which virtually everyone is an expert on nutrition, or anything else for that matter, it is always best to play it safe and go with what nature gave us. Forget all those expensive and fake cancer medications, the answer lies in your own fridge.
The phytonutrients and other special nutrients found in plant-based superfoods are the way to go, so make sure you introduce these 10 cancer-fighting foods to your daily diet. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
1. Raspberries
You can never go wrong with berries. Any kind of fruit from the berry-family is a must since these delicious little fruits are packed with cancer-fighting phytonutrients.
However, there is one berry that stands out from the crowd – raspberry. Raspberries are said to contain very high concentrations of phytochemicals called anthocyanins.
These crucial nutrients slow down the growth of premalignant cells and keep new blood vessels from forming and potentially helping the cancerous tumor cells grow.
According to Gary D. Stoner, PhD, a professor of internal medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, these juicy fruits are great for fighting off colon, esophageal, oral, and skin cancers.
2. Garlic
We already know how awesome garlic is, but did you know this superfood can prevent you from getting this grim disease?
Recent research shows that phytochemicals in garlic prevent the formation of nitrosamines (carcinogens that form in our stomach and sometimes in our intestines).
These nitrosamines are created in our bellies when we consume nitrates, a common food preservative found in almost every processed food. But this is where super-garlic comes in.
Recent study conducted in Iowa by Women’s Health Study found that women with high amounts of garlic in their diets had up to 50% lower risk of colon cancers than women who didn’t ea this veggie at all.
So far, garlic has been proven to fight breast, colon, esophageal, and stomach cancers.
3. Broccoli
Our old friend, broccoli, strikes again! In fact, all cruciferous vegetables contain cancer-fighting abilities. Cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broccoli, you name it… However, broccoli is the one that beats them all.
According to Jed Fahey, ScD, this amazing veggie is packed with sizable amounts of sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is a particularly potent compound that is bale to skyrocket the protective enzymes in your body, while it also manages to flush out cancer-causing chemicals from your belly.
Sulforaphane was also found to stop cancer stem cells from growing. Eataing broccoli can help prevent and fight off breast, liver, lung, prostate, skin, stomach, and bladder cancers.
4. Fish Oil
Fish meat is famous for being the healthiest meat out there, while fish oil is even better. This superfood provides massive amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, crucial for preventing your body to develop cancer cells.
Omega-3 is a powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient that minimizes COX-2 and its abilities to drive localized negative hormones called eicosanoids which inflame and irritate.
But the most important property of Omega-3 packed fish oil is that it reinforces and re-lengthens telomeres, which shorten when you have cancer, thus making your DNA structure susceptible to cancer.
Fish oil also contains vast amounts of vitamin A, a vital vitamin in the fight against cancer. This superfood has been proven to reduce levels of prostate, breast and colon cancer.
5. Carrots
The story about carrots being able to improve our sight is as old as time, but these amazing veggies can do so much more for your body.
Carrots provide anti-cancer carotenoids (beta-carotene, to be more precise), which convert to vitamin A, the crucial nutrient when it comes to fighting cancer.
1 cup of carrot juice provides your body with 25 mgs of this anti-cancer nutrient. The recommended way of consuming carrots, aside from eating them fresh or cooked, is via carrot/apple/beetroot/ginger juice mix.
The mixture of all these superfoods packs one hell of a cancer-fighting punch full of quercitin and anthocyanins, nutrients famous for their ability to prevent cancer.
6. Leafy Greens
All leafy green vegetables should be mandatory in our everyday diet. These delicious veggies are packing a mean folic acid punch, which means they are little green cancer-fighting machines.
Folic acid is known to be able to help your DNA replicate properly, while it also protects it during radiotherapy.
400 micrograms of folic acid is the recommended amount, while this awesome veggie also provides your body with biotin, niacin and vitamin B6, all extremely important nutrients that help in this battle against cancer.
And there’s more – these green vegetables are also a good source of sulforaphanes, nutrients that have strong cancer correcting properties and have been shown to aid survival from colorectal cancer.
7. Beans
His name is Bean… Mr. Bean.
A recent study conducted by the Michigan State University revealed that black and navy beans significantly reduce colon cancer incidence in rats.
It appears that diets rich in legumes manage to increase the levels of the fatty acid called butyrate. When produced in high concentrations, butyrate is extremely effective in fight against cancer growth.
And that is not all. Another study (this one has been done by the Crop Science journal), showed that dried beans are particularly effective when it comes to preventing breast and colon cancer.
Introduce these bad boys (in any form you prefer) to your everyday diet and play it safe.
8. Tomatoes
This is a tricky one. Let’s see why.
Fresh and juicy tomatoes are definitely the best dietary source of lycopene you can find. Lycopene is a carotenoid that gives tomatoes their famous red color, but that is not why we are here.
A study published in Nutrition and Cancer says this nutrient is also found to have the ability to stop endometrial cancer cell growth, which is particularly important as endometrial cancer is said to cause more than 8,000 deaths a year.
Aside from endometrial, tomatoes are proven to aid in prevention of prostate, and stomach cancers, as well.
Now for the tricky part… Make sure you stir clear from canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are known to even cause cancer due to their high acidity. Quite the opposite of what we are trying to do here.
9. Walnuts
Another superfood that has been proven to successfully fight cancer are delicious walnuts.
Walnuts are packed with phytosterols, cholesterol-like molecules most commonly found in plants that are able to “block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, slowing the cells’ growth,” according to Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia.
These nuts are packed with fiber and do wonders when it comes to fighting and preventing breast and prostate cancer.
Looking for a healthy snack between your regular meals? You just found it! It doesn’t matter if you are eating them raw or in some other form, they are delicious and extremely healthy. Our recommendation is to dip them in honey.
You’ll thank us later.
10. Legumes
One of the most important tactics with eating foods that fight cancer is to eat a lot of fiber and protein, but to reduce animal fats to a minimum. Eating any kind of legume is the way to go.
Puy lentils, chickpeas, aduki beans, soya, green lentils, flageolet beans, black turtle beans… the list goes on, and you should have it on you at all times.
Legumes are also potent in the battle against this awful disease due to their high levels of phytoestrogens, a substance vital for fighting off cancer.
Legumes (or pulses) provide you with lignans as well. Lignans are particularly significant as it can help with the neutralization of free-radicals in the gut and blood stream.
