6 Foods That May Reduce Risk of Cancer

Your chance of contracting chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer can be significantly impacted by what you consume. It has been demonstrated that your diet has a significant impact on the development of cancer. Many meals contain healthy ingredients that might slow the spread of cancer.

Broccoli

Sulforaphane, a plant chemical included in cruciferous vegetables that may have significant anticancer activities, is a component of broccoli.

Sulforaphane decreased the size and quantity of breast cancer cells by up to 75%, according to test-tube research. Similar to this, a study on animals revealed that administering sulforaphane to mice resulted in the death of prostate cancer cells and a more than 50% reduction in tumor size. Higher consumption of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli has also been related in certain studies to a reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

Eating more cruciferous vegetables was linked to a lower risk of colorectal and colon cancer, according to one review of 35 research.

Including broccoli in a few of your meals each week, may help prevent cancer. However, take in mind that the research that is currently available has not specifically examined how broccoli can affect cancer in people.

Instead, it has only focused on in vitro, in vivo, and observational studies that either examined the effects of cruciferous vegetables or the effects of a particular component found in broccoli. More research is therefore required. A higher intake of foods may be linked to a lower risk of the disease, according to numerous research.

Carrots

Several studies have found a link between eating more carrots and a lower risk of developing certain cancers. For instance, a review of five research findings found that consuming carrots may lower the incidence of stomach cancer by up to 26%. Another study discovered that eating more carrots was linked to an 18% decreased risk of developing prostate cancer.

In one study, 1,266 participants with and without lung cancer had their diets examined. According to the study, people who were current smokers and did not consume carrots were three times more likely to acquire lung cancer than those who did. To enhance your consumption and lower your risk of cancer, try including carrots in your diet occasionally as a delightful side dish or a nutritious snack.

However, keep in mind that while these studies suggest a link between eating carrots and cancer, they fail to consider other potential contributing factors into consideration. The current body of knowledge, however, is restricted to animal research and studies that demonstrate connection but not causality. To explicitly investigate this in humans, more research is required.

Beans

Fiber-rich foods like beans may help prevent colorectal cancer, according to several studies. According to one study, those who consumed more cooked, dry beans had a lower tendency to experience tumor recurrence among 1,905 people with a history of colon cancers.

Additionally, a study on animals discovered that giving rats navy or black beans before causing colon cancer prevented the growth of cancer cells by as much as 75%. These findings suggest that eating a few servings of beans each week may help you consume more fiber and reduce your risk of getting cancer.

The current body of knowledge, however, is restricted to animal research and studies that demonstrate connection but not causality. To explicitly investigate this in humans, more research is required.

Berries

Berries include a lot of anthocyanins, which are plant pigments with antioxidant characteristics and a lower risk of cancer. In one human investigation, bilberry extract was administered for seven days to 25 patients with colon cancer, and it was discovered to slow the growth of cancer cells by 7%. Another small trial revealed that giving freeze-dried black raspberries to patients with oral cancer reduced levels of several cancer-related indicators.

According to one study on animals, feeding rats freeze-dried black raspberries decreased the incidence and number of esophageal tumors by up to 62 percent and 54 percent, respectively. Another study on animals showed that giving rats berry extract inhibited many cancer indicators. These results suggest that consuming a serving or two of berries daily may help prevent the growth of cancer.

Remember that further human research is required because these trials, which examined the effects of a concentrated dose of berry extract, were conducted on animals and were observational.

In conclusion, certain types of cancer may be prevented from growing and spreading by the substances found in berries, according to some test-tube and animal studies.

Cinnamon

The health benefits of cinnamon, such as its capacity to lower blood sugar and reduce inflammation, are widely established. Additionally, some research on animals and in test tubes suggests that cinnamon may prevent the spread of cancer cells. An experiment in test tubes revealed that cinnamon extract could stop cancer cells from spreading and cause them to die. Another test-tube investigation revealed that cinnamon essential oil dramatically decreased tumor size and inhibited the proliferation of head and neck cancer cells.

Additionally, a study on animals revealed that cinnamon extract caused the death of tumor cells and slowed the growth and spread of malignancies. Consuming 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (2-4 grams) of cinnamon daily may help prevent cancer and have additional health advantages like lowering blood sugar and reducing inflammation. To fully grasp how cinnamon might influence human cancer development, more research is required.

Nuts

Consuming nuts may reduce your risk of developing some cancers, according to research. For instance, a study that examined the diets of 19,386 individuals discovered that consuming more nuts was linked to a lower chance of dying from cancer. More research on humans is still required to ascertain whether nuts are to blame for this connection or whether other factors are at play.

Are antioxidants able to prevent cancer?

How do antioxidants work? Antioxidants are compounds that might guard against the harm that unstable molecules called free radicals due to cells. Cancer may result from free radical damage. Free radicals interact and are stabilized by antioxidants, which may limit some of the harm they may otherwise do. Beta-carotene, lycopene, and vitamins C, E, and A, among other chemicals, are examples of antioxidants.

Numerous laboratory experiments on chemicals, cell cultures, and animals suggest that antioxidants may inhibit or even stop the growth of cancer. Less is known about contemporary clinical trials’ findings, though. Large-scale, randomized clinical trials have shown conflicting results lately.

What have previously reported large-scale clinical trials revealed?

The results of five extensive clinical trials that were published in the 1990s on the impact of antioxidants on cancer came to diverse findings. The studies looked at how beta-carotene and other antioxidants affected cancer in various patient populations. However, depending on the patient demographic, beta-carotene had various effects. Below is a summary of each study’s findings.

The Chinese Cancer Prevention Study, which was published in 1993, was the first sizable, randomized experiment on antioxidants and cancer risk. In this trial, healthy Chinese men, and women at high risk for stomach cancer were given a mixture of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium to see how it would affect their chance of developing cancer. According to the study, eating foods high in beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium lowers the risk of developing both stomach cancer and other types of cancer.

According to the Alpha-Tocopherol (vitamin E)/Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC), published in 1994, beta-carotene dramatically raised the lung cancer rates in Finnish male smokers while vitamin E had no effect. The Beta-Carotene and Retinol (vitamin A) Efficacy Trial (CARET), another 1994 study, also suggested that antioxidants may raise the risk of lung cancer. The 1996 Physicians’ Health Study I (PHS) found no difference in the cancer rates linked to the consumption of aspirin and beta-carotene by American male doctors. The Women’s Health Study (WHS), conducted in 1999, examined the role of vitamin E and beta-carotene in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease in women 45 years of age or older. There was no advantage or risk from taking beta-carotene supplements among women who were in good health. The impact of vitamin E is still being studied.