Natural Agents in the Prevention of Cancer
Data exist in the scientific literature showing reduction in the risk of tumor occurrence achieved by the use of nutritional and other natural materials. However, many trials that have attempted to prevent cancer occurrence with nutritional supplementation have found no effect or even increased tumor incidence. Several factors appear to be responsible for these disparate data, including the forms of nutrients used and the types of cancer being studied.
Part I: Human Chemoprevention Trials
Alternative Medicine Review 2001 (Feb); 6 (1): 7–19 ~ FULL TEXT
The battle against cancer has been waged for several decades without resounding curative success from the use of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in most common solid tumors. (1) Much of the present day research directed against active malignancy has shifted toward identification of strategies affecting the growth rate or apoptosis of such cells so that life with cancer can be greatly extended without the deleterious effects of the more aggressive therapies.
Part II: Preclinical Data and Chemoprevention for Common Cancers
Alternative Medicine Review 2001 (Apr); 6 (2): 167–187 ~ FULL TEXT
This paper is the second of a series examining the use of nutritional supplements as chemopreventive agents. The first paper in the series examined the data from human chemoprevention trials. (1) In the present paper the mechanisms of action of promising treatments will be discussed. In vitro and animal data are presented in support of the agents as appropriate. The subject of chemoprevention with nutritional agents has been the subject of voluminous research, and this review should not be considered exhaustive. In cases where review articles already exist regarding a particular agent (e.g., vitamin A, beta-carotene), these papers should be consulted for a more complete summary.
Herbal Aids for Cancer
Cancer treatments are a paradox, on one hand delivering powerful toxicity to a tumor, but on the other spreading toxicity to the rest of the body. The side effects of such treatments may cause death even before the cancer does. Biological response modifiers (BRMs) are compounds that have a unique effect on physiology and can reduce the side effects of cancer treatments, while at the same time increasing their effectiveness. A BRM repairs damage to the body rather than targeting a pathogenic agent such as cancer. It typically acts by stimulating the immune system to restore optimal function. Many diseases and infections as well as AIDS result from immune surveillance failure. Because chemotherapy compromises the immune system, people receiving cancer treatments run an especially high risk of contracting and dying of infections.
Monoterpenes: Essence of a Cancer Cure
Essential oils, the highly concentrated volatile, aromatic essences of plants, are a mainstay of aromatherapy but are also used in flavoring, perfumes and even as solvents. Researchers now think that two components of orange oil and lavender oil are a good bet to prevent and treat cancer. Because limonene and perillyl affect the pathway that produces cholesterol, they can inhibit cholesterol synthesis, thereby eliminating a minor contributor to cancer formation.2 Monoterpenes also increase the levels of liver enzymes involved in detoxifying carcinogens, an effect that decreases the possibility carcinogens will cause cellular damage.2 In addition, monoterpenes stimulate apoptosis, a cellular self-destruction mechanism triggered when a cell's DNA is badly damaged.3 This safety feature is generally activated before a cell becomes cancerous.
The Leading Causes of Death
Careful analysis of the tables below demonstrates that the top killers of human–kind are lifestyle–related and often preventable. Chronic diseases comprise the three leading causes of death in the United States –– heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease –– and they account for nearly two thirds of all deaths.
Defeating Free Radicals: The Key to Longevity
Renewal: The Anti-Aging Revolution
Great moments in human history often begin inauspiciously. Such was the case in December 1945, when the wife of Denham Harmon handed him the latest issue of the Ladies' Home Journal. It was opened to an article titled "Tomorrow You May Be Younger," written by William L. Laurence, science editor of the New York Times. This article, heralding the work of a Russian gerontologist on an "anti-reticular cytotoxic serum," sparked Dr. Harmon's interest in finding an answer to the riddle of aging--a subject that scientists of the time knew absolutely nothing about.
Cancer's Sweet Tooth
Of the 4 million cancer patients being treated in America today, hardly any are offered any scientifically guided nutrition therapy beyond being told to "just eat good foods." Most patients I work with arrive with a complete lack of nutritional advice. I believe many cancer patients would have a major improvement in their outcome if they controlled the supply of cancer's preferred fuel, glucose.
Beating Cancer With Nutrition
“I'm sorry, but you have cancer.” These words from a doctor introduce fear into the heart of any patient. The good news is that supportive nutrition therapy can significantly increase cancer patients' quality and length of life and improve their chances for a complete remission. Better yet, a healthy lifestyle that includes a wholesome diet, sufficient exercise, positive attitude and toxin avoidance can prevent up to 90 percent of cancers.
The Cancer Prevention Diet
Cancer is a prominent killer of Americans--second only to heart disease--and responsible for more than a half million deaths yearly. The good news is that scientific validation for the protective power of food is accumulating. And empowering people to preserve their health through daily choices puts responsibility in patients' hands.
The Role of Free Radicals in Disease
Aust N Z J Ophthalmol 1995; 23 (1) Feb: 3–7
Evidence is accumulating that most of the degenerative diseases that afflict humanity have their origin in deleterious free radical reactions. These diseases include atherosclerosis, cancer, inflammatory joint disease, asthma, diabetes, senile dementia and degenerative eye disease.
Micronutrients Prevent Cancer and Delay Aging
Toxicol Lett. 1998 (Dec 28); 102-103: 5–18
Approximately 40 micronutrients are required in the human diet. Deficiency of vitamins B12, folic acid, B6, niacin, C, or E, or iron, or zinc, appears to mimic radiation in damaging DNA by causing single- and double-strand breaks, oxidative lesions, or both. The percentage of the US population that has a low intake (< 50% of the RDA) for each of these eight micronutrients ranges from 2% to > or = 20%; half of the population may be deficient in at least one of these micronutrients.
DNA Damage From Micronutrient Deficiencies Is Likely To Be a Major Cause of Cancer
Mutat Res 2001 (Apr 18); 475 (1-2): 7–20
A deficiency of any of the micronutrients: folic acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, niacin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, iron, or zinc, mimics radiation in damaging DNA by causing single- and double-strand breaks, oxidative lesions, or both. For example, the percentage of the US population that has a low intake (<50% of the RDA) for each of these eight micronutrients ranges from 2 to >20%. A level of folate deficiency causing chromosome breaks was present in approximately 10% of the US population, and in a much higher percentage of the poor.
High Doses of Multiple Antioxidant Vitamins: Essential Ingredients in Improving the Efficacy of Standard Cancer Therapy
J Am Coll Nutr 1999 (Feb); 18 (1): 13-25
Numerous articles and several reviews have been published on the role of antioxidants, and diet and lifestyle modifications in cancer prevention. However, the potential role of these factors in the management of human cancer have been largely ignored. Extensive in vitro studies and limited in vivo studies have revealed that individual antioxidants such as vitamin A (retinoids), vitamin E (primarily alpha-tocopheryl succinate), vitamin C (primarily sodium ascorbate) and carotenoids (primarily polar carotenoids) induce cell differentiation and growth inhibition to various degrees in rodent and human cancer cells by complex mechanisms.
