Natural Compounds That Show Promise In Preventing Cancer

Reference Article: What Causes Cancer? What Can You Do To Prevent Cancer?

Although cancer chemotherapy agents are thought of as chemicals and somehow unnatural stages of lung cancer, countless of them have been developed from nature. Plants, fungus, coral all have contributed for the war on cancer. Paclitaxel comes from the bark in the Pacific Yew tree, docetaxel from the needles from the European Yew tree and vinca alkaloids like vincristine and vinblastine were isolated from the leaves from the periwinkle plant. It naturally follows that if natural substances can treat cancer, they can also prevent cancer. Much more importantly treatment for ovarian cancer, these cancer fighting substances are inside the food we eat and they are the subjects of intensive research.
 
I've written articles on how foods assist prevent illness. Food substances, especially vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients, have a variety of mechanisms by which they maintain health and prevent illness. They can prevent oxidation stages of cervical cancer, induce anti-carcinogenic enzymes, or even turn on and off good genes and bad genes. The wonder of foods and health is actually a vast universe just waiting to be explored. Here are some from the most potent and promising agents to prevent cancer.
 
All in the following agents have potent agents to fight oxidation, inflammation, out-of-control cell growth stages of ovarian cancer, and abnormal blood vessel formation all of which happen to be found to lead to cancer development.  
 
1.       Green tea which contains polyphenols and EGCG. It shows promise in preventing multiple cancers including skin, head and neck, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, colon, bladder, prostate, and breast cancers. 
2.       Curcumin found in turmeric powder. This spice is common in foods from India and is also utilized to give yellow mustard its color. Curcumin shows promise in preventing skin, lung, head and neck, esophagus, stomach, colon, bladder, prostate, breast, lymphoma, and cervix cancers. 
3.       Resveratrol is found in grape skins and red wine. In addition towards the benefits outlined above Natural Compounds That Show Promise in Preventing Cancer , resveratrol induces the production of sirtuins which assist protect the DNA from damage and has been found to extend the lives of animals. Human research is underway. This shows promise in preventing ovary, breast, prostate, liver, leukemia All-natural Compounds That Show Promise in Preventing Cancer , lung and stomach cancers. 
4.       Lycopene is found in tomatoes as well as water melons and some other fruit. Lycopene shows promise in preventing prostate, breast, lung, skin, head and neck Natural Compounds That Show Promise in Preventing Cancer , stomach, colon and pancreas cancers.   
5.       Pomegranates contain multiple substances including ellagic acid which shows promise in preventing skin, breast, lung, prostate, head and neck, esophagus, colon, leukemia and brain tumors. 
6.       Soybeans and soy products contain genistein. There's promise that genistein might prevent breast, prostate, skin, stomach, colon, pancreas, head and neck, ovary and liver cancers.
7.       Ginkgo biloba a popular supplement has promise in preventing ovary, brain and breast cancer. 
8.       Omega-3 oils are found in olive oil, flaxseed, and fish. It has promise in preventing prostate, esophageal, colon, stomach, pancreas, head and neck, and hematologic cancers. 
 
Some from the most exciting findings in this research are the action of these compounds go beyond oxidation and inflammation. These substances actually have beneficial effects on good genes and suppressive effects on bad genes. This area of research is called nutrigenomics and it is a very exciting field.
 
The compounds in these foods have been found to have actions on tumor suppressors p53 and p21 proteins. They modulate growth by means of activity on growth factor receptors (EGFR), blood vessels (VEGF), cell division a.k.a. mitosis (cyclin D1) and cell death (bcl-2, bax protein). They even help to modulate the immune system response to stimuli (NF-kb). 
 
Everything we need to remain healthy is present in nature. Medical research has known this for thousands of years and also the research has not stopped. As you can see, there is active research on several in the foods we eat to see how they aid prevent cancer. This research is ongoing across the world and it shows much promise. Hopefully they will confirm what our mothers have always told us to remain healthy, "eat your fruits and vegetables." 
 
More reading
 
Ruhul Amin A.R.M et. al. Perspectives for cancer prevention with all-natural compounds. J Clin Oncology 2009;27:2712-2725
 
National Cancer Institute: www.cancer.gov (you can search for research trials here)
 
The American Institute for Cancer Research: www.AICR.org (an excellent resource for nutrition and cancer information)

Natural Compounds That Show Promise In Preventing Cancer