6 Great Cancer Fighting Foods That You'll Love To Eat

As you may well know, there are a couple forms of cancer that the cancer awareness groups are highlighting this month, which means it's time to bring yourself up to speed on all the latest anti-cancer information. 

No worries at all, we won't be getting into the technical anti-cancer food studies that require a degree to figure out what the heck they just said. Instead, we will break it down into super easy to understand and pardon the pun, but 'digestible' 'bite sized' pieces that you can 'chew on'. 

Now, that we know we won't be quitting our day jobs in favor of becoming comedians any time soon let's get right to it. 

There are several foods that have been shown in studies, clinical trials and empirical data to help your body fight cancer, keep it from spreading, or even stop it from forming in the first place (1-16). Below we will explore these and talk about those that merit it.

Garlic

This little wonder bulb has so many beneficial properties we could write a book about it and many people have. But, to cut right to the heart of the matter, there is likely no better statement than that made on the cancer.gov website where they say: "Several population studies show an association between increased intake of garlic and reduced risk of certain cancers, including cancers of the stomach, colon, esophagus, pancreas, and breast (1)."

Different studies show different amounts of garlic intake being used. So, add it into your cooking as a spice as often as you can and go out of your way to cook dishes with it, and you'll at least be getting some of its benefits. If you wanted to really go for, it then many studies suggest 2-3 cloves per day. 

Berries

We all love to eat them; they taste so good and can be used in so many interesting ways such as toppings for desserts, snacks, put into oatmeal, or cereal for breakfast and more. But did you know that many berries have quite strong anti-cancer properties? (2) Well, here is the condensed version of the findings of just one study of many that show very positive results. 

In the March 1, 2006, issue of Cancer Research, in which OcOSU Public Health professor Gary Stoner and colleagues fed rats a cancer causing chemical called N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine three times a week for a period of five weeks. Then, testing after 20 weeks, rats that ate a diet consisting of 10% black raspberries showed strong reductions in oral, esophageal and colon cancers to the tune of about 50% compared to rats that didn't eat any of the berries. “The berries prevented the entire spectrum of tumors from being initiated and promoted,” Sardo said. (2)

You should take a good look at our berry selection. We have a great selection freeze dried berries so you don't have to be concerned with them going bad before you can eat them all. Because they're freeze dried, there are no worries for traditional spoilage. Have a look right here. 

Cruciferous Vegetables

The vegetable group containing broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower are known as  cruciferous. They may be especially helpful if not only warding off cancer, but in helping you to maintain proper health from a number of perspectives.

In the cancer area, several studies concluded that cruciferous vegetables have shown cancer prevention, cancer reduction, or cancer protection across many cancer types, such as: prostate, colorectal, lung and breast cancers. 

So, not only do they help with your overall health by providing free radical protection, high quality fiber, nutrients, and phytochemicals, but there is strong evidence that they also help protect you against cancer as well.

Take a moment and have a look at our freeze dried broccoli that you'll enjoy using in all your food preparations. It's the ultimate in convenience as you don't have to worry about its normal quick spoilage. Plus, it should be a part of everyone's long term food storage plans in the first place.

Leafy Green Vegetables

Leafy green vegetables like spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, and kale are good sources of the antioxidants beta-carotene and lutein. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, lab studies have found that the nutrients in these foods may limit the growth of some kinds of cancer cells. (3)

It's well known that spinach, in particular, contains high levels of iron and that Popeye® thought it was fantastic stuff for helping to give him his great strength. But, did you know that iron plays an essential role in hemoglobin production, which allows your blood to carry oxygen to your cells. (4)

There are numerous scientific studies that have and are researching the importance of oxygenation in your body's ability to fight cancer. They are finding that the better oxygenated you are the greater your body's ability to fight off cancer. (5)

So, putting two and two together it looks like Popeye® may have been on to something. Spinach contains iron which has always been associated with improved strength. The reason for its association is that iron helps form hemoglobin, which carries the oxygen to your muscles and allows them to work harder. As a great side benefit, it also appears that oxygen helps your body to remain cancer free or fight it if you have it. (5)

So, it really looks like leafy green vegetables are a staple from here on out with maybe a little extra emphasis put on spinach, which of course goes well with olive oil.

If you think about it, those old Popeye® cartoons were giving you a ton of health messages. Popeye® was strong because he ate spinach. Bluto® was big because he ate meat. Olive Oyle® was Popeye's® main squeeze and how do you get olive oil from olives, you squeeze it out. Wimpy® was big, fat and weak because he ate burgers, and Swee'Pea® was named that because he was sweet and peas have some of the highest natural sugars of all vegetables. Great lessons from a simple little cartoon.

Grapes

The skin of red grapes is a particularly rich source of an antioxidant called resveratrol. Grape juice and red wine are also high in this amazing antioxidant that has gained massive media exposure over the last several years.  

According to the National Cancer Institute, resveratrol may be useful in keeping cancer from beginning or spreading. (6) Studies have shown that resveratrol has lessened the development of cancer in both males and females. Other studies have indicated that resveratrol may reduce the instance of prostate cancer in men. 

So, if you're a wine aficionado (and 21 or older, of course), it looks like partaking of the Vino  is not such a bad idea after all. Other studies have shown that moderate amounts of red wine have also been shown to contribute the overall effects and benefits that resveratrol provides. (6)

For those that aren't 21 or have to drive somewhere later, eating a serving of grapes a day looks like it might just keep the doctor away as well. 

Beans

Yes, I can hear it already. Wait a minute, that's not what I meant, and no - that wasn't me, I swear. 

What I meant was, I can hear the laughter already, and you likely have that childhood song so many kids sang about beans playing in your head - much like I do because I'm writing this. 

People name off all kinds of other fruits when they start talking about antioxidants and forget that beans are fruits themselves (also called legumes), and a couple varieties have tremendous antioxidant power. 

Pinto, red kidney, and black beans are all quite high in powerful antioxidants. But, they also contain a tremendous amount of insoluble fiber. This is the fiber that cleans our colons and increases the transitory time of food through our digestive tract, which is the culprit that makes eating too many beans socially awkward. Soaking them overnight in pure water prior to cooking does help to alleviate that problem a great deal. You can Google different methods easily. 

The American Cancer Society has said on many occasions that diets high in fiber help to reduce the chances of developing colon and several other types of cancer. And there are very few sources in the world as rich with insoluble fiber as the humble bean. 

The thing that's really interesting is that the more we learn them more we figure out, we don't know much at all. Here we are creating drugs to do the jobs nature has done already for us, and many of the drugs have massive side effects. Have you ever heard of anyone overdosing on broccoli? No? Me either. 

All the evidence is pointing to the fact that what Hippocrates said all those years ago is just the plain old truth: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Go have a look at our selection of high quality Dehydrated Instant Beans so you can get started right away!

References

1. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/garlic-fact-sheet#q3
2. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cruciferous-vegetables-fact-sheet#q3
3. http://www.aicr.org/continuous-update-project/
4. http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/hemoglobin_and_functions_of_iron/
5. http://www.medicaldaily.com/breathing-extra-oxygen-shows-promise-fighting-cancer-and-boosting-immune-system-will-324646
6. http://www.cancer.gov/research
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK351
8. http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/egg-nutrition
9. http://www.fruitandvegetable.ucdavis.edu/files/197179.pdf
10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/
11. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/588555
12. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/12/30/255778250/cinnamon-can-help-lower-blood-sugar-but-one-variety-may-be-best
13. http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/Coconut%20Research-Coconut%20Research%20Center.pdf
14. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet
15. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cooked-meats-fact-sheet
16. http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cruciferous-vegetables-fact-sheet#q3

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