Cancer Fighting Foods

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Tobacco

The link between tobacco smoke and cancer is established beyond doubt. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, 60 of which including arsenic, methanol, nicotine, DDT, tar, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide are carcinogens that affect not only the smoker but passive smokers as well.  Aside from lung cancer, many other types of cancer  —  including cancers of the mouth, gullet (oesophagus), cervic and bladder  —  are also linked to smoking.  Statistics (2008) reveal that a full 33% of the 700,000 newly registered cases of cancer in India are tobacco related.  Smoking is a slow poison and it is said that every cigarette smoked takes away 11-20 minutes of smoker’s life and 3-7 minutes of passive smokers. Apart from cancers, smokers are at much higher risk of asthma, tuberculosis, stroke, blockage of arteries, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). Chemicals like nicotene (responsible for tobacco addiction) act as stimulants on the central nervous system, increase metabolic rate, raise blood pressure, change muscle tension, affect certain brain chemicals and hormones, reduce oxygen availability to cells/muscles, make heart beat 30% faster, reduce immunity, cause inflammation, lower quality of semen and sperm count in men, increase risk of miscarriage by 25%, reduce birth weight by 200-250 gms of smoker’s babies and make them prone to illnesses later in life, damage the DNA. 

Obesity

After tobacco, obesity is the second highest risk factor for cancer.  Being overweight accounts for 14% of cancer deaths in men and 20% in women as they produce more hormones which help cancers thrive.  The evidence that obesity increases the risk of cancer of the endometrium is convincing.  Obesity also probably increases the risk of cancer of the breast in post-menopausal women and cancer of the kidney.  It possibly increases the risk of cancer of the colon, uterus and oesophagus. People with lots of abdominal fat — wrapped in and around the internal organs — appear to be at higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other illnesses. Obese women who carry most of their extra weight around the stomach are 70% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.  Some doctors refer to excess belly fat as “toxic waste site”. 

Exposure to Chemicals

Numerous scientific studies show compelling evidence linking cancer with specific exposures to various chemicals.  Breast cancer may be caused by exposure to DDT before puberty, prostate cancer by pesticides and metal working fluids, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma by pesticides and solvents, leukemia by exposure to 1.3 butadiene, and lung cancer by exposure to air pollution, and so on.