Vitamin pills and supplements are no substitute for eating our vegetables. Scientists are now finding out why. It just so happens that fruits and vegetables are loaded with compounds called phytochemicals and antioxidants that demonstrably lower the risk of cancer.

Phytochemicals are not related to vitamins or minerals. They are not even nutrients. Phyto is Latin for plant. These are natural chemicals only found in plants. These food chemicals cannot be obtained from animal products. What makes these substances so exciting is that study after study continues to reveal the many cancer-protective benefits of the different phytochemicals.

You can lower your risk of cancer quite a bit by eating more fruits and vegetables. More than 200 major studies over the past 25 years have consistently shown that high plant food eaters are about half as likely to have cancer as those who eat few plant foods. This is also true for heart disease, adult diabetes, and certain other lifestyle diseases.

Phytochemicals protect against cancer usually as a blocking agent or suppressing agents. Blocking agents work on the carcinogens. They prevent them from affecting the body’s cells. For example:

- Indoles found in cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli) work as blocking agents by increasing colon enzymes that can deactivate some of these carcinogens.

- Others block the ability of bacteria to attach themselves to the surface of the cell.

Suppressing agents work on the body’s own cells, combating malignant changes that have been started by free radicals or carcinogens. They can slow tumor growth by suppressing the cancer cells ability to reproduce. They can suppress certain enzymes that cancer cells need in order to grow.

Some fruits and vegetables contain more potent cancer fighters than others.

1. For colon cancers, it is the cruciferous vegetables.

2. A high fruit and carrot intake appears to decreases the risk of lung cancers significantly.

3. Eating one or more onions a day were found to have only half the stomach cancer risk of those who never ate onions.

4. Soy is an absolute treasure of cancer-protective phytochemicals. Studies suggest that soy foods diminish cancer risk in many areas, including breast, colon, rectum, lung, and stomach.

The good news about phytochemicals is that you do not have to eat the foods raw to get the benefits. While a few of these compounds might lose some effectiveness when cooked, most still hold their medicinal properties. It also does not matter whether the vegetables are canned, frozen, juiced, or peeled. Pickling, boiling, microwaving, baking, and drying, are also ok.

The National Cancer Institute advocates a minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Some people do not eat any at all.

Like phytochemicals, antioxidants are also natural chemicals found in food, but they are not limited to plant foods. The term antioxidant refers to a specific function they perform – they help the body dispose of free radicals that can genetically damage normal cells and set the stage for cancer.

“What are free radicals you ask?”

Every cell in our body is made up of molecules. Usually every molecule has electrons in range around its nucleus. These electrons usually come in pairs. This makes the molecule stable. However, some molecules have electrons that are not in pairs, leaving them extremely unstable. These molecules are called free radicals.

Free radicals have been found to have a role in at least 50 diseases. They have been known to damage DNA and are linked to cancer. It is important to strengthen our body’s antioxidant defenses with nature’s natural cancer fighters.

Jason Hunter is a natural health advocate. He is webmaster of a natural health web site called Home Health and Natural Remedies. To find out more about fruits and vegetables that contain the most phytochemicals and antioxidants, visit:

hhesonline.com/book_store/encyclopedia-of-medicinal-plants.htm The Encyclopedia Of Medicinal Plants and hhesonline.com/book_store/encyclopedia-of-foods-and-their-healing-power.htm The Encyclopedia Of Foods And Their Healing Power

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Medical researches attempt to define risk factors in order to discover who is most likely to get a particular disease and also to find clues as to the disease’s cause and thus to the prevention and cure.

A risk factor is usually determined by taking a large population of people - say 1,000-2,000 or more - and identifying a variety of features about them, determining who gets the disease under study and then seeing what the relationship is between the disease and the features that commonly occur within the group. It is important how the findings from population researches are being used. If you determine that out of your 2,000 people under study, 500 got the disease and all 500 drank milk as infants, you can’t decide from this that milk-drinking causes breast cancer. If none of the 1,500 drank milk as infants, you might be on the right track; if; as is more likely, all 1,500 did drink milk, you’ve learned nothing except that most people drink milk as children.

Sometimes, as in the case of lung cancer and smoking, risk factors are dramatic and can make a clear difference to the individual’s likelihood of getting the disease. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t work this way. In breast cancer, several risk factors, such as family history, have been identified. But so far, there is nothing comparable to the correlations found between cholesterol and heart disease, or between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. 70% of breast cancer patients have none of the classical risk factors in their background. It is important to understand this for two reasons. Overestimating the importance of risk factors can cause needless mental distress if you have one of them in your background. On the other hand, you may create a false sense of security if you don’t have them. Most breast cancer patients do not have a family history of breast cancer. By virtue of being a woman, you are at risk of breast cancer.

Another thing to note is that the risk factors do not necessarily increase in a simple arithmetical fashion; if one risk factor gives you a 20% risk of acquiring breast cancer and another gives you another 10% chance, it doesn’t always mean that you’re up to 30%. The interaction of risk factors is a tricky and complicated process. One interesting example is in the studies on alcohol and breast cancer, which shows that women with other risk factors who also drank liquor didn’t increase their risk very much, while women with no other risk factors who drank raised their risk dramatically.

Most breast cancer still occurs in white women over 50 - about 50% of cases. Your risk at age 30 is 1 in 5,900 / year. By age 40, it is 1 in 1,200 / year, so the risk of getting breast cancer before you’re 50 is very small. The median age of diagnosis of breast cancer is 64, which means that half of women who get breast cancer will get it before age 64 and half will get it after. So whenever risk factors or breast cancer is discussed, it is important to correct for age. Other risk factors - family history, hormonal factors, etc. - will most likely cause breast cancer only in combination with rising age.

Another factor that needs to be considered is the effect of variability of ethnic groups. The risk of African-American women and other women of color is less than that compared to Caucasian women. This is a disease that is predominantly found in non-Hispanic white women. African-American women have rates similar to those of white women premenopausally. That won’t necessarily be comforting news to African-American women, however, though it’s less common in that group, it’s often more deadly.

The difference in vulnerability to breast cancer works on international level as well. Third world countries have less breast cancer than highly industrialized countries.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to breast-cancer.treatment-and-guides.com/ Breast Cancer

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Throughout the world, cancer remains a leading cause of death. All told, more than six million people around the globe die of the disease each year. Cancer has become a particular concern in China, where the mortality rate from the disease has been on the rise. In fact, some 1.5 million people in China died of cancer in the year 2000.

For Chinese men, the most common form of cancer is cancer of the stomach, followed by liver cancer, cancer of the oesophagus, lung cancer, and intestinal cancers. Stomach cancer is also most common for women, followed by uterine, oesophagus, lung, and liver cancer.

An Increase in Western Cancers

Because of the increase in economic development in China, it appears that the nation is witnessing an increase in cancers most common in the West. As a result, the incidence of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers in China is expected to rise exponentially. This stands to reason, given the fact that such cancers have increased a great deal in Taiwan and Hong Kong as those nations have modernized.

In an effort to stem the cancer tide, the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association is screening a million Chinese women over six years. The project is designed to help save lives through early detection.
Geographical Considerations

Cancers in China also appear to vary by geography. For the most part, cancer is most prevalent in East China, North China, and Northwest China. Cancer is decidedly less common in South China, Southwest China, and Northeast China. It has been said that the highest cancer mortality rate occurs in the city of Shanghia and in the provinces of Jaingsu, Fujian, and Zhejiang.

For cancer of the oesophagus in particular, the worst mortality rate occurs in North China, specifically the Henan, Hebei, and Shanxi provinces. It appears that, in the outer reaches of these provinces, the mortality rate is less severe than in the inner reaches. There is some indication that oesophagus cancer may be linked to nitrites, although the evidence is not conclusive.

The Tobacco Factor

Because of widespread tobacco use in China, cases of lung cancer in the nation are expected to increase significantly. Currently, China is home to some 320 million smokers—in fact, it’s considered to be the smoking capital of the world. By the year 2025, as many as two million Chinese residents may die of lung cancer and other tobacco-related diseases each year.

Other Risk Factors

There are additional environmental factors which may contribute to the increase in cancer in China. For instance, an upsurge in the Hepatitis B infection may be responsible for the high incidence of liver cancer in the Asian nation. And stomach cancer may be exacerbated by the Chinese diet of high-salt fermented food and unsanitary food storage procedures.

Examining Oesophageal Cancer In-Depth

Because of the prevalence of cancer of the oesophagus in China, it only makes sense that researchers would take a closer look at ways the Chinese might be able to cut their risk for this form of cancer.

A research team at the Harbin Medical College in China decided to zero in on the factors leading to oesophageal cancer in northeast China. In an article entitled, “Risk Factors for Oesophageal Cancer in Northeast China,” J. Hu and his research team document a hospital-based study of oesophageal cancer in the Heilongjiang Province.

It should be pointed out that this province is actually a low-risk area for this form of cancer. However, from May of 1985 to May of 1989, dozens of cancer patients were interviewed in the wards of several major hospitals for the purpose of the study.

Serious Risk Factors

The research team gathered evidence relating to diet, socio-economic status, incidence of smoking, and alcohol use. Not surprisingly, the researchers found that smoking and alcohol consumption appeared to be significant risk factors for cancer of the oesophagus. Those people who had smoked handmade cigarettes were at the greatest risk.

Reducing the Risk

The Chinese researchers found that there were demonstrated ways that people could reduce their risk of developing oesophageal cancer. For instance, eating a greater amount of fruits and vegetables lowered oesophageal cancer risk by 35 percent. By the same token, upping vitamin C intake by 100 mg reduced the risk of cancer of the oesophagus by 39 percent.

The researchers also found that using salt did not seem to increase the risk for oesophageal cancer. Likewise, foods preserved in salt and pickled vegetables offered no heightened risk.

Combating Cancer Over the Long Term

Treating cancer of the oesophagus and other cancers is a particular challenge in China and the rest of the developing world. That’s because the cancers tend to be discovered late when the chances of successful treatment are much lower. Treatment may also be difficult because the nation’s pain medications tend to be less effective than those found in the West. As a result, groups such as the American Cancer Society are working to improve the quality of life for Chinese cancer patients, particularly in the area of pain medication.

Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about their current

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It is not yet fully understood what the hormonal risk factors are, but there have been some interesting clues. It is known that it has something to do with age and the menstrual cycle: the younger the woman is at her first period and the older she is when she goes to menopause, the more likely she is to get breast cancer. It seems that the longer a woman has reproductive levels of hormones, the more susceptible she is to breast cancer. If she menstruates at more than 40 years of age, she seems to have a particularly high risk. If the ovaries are removed early and no hormone replacement is given, the risk of getting breast cancer is greatly reduced. It is not exactly an all-cure, sadly, since it would also heighten the danger of osteoporosis. If a woman has had a hysterectomy (removal of the ovaries), it may or may not influence her vulnerability to breast cancer, depending upon whether the ovaries, as well as the uterus, are removed. If a woman still has her ovaries, her body is still going through hormonal cycles, even though there aren’t any more periods.

Pregnancy also seems to affects breast cancer risk. Women who have never been pregnant appear to be more at risk than women who have had children before the age of 30 and women who have their first pregnancies after 30 have a greater risk than women who have never been pregnant at all. The hormones of pregnancy carried to term will mature the breast tissue in a young woman. The same hormones after 30 may actually stimulate breast tissue that has already been mutated. Several studies indicate that a pregnancy that ends in miscarriage or abortion slightly increases breast cancer risk.

The key seems to be the amount of time between the first period and the first pregnancy. There is a lot of speculation as to why this is so. One possible explanation is that between menarche and the first pregnancy the breast tissue is especially sensitive to carcinogens (cancer promoting agents). This seems to be true. Several factors such as diet, alcohol consumption and radiation exposure all seem to have a greater effect on a woman’s breasts between her first period and her first pregnancy than they do later. Thus, the developing breast is more susceptible to carcinogens than the breast that has gone through its complete hormonal development. The increased vulnerability may relate to the cells’ capability of mutating up until the first pregnancy. There seems to be something about the first pregnancy of a woman that halts the cells from being able to sustain a mutation, the greater the chance that they’ll mutate in response to a carcinogen and in a way that develops into breast cancer.

A factor relating to the number of menstrual cycles is breast-feeding. Recent findings have shown that women who breast-feed for a long period of time, more than 6 consecutive years, have a decreased risk of breast cancer. In addition, women who have had early pregnancies and have breast-fed have a diminished risk of subsequent breast cancer. This is most likely related to fewer ovulatory cycles at a crucial moment in the reproductive life.

It is now obvious that most studies on hormonal risk factors of breast cancer are still very much at the theorizing stage: as yet, it is not known why there is this vulnerable time in a woman’s life and why or how internal hormones affect breast cancer.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to breast-cancer.treatment-and-guides.com/ Breast Cancer

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Breast cancer affects mainly women with one out of nine women encountering the risk of developing breast cancer over her lifetime.

Treatment for breast cancer has advanced with various drugs and procedures being developed and put into clinical use. One of the more common forms of cancer therapy is to undergo chemotherapy treatment. This used to be a painful and fatigue inducing exercise where the patient has to undergo frequent trips to the hospital. However with the introduction of oral chemotherapy, patients can now undertake the medication from the comfort of their own homes. Known as capecitabine pills, patients are prescribed 12 hourly medications for 2 weeks in a row, with another weekly interval in between for the body to recover.

The risks of getting breast cancer has also been reduced by the introduction of tamoxifen in 1998. This drug has a reported 50% effectiveness but the side effects made it uncomfortable for many patients which includes hot flashes. Tamoxifen has since then been replaced by raloxifene, which has less side effects but delivered the same degree of effectiveness in reducing breast cancer risk.

Even though modern medicine has advanced breast cancer research and treatment options to a new level, our modern lifestyle has been linked to playing an important role in raising the risk levels as well. So in my opinion, modern medicine is only playing catch up.

We can take a proactive role by doing some of the following activities, if not all of them, to reduce your breast cancer risk as well as developing a great healthy lifestyle.

An elevated estrogen level has been linked to greatly increased risk of breast cancer. We can help rein in our estrogen levels thorough regular 30 minutes a day exercise, 5 times a week. This should help to keep our weight in control which is also another factor in maintaining healthy estrogen levels. Any gains over 70 pounds could possibly double our risk levels.

Stay away from foods high in polyunsaturated fats such as sunflower oils, switch over to olive oil, which is a tasty and healthy monounsaturated fat source. Fruits and vegetables that are high in carotenoids, which are known to have cancer reducing properties, have plenty of these on a daily basis especially carrots, tomatoes and watermelons.

Have a healthy lifestyle, stay away from alcohol and smoking, these are both high breast-cancer-guide.niches4ur.info” target=”_blank breast cancer risk factors which you have absolute control over, and you can avoid.

Brian has been writing articles extensively for his own self subject development. He is currently looking closely into natural breast cancer treatment options and is keeping a collection of interesting notes on his site: breast-cancer-guide.niches4ur.info breast-cancer-guide.niches4ur.info

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