Food therapy against cancer has truths and fallacies

  Introduction: There are many anti-cancer recipes circulating on the Internet and among the folklore, food therapy is highly sought after by many people. Even the anti-cancer effect of some foods is said to be miraculous, but do these claims really have scientific basis? Can cancer be cured? What foods cause cancer and what foods fight cancer? Let’s find out together.
  Cancer has a solution!
  In recent years, there has been a news circulating on the Internet – “Cancer has been solved! Please spread it a lot! Hope cancer will not take away our loved ones anymore”. The article states that if a person has cancer in their body, the most important thing is to get the maximum amount of vitamin B17 as possible in a short period of time. The article also states that consuming large amounts of almond kernel potatoes can be an alternative to surgery to treat cancer. Cancer has been solved decades ago, only the truth has been hidden until the development of the Internet, this answer gradually spread.
  If a person has cancer in his or her body, the most important thing is to get the maximum amount of B17 possible in a short period of time. in today’s $70 billion chemotherapy industry, more people are living off cancer than are dying from it.
  Many physicians have a personal view of cancer that is as far removed from the information perceived by the general public. If they had cancer themselves, they wouldn’t do chemotherapy!
  Even if the cancer cells respond to chemotherapy, a partial or complete shrinkage of the tumor does not prolong the patient’s survival rate. Sometimes cancer recurrence is even more rampant because chemotherapy fuels the production of treatment-resistant cancer cells.
  Bilder and Krebs discovered that many cells in the body are still in the primary embryonic stage, which are used to repair tissues and can differentiate into any tissue, organ, blood, or hair in the body according to specific morphological genetic stimuli. When our body is damaged, kinetic hormones stimulate these cells to repair the injury, and when the repair is complete, pancreatic enzymes turn off the repair process. If this repair process is not turned off, these cells will continue to divide and repair in a lawless manner and form tumors or cancer.
  In other words, cancer is produced by the body itself, not by foreign substances, and it can legitimately escape the surveillance of the immune system in the name of repair work.
  The tens of thousands of man-made and harmful chemicals produced by pollution in industrial countries cause damage to the body, and the damaged area creates the conditions for repair.
  At this point, if there is enough vitamin B17 in the diet, it provides the body’s second line of defense. If the immune system is depressed and not enough vitamin B17 is consumed, cancer will slowly lurk and form.
  About 8 million people are hospitalized in the United States each year, 320,000 of which are due to medical accidents, 40,000 deaths, and 20,000 permanent injuries.
  There are certainly many physicians who are dedicated to their positions and make the health of their patients their first priority.
  Metabolic therapy can also treat cancer in animals. Wild animals rarely get cancer, but modern animals are prone to cancer because their diet does not contain enough vitamin B17. Commonly when dogs and cats are sick, they go outside to eat grass, it is an animal instinct, where is our human instinct?
  About vitamin B17 vitamin B17, lack of it will develop cancer, and take it to fight cancer? What is such a fabulous nutritional element? Let’s unravel its mystery.
  Vitamin B17, the lack of which can cause cancer, can be taken to fight cancer? What is such a mysterious nutrient? Let’s unravel its mystery.
  The history of using bitter amygdalin as a medicine can be traced back to the 19th century. In the late 19th century, attempts were made to make it into an anti-tumor drug, and in 1892 it was marketed in Germany, but soon thereafter it was withdrawn from the market due to its ineffectiveness and toxicity. In the 1950s, Ernst and Sons modified the bitter amygdalin molecule to obtain a synthetic bitter amygdalin analogue, registered the trade name “Laetrile” for it, and advertised its anti-cancer effects. At first, they claimed that the substance could cure and control cancer, but later, Ernst Krebs, Jr. Later, Ernst Krebs Jr. suggested that the substance was an essential nutrient that could lead to cancer if deficient, and called it “vitamin B17”. However, these seemingly glowing claims were never supported by research evidence.
  To verify the anti-cancer effects of Laetrile and bitter amygdalin-like substances, scientists have conducted a number of trials, ranging from cellular to animal to clinical trials. In some trials, bitter amygdalin analogs showed some signs of anti-cancer, such as some induction of apoptosis in tumor cells. However, the vast majority of studies, especially the clinical studies with the most use-guiding results, have concluded that they are ineffective.
  If only the efficacy was questionable and the safety was guaranteed, then Laetrile might still be available as a health supplement, but this is not the case. The bitter amygdalin-like substances themselves are non-toxic, but when they are metabolized and broken down by the enzyme beta-glucosidase, toxic hydrocyanic acid is produced. Laetrile is sold as a health product with no strict rules on dosage and usage, and users are not aware of its safety risks because they only listen to the advertisements, so they are prone to overdose. Not only that, but if it is used together with other drugs or supplements (such as vitamin C), it can also contribute to the production of more hydrocyanic acid, making it even more toxic. For safety reasons, the sale of Laetrile was banned in several U.S. states as early as the 1960s, and Ernst Krebs, Jr. Krebs Jr. was also fined and imprisoned for selling dangerous drugs illegally. Now, Laetrile preparations have disappeared in most places, and only a few countries and regions, such as Mexico, still allow the sale of Laetrile.
  Therefore, the so-called “vitamin B17” is not a vitamin at all, nor does it qualify as an anti-cancer drug, and is not beneficial but harmful. Taking this substance cannot prevent cancer, nor can it control cancer, nor can it cure cancer. Using it as a substitute for regular medication will only bring delay and risk of cyanide poisoning.
  Can cancer be cured?
  Humans are not helpless in the face of cancer. Nowadays, the survival period of all types of cancers is being extended and the cure rate has been improved. The cure rate of certain types of breast cancer and colorectal cancer can reach 60-70%. However, the scientific community still has a long way to go to finally solve cancer.
  Breast cancer is one of the most curable cancers: breast cancer is an example of “early detection”. The cure rate of early stage breast cancer can reach over 90%, and the care of women in the society, the promotion of mammography and other programs, as well as the ease of self-examination, make more and more breast cancer can be detected in the early stage of development, and the overall cure rate has increased to 70%-80%. In addition, the innovation of treatment concept has not only enabled breast cancer patients to live longer, but also greatly improved the quality of survival. Breast cancer was previously considered a localized lesion, and once diagnosed, “radical surgery” was often used. During surgery, not only the lump is removed, but also the axillary lymph nodes are cleared, and even the pectoralis major and minor muscles are cut out. After surgery, the lung is almost directly under the skin of the chest wall on the affected side, and the change in appearance has a serious impact on the patient’s quality of life. In recent years, people gradually realize that breast cancer is actually a systemic disease, and improvements in surgical techniques, including the increased involvement of chemotherapy drugs and endocrine therapy drugs, have enabled breast cancer patients to preserve their “intact bodies” and survive for a long time.
  Colorectal cancer: If the treatment of breast cancer reflects a change in treatment philosophy, colorectal cancer reflects the effect of comprehensive treatment. Based on the traditional cancer treatment methods such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the addition of endocrine, immune and TCM methods has significantly improved the comprehensive strength of cancer treatment. Take rectal cancer as an example, the recurrence rate is about 20%-40% after surgery alone, but after adopting multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment program such as “sandwich”, the recurrence rate is reduced to less than 10%. The cure rate of colorectal cancer in the early stage is over 80%, and in the middle stage, it can reach 60%-70%.
  Cervical cancer: Diseases are difficult to treat largely because we cannot figure out their causes and mechanisms, but when medical doctors discovered that cervical cancer is related to human papilloma virus (HPV), cervical cancer became the “most curable cancer”. If detected early, the cure rate can reach almost 100%. Moreover, the world’s first successfully developed cancer vaccine is the cervical cancer vaccine. The high cure rate of cervical cancer has undoubtedly given mankind more confidence in the cause of beating cancer. In addition to the cervical cancer vaccine, all adult women should have an annual HPV pap smear. In addition, although data do not confirm an inevitable link between cervical erosion, cervical polyps and cervical cancer, active treatment is essential for women with chronic cervical inflammation or discomfort.
  Leukemia: Acute promyelocytic leukemia used to be a very aggressive type of acute leukemia because of its tendency to bleed more extensively early in the disease. However, with the advent of all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide, the 5-year disease-free survival rate of this once-acute disease has exceeded 90%, resulting in the great breakthrough of “the first largely curable acute myeloid leukemia in human history”.
  Lymphoma: Malignant lymphoma was considered incurable and terminal in the past, but in recent years, the introduction of targeted therapies has led to a 5-year survival rate of more than 50%, with the cure rate for early-stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma reaching more than 80%. Early detection is significant for the treatment of lymphoma. Early monitoring should be done when enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin are detected, along with symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, weight loss, fever and excessive sweating. If you have a family member with similar disease, you should be on high alert.
  How to understand the concept of “cure”?
  Experienced clinicians recognize that 1-2 years after cancer surgery is the peak period of recurrence; after 3 years, the recurrence and metastasis rates decrease significantly; after 5 years, the recurrence and metastasis rates decrease further. Therefore, patients who survive more than 5 years after treatment can be considered as “clinically cured”.
  However, there are many patients with recurrence of cancer, can such patients be considered as cured? Cancer is different from other infectious diseases, which can be said to be cured once the virus or bacteria are eliminated. As long as mankind has researched and developed drugs to kill such viruses or bacteria, it can be declared that the disease has been conquered; as long as the transmission pattern of such viruses or bacteria is mastered, effective prevention can be carried out and the disease can be said to be controlled.
  This is not the case with cancer. Up to now, we are still not very clear about the mechanism of cancer formation and metastasis. The pathogenesis of cancer is very complex and closely related to lifestyle and habits.
  Tumors are divided into two categories: primary and metastatic. In primary, it is a tumor that forms from a certain organ. For example, a tumor that forms in the lung is a primary tumor for the lung. Cancer cells may metastasize to the liver, and for the liver, it is called metastatic liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is when the liver itself gets sick, and metastatic liver cancer is when cancer from other tissues metastasizes to the liver and tumors grow back on the liver.
  If a patient with stomach cancer gets intestinal cancer after several years of cure, or a patient with breast cancer gets lung cancer after several years of cure, is this considered a recurrence? If pathological examination was done in both cases and the source of tissues is the same, it can be said to be “recurrence”. If the pathological source is not the same, it cannot be said to be a recurrence.
  Therefore, clinically, a patient who has survived for more than 5 years can be considered as clinically cured, but it does not mean that the patient is completely cured and can rest in peace because the environment in which the patient lives still exists (such as air, water, food, etc.), and the patient may be cured of this disease, but he may still be affected by environmental cancer-causing factors and develop another kind of cancer or even two or three kinds of cancers.
  Why are there still some cancers that cannot be cured?
  Why are there still some cancers that cannot be cured? There are two main factors: First, the timing of treatment. Many patients are found too late. If early detection is possible, the treatment of many cancers can achieve good results. Nowadays, all kinds of cancers can be detected at an early stage, so as long as we insist on regular medical checkups, we can definitely stop the cancer at an early stage. Secondly, treatment plan. Finding an experienced doctor and formulating the right treatment plan is the key to success or failure of treatment. If a doctor is not aware of the new research progress and still treats with the same ideas as 5 or 10 years ago, it will also delay the precious treatment time and even cause wrong treatment. Moreover, it will waste a lot of research results for nothing and prevent these research results from being translated into curative effects.
  If you are unfortunate enough to have cancer, it is really “unreliable” to rely on anti-cancer foods and prescriptions circulating on the Internet to replace regular cancer treatments. It is not an exaggeration to say that “cancer enters through the mouth”, because bad living and eating habits can be the cause of cancer.
  Medical research on carcinogenic substances in daily life has found that there are more than 10 kinds of chemical substances with carcinogenic effects, among which nitrosamines, benzo(a)pyrene and aflatoxin are the three major recognized carcinogens, all of which are closely related to diet.
  Nitrosamines can cause tumors in almost all organs of human body, among which digestive tract cancer is the most common. Nitrosamines are commonly found in cereals, milk, cheese, tobacco, alcohol, bacon, roasted meats, sea fish, canned foods, and drinking water. Nitrite levels are higher in foods that are not fresh (especially vegetables that have been cooked for too long).
  Benzopyrene is mainly produced in the combustion process of coal, oil, natural gas and other substances, fat, cholesterol and other high temperature can also form benzo(a)pyrene, such as sausages and other smoked products in the benzo(a)pyrene content can be 60 times higher than ordinary meat. It is proven that long-term exposure to benzo(a)pyrene can cause lung cancer, but also digestive tract cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, etc.
  Aflatoxin is the most potent carcinogen known. Medical doctors believe that aflatoxin is likely to be an important cause of liver cancer. In some areas with high incidence of liver cancer, people often eat fermented foods such as tofu milk and bean paste, which are prone to produce aflatoxin during the production process if the method is not appropriate.
  Food cancer ranking pickled food: salted fish produces dimethyl nitrite, which can be transformed into carcinogenic substance dimethyl nitrite in the body. Salted eggs and pickled vegetables also contain carcinogenic substances and should be eaten sparingly.
  Barbecued food: roast beef, roast duck, roast lamb, roast goose, roast suckling pig, roast lamb kebab, etc., should not be eaten more because they contain strong carcinogens.
  Smoked foods: such as bacon, smoked liver, smoked fish, smoked eggs, smoked dried bean curd, etc. contain benzopyrene carcinogens and are prone to esophageal and stomach cancers.
  Deep-fried food: after frying, carcinogenic PAHs are produced. When coffee is burnt, benzopyrene will increase 20 times. Deep-fried pancakes, stinky tofu, fried taro corner, doughnuts, etc., as most of them use repeated oil, carcinogens will be produced at high temperature.
  Moldy substances: rice, wheat, beans, corn, peanuts and other foods are susceptible to moisture mold, contaminated by mold will produce carcinogenic toxin – aflatoxin.
  Overnight cooked cabbage and sauerkraut: will produce nitrite, which will be converted into carcinogenic amines nitrite in the body.
  Betel nut: chewing betel nut is a factor in causing oral cancer.
  Repeatedly boiled water: Repeatedly boiled water contains nitrite, which enters the body to generate carcinogenic amines nitrite.
  For individuals, eating foods that are confirmed to increase cancer risk does not mean that you will definitely develop cancer. Cancer is a disease caused by a combination of factors, and the cause of the disease is not well understood. A certain food or lifestyle only affects part of the risk, but not decisively. Of course, increasing the foods/lifestyle that can reduce the risk in our daily life and trying to avoid those that can increase the risk can reduce our possibility of developing cancer and have great benefits to our health.
  Those years, we have chased together the anti-cancer food network, there are a lot of foods with anti-cancer and anti-cancer effects, whether they have enough scientific basis is difficult to verify. But in any case, it is not harmful to eat more of these healthy foods, and with a healthy body, cancer will naturally stay away from us.
  Blueberries, acai, raspberries and cranberries: These “berries” are rich in color because of the phytonutrients they contain. Phytonutrients are effective in preventing many forms of cancer. Notably, many studies have shown that cranberries have an important role in the fight against ovarian cancer. Clinically, we generally use platinum drugs to fight ovarian cancer, however, at the annual American Chemical Society meeting, a study reported that ovarian cancer cells are resistant to platinum drugs. Happily, ovarian cancer cells are sensitive to the compounds contained in cranberries, which means that cranberries do have a role in fighting ovarian cancer.
  Green tea: Green tea contains catechol, one of the first phytochemicals used in anti-cancer research. As many of you probably know, catechol can prevent or reduce the recurrence of breast cancer and other cancers. Why is this, exactly? Research at the University of Mississippi found that catechol can have this effect because it contains a chemical called EGCG, which is effective in inhibiting the growth of breast tumors. Two cups of green tea a day is a good choice to prevent cancer and hydrate at the same time.
  Garlic: Studies over the past many years have documented the anti-cancer effects of garlic, reflected most clearly in cancers of the digestive system. Garlic has been shown to have a preventive effect on many types of cancer, including breast and prostate cancers. The National Cancer Institute has conducted an analytical survey. The survey was conducted on seven different large populations. The results of the analysis showed that the more garlic a person ate, the lower the risk of stomach and colorectal cancer. Another study found that middle-aged women who ate garlic regularly had a 50 percent lower risk of colon cancer than others. So, try to eat as much fresh garlic as you can, it’s so beneficial to our bodies.
  Broccoli and kale: It has been reported that men with early prostate cancer symptoms managed to stop further tumor development by eating four meals of broccoli each week. Other studies have shown that eating collard greens and other cruciferous vegetables also have anti-cancer effects. Although the UK report was for men with the disease, for women, however, eating broccoli and kale has the same effect. Cruciferous vegetables also include cabbage, kale, mustard, radish, and aquatic vegetables (lotus root, lozenge, Ulva, wild rice, watercress, cress, water chestnuts, water chestnuts, etc.).
  Tomatoes: rich in antioxidants and lycopene, which can effectively remove free radicals and play a role in anti-cancer and cancer suppression. Regular consumption of tomatoes can reduce the risk of lung cancer, stomach cancer, bladder cancer, uterine cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer. Researchers at Harvard University summarized 72 studies published by the National Cancer Institute and concluded that lycopene, the active chemical in tomatoes, reduces the risk of many cancers, especially prostate, lung and colon cancers. Although many people prefer to eat tomatoes raw, the effects of lycopene can be better reflected through cooking, so it is best to cook tomatoes if you want to get the best out of the nutrients they bring to us.
  Soybeans: The active ingredient in soybeans is genistein, a phytoestrogen that fights hormone-dependent tumors, such as breast cancer. It is also a powerful inhibitor that blocks the production of several proteins related to cell proliferation. However, to get the best anti-cancer benefits from soy, you’ll have to eat 50 grams of soy foods every day, like refried beans, dried baked beans or tofu. With consistency, this food will be able to exert its powerful effects in our body.
  Turmeric: Indian curry and some other Asian dishes are most commonly found in the orange spice turmeric. Turmeric is able to fight cancer because it contains an active substance called curcumin, which has powerful antioxidant properties. Researchers at Ohio State University say that curcumin’s anti-cancer effects are reflected in every stage of cancer development. The advantage of curcumin is that it is easy to consume, you don’t need much, a teaspoon is enough.