“Starving” cancer through diet

       Cancer is a desperate disease, yet most people have malignant tumors in their bodies. However, because the human body is a complex system, a healthy organism has a remarkable ability to fight tumors on its own. Among them, the balance of angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis plays an important role. Micro tumors (less than 5 cubic millimeters) are widely present in the so-called healthy human body. One study confirmed that 40% of women aged 40-50 years who died in a car accident had microcancerous foci in their breasts; 50% of men aged 50-60 years had microcancerous foci in the prostate. Almost all people have thyroid microcarcinomas by their 70s. However, microcancer foci must be nourished by angiogenesis in order to develop further. A healthy and balanced angiogenic and anti-angiogenic system inhibits tumor angiogenesis and thus the growth of microcarcinomas, a state known as “disease-free cancer”. Once a cancer reaches the progressive stage, a complete cure is very difficult. The advent of anti-angiogenic therapy has significantly prolonged the survival of some cancers. However, the cost of anti-angiogenic treatment is very high, especially in China, and not every cancer patient can afford it. Genetic abnormalities account for only 5-10% of cancer incidence, while 90-95% of cancers are caused by external factors, of which diet accounts for 30-35%, tobacco: 25-30%, obesity: 10-20%, other: 10-15%, and alcohol: 4-6%. In fact, there are many foods in the daily diet that have anti-angiogenic effects. For example: strawberries, red grapes, celery, parsley, tomatoes, red wine, raspberries, soybeans, green tea, blueberries, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, pumpkin, garlic, and so on.       A study of 79,000 men at the Harvard School of Public Health found that eating tomatoes 2-3 times a week reduced the risk of prostate cancer by 40-50%.       The perfect medicine is to treat the disease before it happens. If you take care of your diet and eat more vegetables and fruits, some cancers may stop at the microscopic “disease-free” state. If you are unfortunate enough to have cancer and can’t afford the high cost of targeted anti-angiogenic therapy, you may want to try food therapy.