How I plan to Keep My Cancer Away
Things to Do
Home Plan Overview Things to Avoid Things to Do My Typical Diet Links
- Overall Diet

- Vitamins and Supplements

- Other nutrients and foods

- Lifestyle
Overall Diet

In general, I've become a mostly-vegetarian. I am mostly eating vegetables, fruit and grains, fish, and occasionally lowfat meat (white meat turkey or chicken). I've been eating lots of brocolli, lycopene (tomatos), soy, decaf green tea, etc.  I am also trying to get a lot of berries.  After the chemo is over, I will start drinking red wine again.  Look on my diet page for specific foods that I am eating.

What the studies show about diet:

Studies show that the incidence of cancer in vegetarians is half that of the general population. A Mayo Clinic study shows that those with a high intake of vegetables have a 42% lower chance of getting lymphoma.  Two other specific studies associating food intake and NHL show: in an american study those eating the most vegetables had a 42% lower chance of getting NHL, and the other an italian study showed those eating the most vegetables had a 51% lower chance than those eating the least.

Dark green veggies lower the risk by 40%, fruits and veggies with lutein or Zeaxanthin have a 46% lower risk.  Foods with lutein include mangos, corn, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatos, carrots, kale, collards and also egg yolks. Foods with Zeaxanthin are orange pepper, corn, spinach, collard greens.

Another study showed the following:
Fruits, Vegetables and eggs decrease the likelyhood of developing NHL.
Cheese, pasta and rice increase the likelyhood of developing NHL.

Another (contradicting) study put eggs in the increased risk category. It's results are:
Increased risk: Meats, cheese, eggs, dessert foods, saturated fat, and monounsaturated fat, yellow/orange vegetables,.
No increased risk: Milk, fruit, vegetables, fish.

Yet another study showed:
Increased risk: Dairy (DLBC only), fried red meat (DLBC, follicular, T cell), coffee (DLBC)
No increased risk: Fried chicken, grains, pasta, Fruits and vegetables (men, maybe due to lower intake of these by men in the survey response)
Decreased risk: Fruits and vegetables (women), soy products

Drinking red wine decreases the likelyhood of getting NHL: those who drink 1 glass a day have a reduced likelyhood of getting NHL by 20%, 2 glasses/day is reduced by 40%. Resveratrol is in high concentrations in wine, due to the soaking of the grape skins in the wine. Grape juice on the other hand, has almost no resveratrol since the skins are thrown away quickly.


Vitamins and Supplements
The supplements that I am taking, in the order of importance for fighting cancer are:

1) I'm taking a vitamin/phytonutrient supplement called  Life Extension Mix by the Life Extension Foundation.  

2) In addition, I am taking MycoMedicinals Host Defense mushroom complex for building up my immune system, and for fighting cancer.  

3) Also, I have some Cruciferous Vegetable extract which I was able to buy on clearance.  

I am also using whole soy powder and Trader Joe's "Very Green" powder for making smoothies.   For those with breast or ovarian cancer, it is not recommended to take soy because it contains a phytoestrogen.  For other reasons I'm taking CoQ10.  I'm also taking echinacea, however, the beta-glucans in it do not boost the immune system very much.  LEF mix doesn't contain iron, so I am taking a 15mg iron supplement.

There is a small study on bladder cancer patients and vitamin supplementing showed that those taking a vitamin containing the RDA of vitamins had an 80% reccurance of cancer, but a group taking a megadose of vitamins had a 40% reccurance.  That means by taking a megadose vitamin, the odds of recurrance are reduced by 50%!  There are also studies on individual vitamins and megadosing which indicate that the megadose of the individual vitamins helps to fight cancer.

I also researched many phytonutrients which fight cancer.  I came up with a list of the nutrients which fight cancer the best, and the ammounts of the nutrients, and did some searching for a phytonutrient supplement.  Most of them are either too low in the nutrient content, or missing many important components.   Life Extension Mix by the Life Extension Foundation is the most complete and has the highest pytonutrient content of all the ones that I found.  Life Extension Mix is also a complete vitamin supplement.  It almost seems like the LE-Mix is formulated specifically to fight cancer -- this is a very important part of the new diet because it is impossible to get all the nutrients needed to fight cancer just by diet (there are too many helpful nutrients to get them all just by eating).

Beta Glucans are a powerful supplement for fighting cancer.  The best source for Beta Glucan is mushrooms becase they contain 1,3 1,4 and 1,6 B-Glucans. New Chapter claims that in studies, their Host Defense complex boosts the number of natural killer cells by 300%.  There are other supplements containing Beta Glucan, but I've found that they lack the numbers behind the product (either in B-Glucan content or how much they boost the immune system).  For example, echinacea will boost the NK cells only by around 30%.  

Life Extensions Cruciferous Vegetable extract contains broccoli extract, indole-3 carbinol, cats claw amd reveratrol.  Each of these contain nutrients which are powerrful at killing cancer.  

Soy is another food item which contains many nutrients that fight cancer, such as genistein, Saponin,  Coumesterol and others.   I am drinking Trader Joes unsweetened soymilk - it not only tastes the best, but is unsweetened (most soymilks are sweetened), and it has the highest isoflavone content of any of the soymilks I've found.

Trader Joe's Very Green powder is a good supplement to my smoothies, 1 tablespoonful  contains 6g of: Alfalfa leaf extract, barley grass juice powder, pea fiber, rice flour, apple powder, wheat graws juice powder, spirulina powder, citrus bioflavonoids, spinach powder, grean tea leaf extract, eleuthero root powder, chlorella powder, acerola juice extract, licorice root powder, chinese rhubarb root powder, blue green algae, brocolli powder, ginkgo leaf powder and bilberry fruit extract.

Tumor growth inhibition (T/C), tumor growth delay (T - C), and log(10) kill for genistein, CHOP, and genistein followed by CHOP were 33.6%, 19.2%, and 5.2%; 7, 8, and 17 days; and 1.0, 1.2, and 2.6, respectively.

Soy Food / Genistein Content
(milligrams/100 grams) Soy flakes156 Soy nuts 94 Soy flour 94 Soybeans, roasted 87 Soy protein isolate 56 Tempeh 40 Miso 26-38 Tofu, firm 5-30 Soy burgers 20 (varies) Soy milk 4-10

My other cancer fighting nutrient notes include: 

Butyl Phthalide -  Found in celery. Offers protection against cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. 

 Celery seed extract: also contains sedanolide
 PubMed: After treatment with 3-n-butyl phthalide and sedanolide, the tumor incidence was reduced from 68% to 30% and 11%, respectively. About 67% and 83% reduction in tumor multiplicity was also observed with 3-n-butyl phthalide and sedanolide.

Capsaicin - Found in chili peppers, is a potential cancer-fighting compound.

Catechin Hydrate - Found in tea leaves.

Ellagic Acid - A natural pesticide in many fruit plants such as strawberries and raspberries, this phytochemical fights cancer in humans. One of the highest ellagic acid berries is black raspberries.

 PubMed: quercetin and ellagic acid synergistically induce apoptosis in cancer cells.

 PubMed: Some of the known chemopreventive agents in berries include vitamins A, C, and E and folic acid; calcium and selenium; beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and lutein; polyphenols such as ellagic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, quercetin, and several anthocyanins; and phytosterols such as beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and kaempferol..

Indole – (Indole-3-Carbinol, I3C) A potent cancer fighter found in vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale. 

Lycopene - Protects against heart disease, certain cancers, and a multitude of other disorders. Found in tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, guava, rosehip, and red chilies

Para-Coumaric Acid - Inhibits the development of stomach cancer by stopping the formation of nitrosamines. Found in tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, strawberries, and pineapples, as well as herbal plants like basil, and turmeric

Saponin - The plant biochemicals that produce suds in root beer are also effective antimicrobial, cholesterol-lowering, and anticancer phytochemicals. Some saponins, such as digitalis, are also used as heart medications.  Found in sarsaparilla, peas, soybeans

Sulforaphane - Sulforaphane is a naturally occurring sulfur containing isothiocyanate derivative that helps to mobilize the human body's natural cancer-fighting resources and reduces the risk of developing cancer.  Broccoli , broccoli sprouts contain 20 to 50 times the amount of chemoprotective phytochemicals found in mature broccoli heads.

Resveratrol -  A fluid ounce of red wine averages 160 µg of resveratrol, compared to peanuts, which average 73 µg per ounce

Curcumin - Found in the spice Turmeric.  Rutgers scientists have found that the curry spice turmeric holds real potential for the therapy and prevention of prostate cancer, especially when combined with certain vegetables.   Curcumin has shown effects against cancer, however, the ammount needed orally to treat the cancer effectively is very high.  Curcumin is virtually not absorbably orally, and is more absorbable along with bioperine.  Curcumin along with PEITC, a phytochemical found in cruciferous vegetables like broccol, had a synergystic effect in fighting cancer.  It could be that Curcumin with bioperine in lower doses, along with cruciferous vegetables, may be more effective, but the cost versus the amount of cancer fighting benefit is probably not worth it (at least at this point).  

The researchers tested turmeric, also known as curcumin, along with phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a naturally occurring substance especially abundant in a group of vegetables that includes watercress, cabbage, winter cress, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi and turnips. PEITC and curcumin, alone or in combination, demonstrate significant cancer-preventive qualities in laboratory mice.

Seeds of Barringtonia racemosa Roxb optimum dose was found to be 6 mg/kg. The efficacy of the drug was found to be better than that of a standard drug, vincristine in this tumour model.

Lifestyle

I will also workout regularly to help build up my body, and immune system.  Exercise should be moderate, not intense, as regular moderate exercise will boost the immune system, but intense exercise can have the opposite effect and lower the immune system.

I will also sauna regularly.  Studies show that cancer cells die from hyperthermia (cancer cells die at around 113 degrees, but normal cells don't).  I don't know if saunas actually will heat the cancer cells to 113 degrees (some sauna manufacterers claim that far infrared saunas will, but then again, they are trying to sell a sauna).  Even if the cancer cells don't get to 113 degrees and get killed directly by the heat, just raising their temperature makes them more susceptable to be killed.  Studies show that chemo is more effective when combined with induced hyperthermia.

I also will try to keep my stress down as stress can lower the immune system.  Being under stress has been linked to a higher cancer incidence.

Now for my favorite cancer preventative: Sleep is also linked to cancer -- a good nights sleep can help prevent cancer.  It could be from the melatonin produced when you get into the deep sleep cycle, which has also been linked to slowing down cancer progression, and survival of those with cancer.
© 2006 Keith Arthurs