Sandy Hutchens Cancer Prevention

Finding Cancer Prevention Foods

Finding the right foods and nutrition supplements that help prevent cancer is a difficult aspect of research: often, when researchers think that they understand something, a newer study arrives that finds that the opposite is true.

Lung cancer was diagnosed 220,000 times last year and resulted in 160,000 fatalities. Researchers are searching for vitamins that help reduce cancer risk. Beta-carotene was once a contender as an anti-carcinogen. However in 2004, a major study found that in the case of smokers, beta-carotene supplements increased lung cancer risk.

With such reversals in their thinking, cancer researchers are careful to curb their enthusiasm over new studies that may offer hope in lung cancer prevention. However this week, there have been two new studies which have discovered very promising qualities to green tea and green vegetables.

Folic Acid and Phytochemicals

In one study which included over one thousand current or former smokers it was found that people whose diets had been high in folic acid, leafy-green vegetables and those currently taking multivitamins rich in phytochemicals (vitamins A, C, K, folate, carotenoids and lutein) showed lower levels of genetic changes causing lung cancer in smokers.

The second found that compared with Taiwanese smokers who drank at least one cup of green tea a day, smokers who did not drink green tea were almost thirteen times more likely to get lung cancer. Smokers who had genetic variations that put them at greater risk of developing lung cancer didn’t get quite as much protection from green tea as those who didn’t have those genetic variations. But they still benefited.

The polyphenols found in tea, and especially in green tea, have drawn lots of attention as potential cancer-blockers. This study was presented at a conference being held this week in Coronado, Calif., on lung cancer and its molecular origins. It’s sponsored by the American Assn. for Cancer Research.

The leafy-greens study, published in the journal Cancer Research, appeared online Tuesday. Officials of the National Cancer Institute, which funded the study, lauded the study as “well designed.” But in a statement, NCI’s biomarkers research group chief Sudhir Srivastava cautioned that more research would need to strengthen the evidence–even for leafy greens–before it could serve as the basis for dietary recommendations.

The Benefits of Leafy Greens for Lung Cancer

Pomegranates and Phytochemicals, Cancer Beware!

Eating a pomegranate everyday can help prevent breast cancer, new research reveals. American scientists are saying pomegranates contain chemical agents known as phytochemicals, which play an important role in the prevention of breast cancer.

Scientists at the City of Hope Cancer Research and Treatment Center in Duarte, California, have discovered that the fruit contains a large amount of the phytochemical called ellagitannins. The phytochemical has an inhibitory effect on the enzyme aromatase, which plays a pivotal role in making the hormone oestrogen, which in turn leads to most of the cases of breast cancer. Meanwhile, many patients who suffer from the breast cancer take medicines which are actually aromatase inhibitors.

The research which was published in the journal ‘Cancer Prevention Research’ highlights the fact that laboratory experiments that were carried out took into account around 10 compounds from the pomegranate and their effects were subsequently tested. Among the compounds which were taken into consideration, urolithin B was seen to be the most effective in preventing breast cancer.

However, researcher Shiuan Chen, who was intrinsically involved with the research, emphasized that the compounds did not turn out to be as effective as actual drugs due to which researchers have warned the patients against using the fruit as a replacement of the aromatase inhibitor medicines. At the same time, it has been implied that the results are not conclusive and further tests need to be carried out in order to confirm the findings. However, the findings are being considered to be significant as it might herald a new era in breast cancer treatment.

Read more: Pomegranates and Cancer.

Laughter Therapy, Three Stooges, and Twilight Zone Marathon

All of us have the gift of laughter. Laughter itself is nature’s medicine. Our spirits are lifted and we feel happy. Laughter is contagious. It can bring human beings together in joy. It can also enable us to feel more alive.

Laughter therapy is the use of humor such as the Three Stooges on New Year’s to promote our health and well being. By employing our native physiological process of laughter we are relieved of our physical and emotional burdens.

Laughter Therapy Studies

A growing number of studies support the view that laughter has therapeutic value.

Humor has been used in medicine for millenia. Surgeons have used humor to distract their patients for centuries.The 20th century revealed a scientific study of the effect of humor on wellness. Norman Cousins is famous for promoting this in Anatomy of an Illness which looked at humour such as The Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers as healing balms for the soul. Cousins claims that he cured himself with laughter and vitamins.

Over the years, studies have explored the impact of laughter on our health. After testing study participants before and after a humorous event it was revealed that episodes of the Three Stooges helped to reduce pain, decrease stress hormones and boosted the patients immune systems.

Now more than ever before in history, people are turning to humour for healing. Medical journals are agreeing that laughter therapy help improve quality of life for those suffering from chronic illnesses. A lot of hospitals offer laughter therapy programs as an alternative treatment.

Laughter Heals

It certainly seems strange to turn to humour when faced such serious issues. Yet, laughter can be helpful in ways you might not have realized or imagined.

Laughter helps you with your own self esteem and the life flowing around you. When you are in a state of laughter, no thing is in your mind. Laughter also creates physical changes in your body. After laughter lasting only a few minutes, you will probably feel better for many hours.

When appended to conventional cancer treatments, laughter therapy helps the healing process.

Studies show that laughter therapy provides physical benefits:

• Boosting your immune and circulatory system
• Enhancing your oxygen intake
• Stimulating your heart and lungs
• Setting off the release of your endorphins
• Easing digestive problems
• Relieving pains
• Balancing your blood pressure
• Improving all your mental functions

Laughter is the best medicine, Three Stooges, Twighlight Zone Marathon, New Years 2010