Can We Eat to Starve Cancer? Angiogenesis?

A few months back a cancer researcher named Dr. William Li was on Dr. Oz.  He was talking about a term called angiogenesis, which he defined as the way our body grows blood vessels.  He went on to say that abnormal angiogenesis is a hallmark of cancer.

What caught my interest is that he said all of us have microscopic cancers growing in our body all the time.  However, if the blood vessels don’t grow to feed these cells, cancer does not develop. That’s where antiangiogenic takes place.

Anti-angiogensis therapy helps starve the cancer.  The good news is there are dietary sources of antiangiogenic substances that we can eat on a regular basis to starve and fend off cancer in the body.  He states foods can actually turn on and off cancer genes.

Dr. Li states diet contributes to 30-35% of the environment that causes cancer.

The list is here but here’s the highlights and one not on the list.

1. Gouda cheese

Dr. Li states: “My secret weapon to prevent cancer is Gouda Cheese. Eating Gouda Cheese can reduce cancer risks and here’s why. Gouda and other forms of hard cheeses actually contain a special hormone Vitamin K2 (menaquinone, menatetrenone) that inhibits cancer growth so it prevents cancers from growing. Studies have shown that people who eat 2 slices of hard cheese a day have an overall decreased risk of developing cancers like lung cancer the number one killer of women, and prostate cancer. Hard cheeses are typically made with bacteria that ferment and vitamin K2 is a byproduct of that process.

If you are asking yourself whether you should eat cheese and it’s good for your heart don’t worry too much; vitamin K2 actually protects the heart against hardening of the arteries. Try eating cheeses rich in vitamin K2 like Gouda, Jarlsberg and Edam. ”

2.  Strawberries and red grapes

Strawberries have a compound known as ellagic acid and red grapes contain resveratrol, which potently inhibits angiogenesis by 60%

3.  Tea

Tea contains the polyphenol catechins, which are powerful substances in plants that prevent disease. Green tea contains a bonus polyphenol called EGCG that is associated with reduced rates of prostate, stomach and colon cancer.

Sound too good to be true?  Maybe…but what have you got to lose? How bad can eating strawberries, grapes, and cheese or drinking green tea be? Including sources of antiangiogenic foods can determine whether you have cancer and could save you time, energy and possibility your life.

Quercetin and Resveratrol?

Two buzz words in nutrition and supplement research – quercetin and resveratrol.  What is the lowdown?  Should you take a supplement or just eat the food?

The simple answer is unclear.  Quercetin is a type of antioxidant known as a polyphenol.  Two categories of polyphenols are flavonoids and non-flavonoids.  A flavonoid is a pigment in food that has important health benefits.  Besides antioxidant activity, flavonoids are known for their prevention of heart disease and cancer, since they can lower cholesterol levels and inflammation in the body.

Quercetin is found in the greatest concentration in apple skins, but can also be found in red grapes, green tea and buckwheat.  Several positive studies were done with animals, including one in which quercetin supplemented mice were less likely to get the flu.  Human studies to date have been inconclusive on supplement usage.

Resveratrol is a non-flavonoid polyphenol that is found in grapes and grape skins.  It has strong anti-inflammatory effects in the body which can be helpful in the prevention of atherosclerosis.  Wine drinkers tout they are getting their resveratrol for the day.  However, you would have to consume 180 glasses of wine per day to obtain the amount necessary for health.  Studies are also inconclusive on supplement usage.  More importantly, many supplements tested do not contain the amount of resveratrol that is stated on the bottle.

Bottom line?  Until more research is in, eat apples and grapes, and drink green tea.  You will be receiving the quercetin and resveratrol your body can readily use and absorb and there is nothing to lose except bad health…and maybe the flu.

Alcohol and Breast Cancer

Several years ago I got asked to speak at a women’s conference and address the connection between diet and cancer. After researching foods to include and foods to avoid I was surprised to find the strong correlation between alcohol intake and breast cancer. Were the alcohol companies just good at hiding these studies?

Since that time, multiple studies have established the link between alcohol intake and breast cancer risk. Wendy Chen, M.D., Ph.D., a cancer specialist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, presented her research data at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2005. Her study tracked the health of 122,000 women since 1976 that were free of cancer when the study began.

When compared with those who did not drink, they discovered the following:

• Women who drank the equivalent of half a glass of wine a day were 6 percent more likely to develop breast cancer
• Women who drank the equivalent of a glass or two of wine per day had a 21 percent increased risk of breast cancer
• Women who drank the equivalent of two drinks per day had a 37 percent increased risk of cancer

Alcohol can increase breast cancer risk since it:

• Increases blood triglyceride levels
• Increases estrogen levels in blood circulation
• Decreases the liver’s processing of excess estrogen in the blood and decreases immune function.

A 2009 study published in the UK in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed similar results in women consuming alcohol: consuming as little as one drink per day increases a woman’s risk of several types of cancer by 13 percent.

Everyone reads about how a glass of red wine per day is good for your health. However, the studies that have looked at the correlation between wine and health have consistently shown that resveratrol is the component of alcohol which prevents disease, which is not in the fruit of the grape, but is contained in the skins. Therefore, just eating some grapes every day with skins can be more beneficial to health than a glass of wine.

So the next time you have a snack, reach for some grapes and have a few nuts or a piece of hard cheese for balance.