Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer
In the history of nutrition, there never has been a story quite like that of dietary fiber.
For decades, nutritionists viewed fiber as all but worthless. It did not even qualify as a nutrient, because its absence didn’t cause the deficiency disease that result when diets are inadequate in protein, vitamins, or minerals.
As far as nutritionists could see, fiber served no useful purpose other than to prevent constipation.
But during the past decades, fiber has come into its own. It is now the focus of intense research. It is now known that fiber plays a role in regulation of blood cholesterol and blood sugar. Fiber may even help with weight control.
And, yes, it is likely that fiber can help to prevent cancer. Diet institutions and foundations in almost every country surround the world, such as the Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer in In the U.S., has advised us to eat whole grain foods every day. These foods are usually a good source of fiber. How about processed grains? Grains that have been refined – such as white flour – contain only little fiber.
The Fiber Fan Club
Categories: Cancer Tags: bran, Cancer, cellulose, dietary fiber, gum, hemicellulose, insoluble fibers, lignin, oats, pectins, soluble fibers, whole grains food
Cancer Inhibitors in Food
Do you think cancer as a mighty sword that can reach down and hurt any and all of us? At any time?
If you do, then you should think again. Exciting new research shows that nature gives us weapons that can fight back. And these weapons are not in exotic places. They are in common foods.
The substances I am talking about are not considered nutrients, because their absence does not cause a deficiency disease. These substances are little-known food elements. Only a handful of research scientists are familiar with them.
Scientists call them inhibitors. In laboratory animals, these substances show an impressive ability to inhibit the cancer process.
How Cancer Inhibitors Work
A cancer agent, such as one found in cigarette smoke, might cause cancer in half of the animals that are exposed to it. But when an inhibitor is given along with the cancer-causing chemical, fewer animals will develop cancer. The inhibitor prevents the cancer-causing chemical from doing its damage.
Categories: Cancer Tags: brassica family, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, Cancer, cancer inhibitors, cauliflower, colon cancer, cruciferous vegetables, dietary fiber, digestive organs, indoles, rectal cancer, stomac cancer, vitamin A, vitamin C
Vitamin C and Cancer
Beyond the Cancer Question
I would drink my orange juice and eat my green peppers even if it weren’t for research linking vitamin C to prevention of cancer.
Some of my reasons are the same ones that bolster the advice to eat more fruits and vegetables that supply carotene. Like these plant foods rich in vitamin A, foods rich in vitamin C are also low in saturated fat and sodium.
What’s more, fruits and vegetables that contain vitamin C are cholesterol-free. And they provide small to moderate amounts of dietary fiber. Eaten in large amounts, the fiber in these fruits and vegetables helps to lower blood cholesterol levels.
There is more. Vitamin C is rarely recognized for its role in iron absorption. Yet we have known for many years that vitamin C helps the body to absorb iron.
Categories: Cancer, NUTRITION Tags: Cancer, cancer prevention, carotene, dietary fiber, heart disease, iron, iron absorption, saturated fat, scurvy, sodium, vitamin C
