Healthy Tips - Anti-Cancer Vitamins

If your ideal serving of fruits and veggies is apple pie and crispy kangkong, then you’re in good company. In a world of easy pleasure and quick fixes, most of us lose out on essential nutrients even when we strive to eat right. Mixing together poor diet, stress, pollution, and smoking forms a fatal cocktail of free radicals that mutates human DNA, increasing the risk of cancer. As cancer patients get younger, taking health supplements is essential for anyone and everyone to detoxify the body and toughen up the immune system. Here are some of your prime weapons in the war on cancer:

VITAMIN A

Researchers found a link between cervical cancer and patients in Third World countries and a low intake of Vitamin A. Cancers such as lung, breast, colon, and prostate all come from epithelial tissue, which needs Vitamin A. According to Dr. Patrick Quillin, former Director of Nutrition for Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Vitamin A “reduced complications after surgery in lung cancer patients.” Combined with beta-carotene, it increases radiotherapy’s effect and improves response rate.

Good Sources of Vitamin A : milk, eggs, liver, fortified cereals, darkly colored orange or green vegetables (such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and kale), and orange fruits such as cantaloupe, apricots, peaches, papayas, and mangos.

BETA-CAROTENE

Cell-to-cell communication relies on beta-carotene to prevent or reverse abnormal growths. It’s a potent antioxidant that protects against the damaging effects of carcinogens. Beta-carotene works in synergy with Vitamin A to help increase. Take a natural supplement boosted with other carotenoids such as lycopene and lutein for maximum benefit.

Good sources of Beta-Carotene: Carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, spinach, Collards, Kale, Turnip greens, Beet greens, Winter squash, Cabbage.

B-COMPLEX VITAMINS

Taking a B-complex supplement ensures a balance of various B vitamins for improves physical, emotional, and mental health. B1 metabolizes carbs, fat and protein providing energy; B2 prevents cold sores, migraines, and cataracts; B6 boosts liver function in filter toxins chemotherapy byproducts; B12 helps heal nerve damage and treat pernicious anemia; Inositol. Choline, and Biotin protect the liver and heart, and repair cell damage.

The best dietary sources of the B vitamins, especially B12, are: Animal products (meat, poultry), Yeast extracts (brewers’ yeast, Marmite)

Other good sources include:

asparagus, broccoli, spinach, bananas, potatoes, dried apricots, dates and figs, milk, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, nuts and pulses, fish, brown rice, wheat germ, wholegrain cereals.

VITAMIN C

“Vitamin C is an important component in maintaining a healthy immune system and in protecting against many varieties of cancer. Your body doesn’t make Vitamin C or store it, so you need to replenish your supply daily. Supplementing can increase the efficacy of radiotherapy and certain chemotherapy agents. High doses however may increase the resistance of breast cancer cells to the chemotherapy drug doxyrubicin.
Take natural-derived supplement over synthetic versions for maximum benefit. Acerola cherries, for example, are one of the richest sources of Vitamin C, having at least 32 times the potency of an orange.

Great Sources of vitamin C: Red berries, kiwi, red and green bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, and juices made from guava, grapefruit, and orange.

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