Can antioxidants really help lower risk of cancers?
I always hear about antioxidants being extremely beneficial to your body against diseases. I read it online, I see it from Dr. Oz, etc. but when I google, it seems that a lot of the studies are inconclusive. So is it or is it not?
Also, do you guys actually believe there have been better treatments than chemotherapy out there? Such as eating a lot better, using certain herbs, baking soda, etc? I watched a documentary called The Hidden Cure for Cancer and it mentioned all these people that have cured people’s cancers and had been arrested or shot down by the medical industry. Okay, so they didn’t CURE cancer cuz I think their stats weren’t over 50% but it was a better survival rate than chemo.
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Well Chemotherapy is a radical therapy aimed to destroy cells in a certain area, it also damages good cells but this is all in good practice.
First off we must understand what an anti-oxidant does. In a nut shell it’s a cell repairer. An oxidant is something that oxides, so anti-oxidant is good. Flavonoids, like Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an anti-oxidant that helps repairs cells. So instead of losing those cells and your body having to remake them and using energy there, an anti-oxidant can revitalize cells, so that it functions normally again.
I’m a binge reader so I don’t retain accurate accurate facts for long or know exactly how to explain it, I’m no expert. I know staying away from inflammatory/processed foods can help reduce the risk of cancer and of course loading up on vitamins is good.
You know a good source to reference these sort of questions I use “LIVESTRONG.COM” simply type in your question and 80% of the time it’s there! (That’s been my experience at least.)
Nutrition is a fairly new science if you think about the whole existence of man kind. There have been tons of observations with lab rats who in take tons of antioxidants vs those who don’t.
In general, the research really is inconclusive. I find a great site that looks at the real science behind a lot of medicine, nutrition included, is Science Based Medicine. Their articles tend to be rather long, but usually worth the investment. Specific to this topic, they went over antioxidants a little while ago, and not much has changed in the meanwhile: Antioxidants: Hype and Reality. In general, oxidative stress can be harmful, out of control radicals can damage DNA and other cellular machinery. However, oxidation is required by your system, to metabolize nutrients as well as in other areas. Why do you think we need to breath oxygen? Also, oxidation is one of the ways your body fights infection, your immune system (specifically T-cells, if my immunology isn’t too rusty) uses radical oxygen species to attack foreign bodies. So wild claims about radical oxygen species being terrible and antioxidants being god’s gift to humanity are, simply put, naive. We don’t know yet is the long and the short of it. A lot of the really over-hyped stuff, like resveratrol and Dr. Oz’s favorite green coffee beans, have turned out to be just that: seriously over-hyped with little evidence of actual efficacy.
Also, keep in mind that most of these things, especially anything labelled as a ‘natural’ anything, is probably covered by DSHEA, an act which basically hamstrings the FDA and makes it so that they can’t investigate any but the most egregious health claims touted by these products. So take the vast majority with a large grain of salt.
High dose antioxidants have been shown to increase the risk of bladder cancer and lung cancer. And no study has ever shown that taking antioxidants reduces the risk of cancer.
Only anecdotal, but my sisters best friend was diagnosed with lymphoma at around 53 or 54. She chose not to get treatment. The only thing she does is dring an edible green tea which is high in antioxidants, eats basically organic and exercises regularly. Nearly 5 years and she just took a trip of a lifetime to Peru, and the cancer has not advanced one bit.
Live strong is not a credible source. They have catchy little articles that promise miracles and absolutely no fact. The foods may be good for you but they do greatly exaggerate.
Balanced diet of whole foods and little processed is ideal to maintaining health. It may not prevent or cure all diseases. But it is good sense and how can you prove you didn’t fall sick to something you would have other then a genetic predisposition.
It does help with focus relieve stress and grant more energy. That I cn speak of from experience.
I recommend the China Study or Mark Hymen or even just for starters skinny bastards or skinny bitches….
Dairy casein lactose sugar sugar subsititutes and at the very least red meat are all things to avoid if you want to prevent cancer.
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