Slash Your Cancer Risk With Phytonutrients

You can slash your cancer-risk “in half” thanks to exciting medical breakthroughs made in just the last few months. The secret is “phytonutrients” — the active ingredients in vegetables like cabbage and tomatoes.

Finally, the power to dramatically slash your risk of getting cancer is in your own hands!

The three most feared words in the English language are: “You have cancer.” Despite major advances in detection and treatment during the last 50 years, your chances of getting cancer are probably much higher than you think:

  • Your risk of dying from cancer is nearly 1 in 4.1
  • Your chances of eventually contracting some form of cancer is nearly 50-50.2

If a family member has had cancer, your risk is even higher!

While no longer an automatic “death-sentence,” cancer still usually means many months or years of painful, debilitating treatment and disfiguring surgery. This year alone, millions of women diagnosed with cancer will have their breasts removed, suffering permanent disfigurement and loss of self-esteem.

Millions of men with prostate cancer will lose their ability to perform sexually, face the humiliation of losing control of their bladder and be forced to wear diapers for the rest of their lives. The brutal truth is, if you live long enough, chances are high that you will contract some form of cancer.

According to the National Institute of Health, if you’re a man, your risk of dying from testicular cancer has increased over 50% in the last two decades. If you’re a woman, your risk of dying from cervical cancer has also dramatically increased. That’s if you are UNDER 65 years of age. If you’re over 65, your risk is even higher. Other cancers that have increased include cancer of the stomach, bladder, ovaries, and uterus. In many cases, these cancers are far advanced before people even realize that they have them!3

That’s the bad news. The good news is that two exciting breakthroughs in cancer detection and prevention — discovered in just the last 12 months — could drastically lower your risk of contracting cancer.

CANCER BREAKTHROUGH #1: An easy method for evaluating your cancer risk.

This technique is based on the discovery that there is both good and bad estrogen, similar to good and bad cholesterol, and that the ratio of these two types of estrogen predicts the likelihood you will get cancer.

This discovery applies to both men and women, and this is the first time that such a simple, easy-to-use risk detector for cancer has been discovered.

CANCER BREAKTHROUGH #2: The power to slash your cancer risk.

This breakthrough is based on the discovery that certain nutrients found in common vegetables drastically lower the “bad estrogen” in your body — slashing your cancer risk up to 50%! But that’s just the beginning.

You may even be able to cure cancers that have already developed, with remission beginning in just a few months — all without invasive surgery, radiation or debilitating chemotherapy.

These two discoveries are cutting-edge medicine, and I’m thrilled to be able to share them with you, for the first time here. But first you need to understand why your risk of certain types of cancers are increasing.

Why the epidemic increase in some cancers?

There are several apparent reasons why certain types of cancer, like cancer of the testicles and cervix, are soaring. First, we are living much longer than our ancestors, and our cancer risk increases with age. As we age, our bodies also produce more and more harmful forms of sex hormones as well.

In the case of women, as they age, a carcinogenic form of estrogen, known as 16a-hydroxyestrone, accumulates in their body. This “bad estrogen” increases cellular growth and promotes the development of cancer in estrogen-responsive tissues, like the cervix.

In men, some of the testosterone naturally produced in their bodies is converted into estradiol, a form of estrogen. For decades, it’s been known that estradiol is mildly carcinogenic, and cancer risk increases as estradiol accumulates in their bodies. Even worse, estradiol can be converted into substances that are even more carcinogenic, like 16a-hydroxyestrone!

Growing use of sex hormone replacement therapy to combat menopause and other sex-related problems are another reason that certain cancers are increasing. Many researchers suspect that cancer risk rises dramatically in women after hormonal replacement therapy but the risk remains hidden until it’s too late.

A third reason that certain cancers are on the rise, are environmental factors such as the increase of pesticides and other carcinogens in our food. Unfortunately, that is particularly true of manly of the vegetables in the supermarket!

Whatever the cause, treating cancer is often extremely painful and frequently results in horrible side-effects, including hair-loss, temporary or permanent debilitation, loss of sexual function, and even disfigurement. The best way to “treat” cancer is to avoid getting it in the first place.

Slash your risk of cancer with a healthy diet

One of your most effective weapons against cancer is proper nutrition. Remember how mother told you to “always eat your vegetables?” Well she was right.

A study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that three, hearty serving of vegetables each day cuts the risk of- prostate cancer by 48%.

Vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and soy contain an abundance of potent, phytonutrients that can slash you risk of getting cancer. What’s so effective about these vegetables? They all contain a powerful, natural, vegetable chemical called indole-3-carbinol and the even more powerful phytochemical di-indolylmethane, which is two indole-3-carbinol molecules chemically-bonded to each other. Your body converts the less powerful indole-3-carbinol to the more potent di-indolymethane. These chemicals and the vegetables they’re found in, reduce your risk of cancer by increasing the “good” estrogen in your body.

-Sponsored Ads-

Another powerful cancer-fighting vegetable is the tomato. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene — a powerful natural anti-oxidant. Thirty-five separate clinical studies show that vegetables containing lycopene significantly reduce the risk of cancer.

Eminent researcher Dr. E. Giannuci of Harvard Medical School reviewed these studies and found strong evidence that lycopene reduces the risk of prostate, lung, and stomach cancer. He also found that lycopene helped to prevent cancer of the pancreas, colon and rectum, esophagus, oral cavity, breast, and cervix.4 As discussed below, lycopene even reduces tumors in cases where cancer is already active.

Preventing cancer in men

In one recent study, men scheduled for prostate cancer surgery used lycopene or a placebo for thirty days. At surgery, tumors in the placebo group had gotten larger. However, in men treated with lycopene, the tumors shrunk!5

If these men had been treated for a longer period — say 4-6 months — they might not have needed surgery at all! Indeed, if they had taken lycopene before they were diagnosed with prostate cancer, they may have never gotten cancer at all!

Preventing cancer in women

As we’ve discussed, a major cause of cancer in women appears to be the conversion of estrogen into its “bad” or carcinogenic forms.

Estradiol — the principal estrogen in women, is transformed into estrone. Estrone, in turn, is converted into 2-hydroxyestrone or 16a-hydroxyestrone. 16a-hydroxyestrone is a potent carcinogen — a bad estrogen. 2-hydroxyestrone is non-carcinogenic and possibly anti-carcinogenic–a good estrogen. The ratio of these two estrogens, which we call the 2/16a ratio, predicts the risk of cancer, just as the ratio of HDL (good cholesterol) to LDL (bad cholesterol) predicts the likelihood of heart disease.

Animal studies confirm that a low 2/16a ratio is strongly associated with a high risk of cancer. For instance, mice with a high incidence of breast cancer have a low 2/16a ratio. Different strains of mice have different susceptibility to breast cancer, with the risk of contracting breast cancer going up as the 2/16a ratio goes down. Scientists also found that when mice are given the MMTV virus, which induces breast cancer, the 2/16a ratio decreases– suggesting that the MMTV virus causes cancer by increasing carcinogenic 16a-hydroxyestrone. When the virus is removed, the 2/16a ratio once again increases.6

Human studies confirm that “bad estrogen” is a potent carcinogen

Animal studies are all well and good, but what about humans? Studies show that the 2/16a ratio is decreased in women with breast cancer and in families where breast cancer runs rampant — suggesting that 16a may be a major culprit in this dreaded disease.

One expert — Dr. Ercole Cavalieri of the University of Nebraska — in fact concluded, the 2/16a hydroxyestrone ratio was the most significant factor predictive of breast cancer.7

Does correcting the 2/16a hydroxyestrone ratio prevent cancer? Recent clinical studies suggest that the answer is “Yes!”

Women whose cervical biopsy showed evidence of abnormal pre-cancerous growth were treated with indole-3-carbinol in an attempt to prevent the development of invasive disease. Half of the women given this phytochemical experienced complete regression of the abnormal growth, while none of the placebo-treated women did.

The increase in the 2/16a hyrdoxyestrone levels, for the most part, paralleled the elimination of the disease.8 This suggests that if higher doses—or the more potent di-indolylmethane—had been used, perhaps all of the treated women would have enjoyed complete regressions.

This exciting study suggests that if we could only eat enough foods containing the cancer-fighting phytochemicals, we might be able to prevent cancer before it starts.

Why you can’t rely on diet to lower your cancer risk

There are two problems with relying on diet to lower your cancer risk: First, most of us can’t or won’t eat enough cabbage and tomato-family vegetables to give us the protection that we need.

Unfortunately, a lot people positively despise vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower! But even people who love these vegetables find it hard to get them at restaurants that they eat at during the work week and on supermarket shelves at certain times of the year. Even when these vegetables are available, their content of cancer-fighting phytonutrients varies with the soil, time of harvest, etc.

The second problem with relying on diet alone to lower your cancer risk is that many foods are loaded with carcinogens. Vegetables and fruits in particular are usually loaded with pesticides, making it questionable whether eating more does more harm than good. The reality is that relying solely on diet to prevent cancer is playing Russian roulette with your health. Fortunately, there is a healthy and effective alternative.

You need to look for  supplements that contain  di-indolylmethane — the more active ingredient found in the cabbage-family of foods. Because di-indolylmethane is so much more potent than indole-3-carbinol — about ten times as active — you need much less.

Di-indolylmethane is a better choice in other ways too. Indole-3-carbinol needs to be “activated” by your digestive tract. It more readily degrades when exposed to air, light, and high temperatures. Di-indolylmethane does not need to be activated and is much more stable. When your life is at risk, you want the most potent cancer fighter money can buy. Why take a chance on less than the best?

To get the vital vegetable nutrients your body needs to slash your risk of contracting a debilitating and disfiguring cancer, dietary supplements may help. For most of us it’s one of the best ways of insuring that we never hear the three most terrifying words in the English language, “You have cancer.”

 

* The test we are referring to is called the 2/16a-hydroxyestrone-ratio test. This can be done using a single urine specimen, collected at any time of the day or (for women) any time of the menstrual cycle. The test is $89 plus shipping and handling. Contact Meridian Valley Laboratories at 1-253-859-8700 or online at http://www.meridianvalleylab.com.

Related Articles

References

  1. Cancer Mortality Rates, Changes from 1973 to 1992 (Ages Under 65), National Cancer Institute, 12/4/00,www.nci.nih.gov/public/factbk95/cund65.htm
  2. Ibid.
  3. Op. cit., National Cancer Institute.
  4. Giovannuci, E. Tomatoes, tomato-based products, lycopene, and cancer: review of the epidemiologic literature. J Natl Cancer Inst1999; 91(4): 317-331.
  5.  Laino, C. Tomatoes may treat prostate cancer. www.msnbc.com/news/258430.asp
  6. Zumoff, B. Hormonal profiles in women with breast cancer. Obstet Gyn Clin North America 1994; 21 (4): 751-772.
  7. Cavalieri, EL, et al. Molecular origin of cancer: Catechol estrogen-3,4-quinones as endogenous tumor initiators. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1997; 94: 10937-10942, emphasis added.
  8. Bell, MC, et. al. Placebo-controlled trial of indole-3-carbinol in the treatment of CIN. Gyn Oncol 2000; 78 (2): 123-129.
  9. M Protich, D Tsvetkov, B Nalbanski, et al. Clinical trial of the preparation of Tribestan in infertile men, Akush Ginekol 1983; 22(4): 326-9.
  10.  F Kumanov, E Bozadzhieva, M Andreeva, et al. Clinical trial of the drug “Tribestan.” Savr Med 1982;4:211-5.
  11.  IV Viktorov, AL Kaloyanov, L Lilov, eta al. Clinical investigation on Tribestan in males with disorders in the sexual function. Med-Biol Inf 1982. Cited in Zarkova S. Tribestan: Experimental and Clinical Investigations. Chemical Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Sofia, 1983.