25 Cancer Stem-Cell Killing Foods That Are Smarter Than Chemo and Radiation
4th November 2015 By Sayer Ji Contributing Writer for Wake Up World A new scientific review has identified 25 of the top foods and herbs which kill cancer stem cells at the root cause of cancer malignancy. There are thousands of natural compounds that have been studied with demonstrable anti-cancer activity (check out over 600 on GreenMedInfo’s cancer research database), but only a small subset of these have been proven to target and kill the cancer stem cells which lie at the root of cancer malignancy. Turmeric, for instance, we have featured a number of times for its “smart kill” property of targeting just the heart of cancerous tumors. More recently, ginger has been found in pre-clinical research to contain a compound up to 10,000 times more effective than the chemotherapy drug Taxol at killing breast cancer stem cells. Even common foods like blueberry have special cancer killing properties, as discussed in a previous article for GreenMedInfo: Research: Radiotherapy Causes Cancer, Blueberry Kills It. A new study published in the journal Anticancer Research, titled “Natural Products That Target Cancer Stem Cells“, has made our job much easier of identifying this special category of cancer killers by reviewing the extant literature on the topic and listing the top 25 substances in this category. They are listed here below, along with some of their commonly recognizable dietary sources. 25 Cancer Stem Cell Killing Foods
Why are these substances so important?The primary reason why conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy have failed to produce any significant improvements in cancer survival rates is because cancer stem cells are resistant to these interventions. In fact, chemotherapy and especially radiation are both capable of increasing the number and virulence of these cells in a tumor, while at the same time having the well known side effect of further damaging the patient’s immune system. While the cancer industry is still very much resistant to incorporating the implications of these findings into their standard of care (which is highly unethical), there are an increasing number of health practitioners that will not turn their back on the truth and are very much interested in alternative ways to prevent and treat cancer using food and/or plant-based approaches. The new study addresses the relevance of cancer stem cells as follows:
At present, the cancer industry has failed to produce a single drug that targets the cancer stem cell population of cells within a tumor, as confirmed by the study:
The ability to selectively target cancer cells, and cancer stem cells in particular, while leaving intact the non-tumor cells in tissue is extremely important. We have created a section on the GreenMedInfo database that indexes research on these substances and now includes 67 of them here. We are also building a section that collates research cancer stem cells, a topic will no doubt become a central part of the future of cancer treatment, assuming the priority is to actually alleviate suffering and not just make money off of patients. Recommended articles by Sayer Ji:
About the author: Sayer Ji is an author, educator, Steering Committee Member of the Global GMO-Free Coalition (GGFC), advisory board member of the National Health Federation, and the founder of GreenMedInfo.com – an open access, evidence-based resource supporting natural and integrative modalities. His writings have been published and referenced widely in print and online, including Truthout, Mercola.com, The Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, New York Times and The Well Being Journal. In 1995 Sayer received a BA degree in Philosophy from Rutgers University, where he studied under the American philosopher Dr. Bruce W. Wilshire, with a focus on the philosophy of science. In 1996, following residency at the Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York, he embarked on a 5 year journey of service as a counsellor-teacher and wilderness therapy specialist for various organizations that serve underprivileged and/or adjudicated populations. Since 2003, Sayer has served as a patient advocate and an educator and consultant for the natural health and wellness field.
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