We may not have eaten so healthfully our entire lives. We may have a family history of breast, prostate or colon cancer. What should we do? Just wait until cancer is found?
Getting medical screenings is certainly a personal decision, but if you want to know what you can really do to protect yourself - eat lots of colorful vegetables, specifically including lots of green cruciferous vegetables.
Eating a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables is your best defense for fighting and preventing cancer.
If we really want to win the war against cancer, we must improve the nutritional quality of our diet.
We have all heard about the antioxidant effects our bodies derive from the phytochemicals in plant foods. However, the unique phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables offer superior benefits.
Cruciferous vegetables contain phytochemicals that have unique abilities to modify human hormones, detoxify compounds, and prevent toxic compounds from binding to human DNA, preventing toxins from causing DNA damage that could lead to cancer.
Studies have even shown that genetic defects that may lead to cancer are suppressed by the consumption of green cruciferous vegetables.
Certainly, many studies have shown that eating fresh fruits, beans, vegetables, seeds, and nuts reduces the occurrence of cancer.
I plotted cancer incidence in 25 countries against unrefined plant food intake and found that as vegetables, beans, and fruit consumption goes up 20% in a population, cancer rates typically drop 20%. But cruciferous vegetables are different; they have been shown to be twice as effective. As cruciferous vegetable intake goes up 20%, in a population, cancer rates drop 40%.
arugula
bok choy
broccoli
broccoli rabe
brocollina
brussels sprouts
cabbage
cauliflower
collards
horseradish
kale
kohlrabi
mustard greens
radish
red cabbage
rutabaga
turnips
turnip greens
watercress
Include them in both raw and cooked forms and eat a variety of them. These benefits cannot be duplicated by taking any one pre-formed compound or supplement.
The evidence is now overwhelming that cruciferous vegetables play a major and unique role in the widely recognized protective effects of natural plant foods against cancer--and are the most important players in this arena.
The biologically active compounds from raw and conservatively cooked green vegetables enhance the natural defenses of the human body against DNA damage and they even fuel the body's ability to block growth and replication of cells that are already damaged.
For those in the know, these foods are the most important nutritional factors to prevent common human cancers.
Showing posts with label Joel Fuhrman M.D.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joel Fuhrman M.D.. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Spotlight on Reversing and Preventing Strokes by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
Stroke or Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA)
A stroke is the sudden death of brain cells due to a problem with the blood supply. When blood flow to the brain is impaired, oxygen and important nutrients cannot be delivered.
The result is injury and then death to brain cells resulting in abnormal brain function. Blood flow to the brain can be disrupted by either a blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain.
A stroke is also referred to as a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA). It is called a Temporary Ischemic Attack (TIA) when the symptoms are temporary (less than 24 hours), and a stroke when the loss of brain function is permanent.
Types of Strokes
There are two major types, embolic or ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic strokes.
Stroke by common usage usually refers to the more common embolic or ischemic stroke. These strokes occur from a blood clot that occurs inside the vessel and prevents blood flow to brain.
Besides the development of atherosclerotic plaque and high blood pressure, other factors increasing the risk of stroke include smoking, diabetes, leukemia, aplastic anemia, brain tumors, gout and birth control pills. High homocysteine levels in the blood can also increase the risk of stroke.
Causes of Strokes
A clot that cuts off blood flow to a part of the brain is the most common cause. Plaque material or pieces of blood clots that travel to the brain are other common sources.
Overall, the chief cause of strokes are related to hardening of the arteries, which allows fatty deposits to accumulate inside the arteries causing a cascade of injury to the vessel walls eventually leading to clots that form inside the blood vessels.
The slow development of atherosclerosis, which decreases blood flow to the brain, results in shrinkage of the brain and the development of dementia.
A stroke can also result from bleeding or from a busted blood vessel in the brain as the result of high blood pressure.
Most CVAs are the result of atherosclerosis, hypertension or a combination of both.
Preventing Strokes
The majority of patients with high blood pressure die of heart attack, not strokes. Therefore, medications have been shown to have little or no effect in reducing overall cardiovascular mortality in major clinical trials.
Even when researchers lumped together all nine of the major hypertensive trials to achieve the statistical power of very large numbers, no significant trend was noticed in the ability of high blood pressure medication to reduce the mortality or morbidity of coronary heart disease.
In the United States, about 400,000 people a year suffer from strokes. Forty percent of these strokes may be fatal, but the 60% that live are often doomed to a life of suffering and disability.
The cost of strokes is not just measured in the billions of dollars lost in work, hospitalization and the care of survivors in nursing homes. The major cost or impact of a stroke is the loss of an independent lifestyle that occurs in 30% of the survivors.
After a stroke, a self-sustaining and enjoyable lifestyle may lose most of its quality as the person can no longer walk, feed or express themselves normally. The family members find themselves in a new role as caregivers: it is a true tragedy. What makes this event even more heartbreaking is that it never had to happen in the first place.
When patients are given all of the facts, including the real benefits of removing the disease rather than merely disguising its existence with drugs, they almost invariably choose the natural way to a healthy heart. Don’t be a statistic. You can choose to protect yourself from both heart attacks and strokes.
If you are on medication, the effects of this nutritional program are so decisive that you may find yourself dangerously over-medicated. It is important to work with a competent physician who can lower your dose of medications accordingly as your blood pressure and weight decrease.
A stroke is the sudden death of brain cells due to a problem with the blood supply. When blood flow to the brain is impaired, oxygen and important nutrients cannot be delivered.
The result is injury and then death to brain cells resulting in abnormal brain function. Blood flow to the brain can be disrupted by either a blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain.
A stroke is also referred to as a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA). It is called a Temporary Ischemic Attack (TIA) when the symptoms are temporary (less than 24 hours), and a stroke when the loss of brain function is permanent.
Types of Strokes
There are two major types, embolic or ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic strokes.
Stroke by common usage usually refers to the more common embolic or ischemic stroke. These strokes occur from a blood clot that occurs inside the vessel and prevents blood flow to brain.
Besides the development of atherosclerotic plaque and high blood pressure, other factors increasing the risk of stroke include smoking, diabetes, leukemia, aplastic anemia, brain tumors, gout and birth control pills. High homocysteine levels in the blood can also increase the risk of stroke.
Causes of Strokes
A clot that cuts off blood flow to a part of the brain is the most common cause. Plaque material or pieces of blood clots that travel to the brain are other common sources.
Overall, the chief cause of strokes are related to hardening of the arteries, which allows fatty deposits to accumulate inside the arteries causing a cascade of injury to the vessel walls eventually leading to clots that form inside the blood vessels.
The slow development of atherosclerosis, which decreases blood flow to the brain, results in shrinkage of the brain and the development of dementia.
A stroke can also result from bleeding or from a busted blood vessel in the brain as the result of high blood pressure.
Most CVAs are the result of atherosclerosis, hypertension or a combination of both.
Preventing Strokes
The majority of patients with high blood pressure die of heart attack, not strokes. Therefore, medications have been shown to have little or no effect in reducing overall cardiovascular mortality in major clinical trials.
Even when researchers lumped together all nine of the major hypertensive trials to achieve the statistical power of very large numbers, no significant trend was noticed in the ability of high blood pressure medication to reduce the mortality or morbidity of coronary heart disease.
In the United States, about 400,000 people a year suffer from strokes. Forty percent of these strokes may be fatal, but the 60% that live are often doomed to a life of suffering and disability.
The cost of strokes is not just measured in the billions of dollars lost in work, hospitalization and the care of survivors in nursing homes. The major cost or impact of a stroke is the loss of an independent lifestyle that occurs in 30% of the survivors.
After a stroke, a self-sustaining and enjoyable lifestyle may lose most of its quality as the person can no longer walk, feed or express themselves normally. The family members find themselves in a new role as caregivers: it is a true tragedy. What makes this event even more heartbreaking is that it never had to happen in the first place.
When patients are given all of the facts, including the real benefits of removing the disease rather than merely disguising its existence with drugs, they almost invariably choose the natural way to a healthy heart. Don’t be a statistic. You can choose to protect yourself from both heart attacks and strokes.
If you are on medication, the effects of this nutritional program are so decisive that you may find yourself dangerously over-medicated. It is important to work with a competent physician who can lower your dose of medications accordingly as your blood pressure and weight decrease.
Attention heart patients. Support your cardiovascular and overall health with Dr. Fuhrman's Vessel Protect Formula and his LDL formula, proven to lower LDL cholesterol.
For additional resources for a healthier lifestyle visit Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Fitness Shop
To see Dr. Fuhrman's complete range of products including books, DVD's, natural foods and more, click here: Store Home Page
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