Recent research reveals 8 stealth strategies to keep the
killer at bay.
It's time to raise your carcinogen shields -- and your overall
health -- using these smart anti-C moves
By: Steve Mazzucchi,
Illustrations by: David Arky
The average mouse doesn't care much about skin cancer. Outside of Disney cartoons,
you won't see one slathering on sunscreen before heading out to
dodge cats and search for cheese. But Gary Stoner, Ph.D., a
professor emeritus of hematology and oncology at the Ohio State
University medical center, does care about cancer. That's why he
spends his days in a lab, feeding rodents polyphenols from seaweed
and learning how to shrink skin cancerlike tumors. He's a mouse's
best friend. Maybe yours, too.
Stoner is just one of many researchers working to bring new weapons
to the cancer battle.
Some study humans to take a fresh look at existing theories.
Others, like Stoner, are testing tactics so bold that, so far,
their only subjects have tails and whiskers.
But all these approaches (seaweed included) have one very positive
thing in common: They're just plain good for you and bad for cancer
cells. Here are eight strategies that just may turn the Big C into
the Big See-Ya-Later. (Or, better yet, See-Ya-Never.)
(1) Drink Pomegranate Juice
Some say this luscious, lusty red fruit is Eve's original apple,
but what the pomegranate truly banishes is cancer risk.
The fruit's deep red juice contains polyphenols, isoflavones, and
ellagic acid, elements researchers believe make up a potent
anticancer combo. It's been shown to delay the growth of prostate
cancer in mice, and it stabilizes PSA levels in men who've been
treated for prostate cancer. And now University of Wisconsin at
Madison researchers have learned that pomegranate may also inhibit
lung-cancer growth. If you currently smoke, have smoked in the
past, or hang around in smoky places (Cleveland, for instance), the
juice of the fruit could bolster your defenses.
Use it: The mice in the Wisconsin study received
the human equivalent of 16 ounces of juice per day, so quaff
accordingly.
(2) Eat Blueberries
Got pterostilbene? Rutgers University researchers say this compound
-- found in blueberries -- has colon cancer-fighting properties. When
rats with colon cancer were fed a diet supplemented with
pterostilbene, they had 57 percent fewer precancerous lesions after
8 weeks than rats not given the compound did. Eat blueberries and
you'll also benefit from a big dose of vitamin C (14 milligrams per
cup). In a study of 42,340 men, New England Research Institute
scientists discovered that men with the highest dietary vitamin C
intake (as opposed to supplements) were 50 percent less likely to
develop premalignant oral lesions than men with the lowest intake
were.
Use it: "About two servings daily is the human
equivalent of what we fed the rats," says Bandaru Reddy, M.D.,
Ph.D., a chemical-biology professor at Rutgers. Load up at
breakfast: A cup and a half of blueberries over cereal, plus 8
ounces of juice and half a grapefruit (for extra vitamin C), will
do the trick. If that's too much to stomach at dawn, spread it out
over the course of the day.
(3) Relax a Little
Anxiety won't only make
you soil your shorts. Purdue University researchers tracked 1,600
men over 12 years and found that half of those with increasing
levels of worry died during the study period. Talk about flunking
the exam. Only 20 percent of the optimists died before the 12-year
study was completed. More anxiety-producing news: Thirty-four
percent of the neurotic men died of some type of cancer. How
neurotic are we talking? "Think of the biggest worrier you know --
someone who stresses out over everything," says psychologist Daniel
Mroczek, Ph.D., who conducted the study. "That man is probably
above the 95th percentile in neuroticism. Then think of the most
cool, calm, collected man you know. He's probably below the fifth
percentile."
Use it: To develop that critical, casual Jeff
Spicoli vibe, learn to slow down your fast times: "The more time
you spend in the present moment, the more relaxed you'll be,
because most mental anguish occurs over stuff that's already
happened or that may or may not happen in the future," says Claire
Wheeler, M.D., Ph.D., the author of 10 Simple Solutions to Stress.
"For the most part, right now is pretty damn good. If you practice
being present while shaving, for example, eventually you'll also be
more present when eating, making love, and working."
(4) Pop Selenium
Selenium has long been thought of as a cancer fighter, but you can
have too much of a good thing, says David J. Waters, Ph.D., D.V.M.,
director of the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation, in West
Lafayette, Indiana. A study of almost 1,000 men, published in the
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that when those
with the lowest initial levels of selenium in their bodies received
a daily supplement over a 4 1/2- year period, they cut their
prostate-cancer
risk by an impressive 92 percent. But men who started out with high
selenium were rewarded with an 88 percent increase in total cancer
risk when they took the supplements. Moral: It pays to get your
selenium level right.
Use it: Selenium in the body is measured through
toenail clippings. Send yours to the Murphy Foundation, and for
less than $100 (price varies by state), they'll ship them to a lab
and then inform you of your level 2 weeks later. If yours is out of
range, the foundation will explain how to adjust your intake of
Brazil nuts, tuna, meats, grains, and selenium supplements. Learn
more at www.seleniumhealthtest.com.
(5) Order Sushi
As mentioned, Gary Stoner is using seaweed to fight the Big C. When
he fed the polyphenols from brown seaweed to mice that had been
bombarded with UV rays, their incidence of skin tumors dropped 60
percent. And the polyphenols shrank existing tumors by 43 percent.
Better still, the doses that produced these effects were the
equivalent of only 1 or 2 tablespoons in a human being. "Seaweed is
low in calories and fat, yet it provides heart-helping fiber,
bone-building calcium, and iron," says nutrition consultant Molly
Morgan, R.D., C.D.N., owner of Creative Nutrition Solutions, in
Vestal, New York. "Dried, roasted seaweed sheets used in making
sushi also provide vitamins A and C.
Use it: "Eat more sushi rolls," says Stoner. "It's not quite the
same seaweed, but it has some of the same compounds." As a bonus,
sushi itself is a great muscle food. A typical spicy tuna roll has
only 290 calories but packs 24 grams of protein. Also, look for a
Korean-made, seaweed-fortified drink called EntroPower (entropower.com), which
should be hitting U.S. health-food stores soon.
(6) Spend More Time Outside
Scientists have viewed vitamin D as a potent cancer fighter for
decades, but there's never been a gold-standard trial -- until now.
A Creighton University study published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition found that women who supplemented their diets
with 1,000 international units of vitamin D every day had a 60
percent to 77 percent lower incidence of cancer over a 4-year
period than did women taking a placebo. "I don't think the effect
is limited to women," says Joan Lappe, Ph.D., the lead study
author. "Vitamin D is necessary for the best functioning of the
immune system -- it causes early death of cancer cells."
Use it: Nature intended us to make vitamin D from
the sun, but depending on where you live, the time of year, and how
much of an agoraphobe you are, you may not reach the optimal level
of 80 nanomoles per liter of blood that way. A blood test can give
you a baseline. From there, Lappe recommends supplementing with
1,100 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D in a stand-alone pill every day.
Vitamin D is also in sardines, salmon, shiitake mushrooms, and
reindeer meat -- which may explain Santa's longevity, despite the
odd hours and jelly belly.
(7) Clear Your Air
Secondhand smoke may be even worse for you than we thought. A
recent American Journal of Public Health study reveals that
nonsmokers working in smoky places had three times the amount of
NNK, a carcinogen, in their urine than nonsmoking workers in
smoke-free joints had. And their levels of NNK rose 6 percent for
every hour worked. "There is no safe level of exposure to
secondhand smoke, and the greater the exposure, the higher the
risk," says the study's lead author, Michael Stark, Ph.D.,
principal investigator for the Multnomah County Health Department,
in Portland, Oregon.
Use it: Nine states have banned smoking in all workplaces, bars, and
restaurants: Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York,
New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington. So change
locations, change professions, or change the laws. As you sip your
pomegranate juice, sign up with Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights at
no-smoke.org.
8 Invest a Little Sweat Equity
Study after study has pointed to the cancer-beating power of
exercise. Now research from Norway has found that even a tiny dose
of exercise has big benefits. A study of 29,110 men published last
year in the International Journal of Cancer shows that men who
exercised just once a week had a 30 percent lower risk of
metastatic prostate cancer than did men who didn't
work out at all. Increasing the frequency, duration, and intensity
of the exercise correlated with a further, gradual reduction in
risk.
Use it: Just one bout of weekend warriorism -- a
company softball game, pickup basketball, racquetball with your
crusty uncle -- might qualify you for inclusion in the cancer-free
30 percent.
