American Institute for Cancer Research List Cancer-Fighting Foods

Cancer Fighting Foods
Cancer Fighting Foods

Do you need more motivation to consume a healthy diet? According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), excess body weight is a cause of more than 130,000 new cases of cancer in the United States each year.

Consuming nutritious plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, provides a double-whammy against cancer. Fewer calories mean no weight gain, while the vitamins and minerals are strong tools against developing cancer.

What’s on Your Grocery List?

Fortunately, there’s a wide variety of delicious foods to choose from. Here are some of the products that rank high on AICR’s list.

  • Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach and romaine lettuce contain carotenoids that attack free radicals, which are unstable molecules that cause cell and tissue damage.
  • Tomatoes get their red color from an antioxidant called lycopene. They’re also rich in fiber, which protects against colorectal cancer.
  • Coffee has gained a bad reputation with some, but it’s actually full of antioxidants that may become more potent during the roasting process.
  • Kidneys, black beans and other legumes are a good source of fiber and protein. They also contain a resistant starch used by “good” bacteria in the colon to manufacture protective short-chain fatty acids.
  • Blueberries are considered one of the “superfoods” that have some of the highest antioxidant content.

Good Nutrition and Immunotherapy for Cancer: A Powerful Combination

At our Issels® center, diet and other lifestyle factors are taken into consideration when creating our personalized immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Contact us for more information about non-toxic protocols such as cancer vaccines and NK cells.

National Cancer Institute Advances Research on Cancer Diagnosis

Advances In Fighting Cancer
Advances In Fighting Cancer

Diagnosing cancer goes far beyond simply confirming its existence. The effectiveness of immunotherapy for cancer and other forms of treatment improves greatly with timely and accurate information from high-tech diagnostic tools.

National Cancer Institute Spearheads Diagnostic Research

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) supports development of sophisticated equipment and testing through its Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. Ongoing programs maintained by the division include:

  • Program for the Assessment of Clinical Cancer Tests (PACCT), which aims to break down barriers that hinder accurate diagnostic testing.
  • Strategic Partnering to Evaluate Cancer Signatures (SPECS), which looks for ways to use data from molecular analyses to improve care and treatment of cancer patients.
  • Cancer Imaging Program (CIP), which focuses on non-invasive imaging techniques to diagnose cancer along with specific subsets.

Why Diagnostic Procedures are Important

In addition to identifying the presence and extent of cancer, diagnostic tools are useful throughout the course of a patient’s treatment. Healthcare teams use them to recognize and classify specific genetic changes, determine the best course of treatment, and monitor patients for recurrence of cancer cells.

Ironically, as the effectiveness of tools and techniques has increased, so has the number of over-diagnosed tumors that are unlikely to have serious consequences. Researchers are also concentrating on ways to more accurately evaluate the data being provided by diagnostics.

Issels® is in the Forefront of Modern Diagnostic and Treatment Techniques

Our Issels® team stays up-to-date on the most advanced diagnostic methods as well as state-of-the-art immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Contact us today to learn how our personally tailored treatment protocols have helped patients with all forms of cancer.

National Cancer Institute: Environmental Cancer Causing Agents Act at the DNA Level

Cancer Can Be Caused at The DNA Level
Cancer Can Be Caused at The DNA Level

Reducing your risk of cancer involves more than eating a healthy diet that is low in fat and high in nutrients. Exposure to certain environmental factors can set the stage for development of cancer by actually causing damage to your DNA.

Everyday Exposure to Cancer-Causing Elements

As explained by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), cancer occurs when genes mutate in such a way that cell replication and growth is severely altered. While this can occur naturally, specific elements of the environment have been found to inflict this type of damage on DNA.

Here are some of the environmental carcinogens that present the biggest risk of causing cancer. Some are difficult to avoid, but others are more easily controlled.

  • Aflatoxins, which are associated with risk of liver cancer, are produced by mold that’s most often found on crops such as corn and peanuts. Aspergillus is the most common variety of aflatoxin-producing mold.
  • Tobacco smoke is one of the more highly publicized carcinogens. One obvious solution is to quit smoking or never start, but second-hand smoke is harder to avoid.
  • Asbestos releases minute fibers into the air when damaged. Ingesting these fibers can lead to lung cancer or mesothelioma. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has instituted strict measures governing the use of asbestos, which have greatly reduced its risk.

NCI emphasizes that exposure to these elements doesn’t guarantee cancer. Factors such as length of exposure and individual genetic makeup also play a part.

Issels® and Non-Toxic Immunotherapy for Cancer

At Issels®, we understand that lifestyle and environment make each patient’s case unique. Contact us to learn more about our individually tailored immunotherapy for cancer.