Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention

**Sinclairwife** · 05-05-2004, 09:38 AM

You've probably heard a lot about antioxidants and their supposed role in cancer prevention. Are they truly the miracle substances they appear to be? What exactly are antioxidants, and should you be getting them?

Antioxidants are nutrients in fruits and vegetables that protect the tissues in your body against the metabolic damage often associated with increased risk of cancer. There are a variety of antioxidants that include vitamins C and E, selenium, lycopene, and a number of other plant-derived chemicals (phytochemicals).

According to the American Cancer Society, research has shown that people who eat foods rich in antioxidants have a lower risk of developing cancer. The same cannot be said about those who take antioxidant-containing supplements. There is currently no clear evidence that taking supplements helps reduce cancer risk.

Still, it's better to be safe than sorry, and unless your doctor recommends otherwise, there is no reason to discontinue taking your daily multivitamin. However, to reap the maximum benefits from antioxidants, you're better off getting them by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables.

**SusieJD** · 05-06-2004, 05:08 PM

Yes! Gotta get more fruits in my system! I take a mult-vitamin daily, but there's nothing like the real thing!

Susie in MN

**canadian gardener** · 05-06-2004, 05:10 PM

tasty too!

**writtenonmybody** · 05-08-2004, 02:46 AM

Thank you for posting that...

And it reminds me of superfoods!

Blueberries - eat one to two cups a day.
Broccoli 1/2 to 1 cup a day
pumpkin, carrots, orange bell pepers 1/2 cup almost every day if not daily
Salmon 2-4 times a week.. however I can never do this!
soy, soymilk, edamane - 15-25 grams of soy protein split between 2 meals a day
spinach, bok choy, romaine lettuce - 1 cup steamed or 2 cups raw daily or every other day
green tea! 1 or more cups daily
Yogurt 2 cups daily
tomatoes, watermelon, tomato paste - many times a week
oranges, limes, lemons - 1 serving daily.

**SusieJD** · 05-08-2004, 06:57 AM

Thanks for posting this Lisa! It's a good thing to inform us of the nutrients we need, but it's a better thing to inform where to get them!

Susie in MN

**writtenonmybody** · 05-08-2004, 12:53 PM

SusieJD - You are very welcome! I love talking about food!

My boyfriend is a vegetarian and has been for about 2 years now. I am not a vegetarian but I eat very little meat and have done alot of research on foods and their health benefits.

Btw: Blueberries can be pretty expensive for some people. It's just as good if you buy the frozen if you can't have them fresh.

We eat alot of frozen fruits here. Plus kids love frozen fruits as a snack!

And Yogurt is even more of a 'superfood' if you put fruit and oats in it!

It happens to be Ashtons favorite snack! If you buy yogurt with fruit in it already... just know it probably has extra sugar! Eek! It's better to get plain yogurt and add the fruit and oats on your own. Apples dipped in plain yogurt is really good too!

**writtenonmybody** · 05-08-2004, 12:57 PM

I also forgot to add... don't forget your 8 - 10 glasses of water a day.

**SusieJD** · 05-08-2004, 02:02 PM

Oh yes! I love the water from my well! I drink it all day long (after, of course, I've had my 3 cups of coffee!).

I was a vegatarian for several years. It was to support my younger sister when she first was diagnoised with Socratic Arthritis. She thought that giving up meat products might help. I enjoyed it! We went to restaraunts that only served vegatarian dishes, I didn't miss the meat at all.

After eating meat though, for the first time, I became so ill! It took a while to get used to meat in my diet again. BTW, becomeing a veggie didn't help my sister's arthritis at all. She ended up having to have surgury to straighten her elbow (the removed the bone and replaced with metal) and her fingers.

Susie in MN

**writtenonmybody** · 05-08-2004, 02:33 PM

I'm sorry to hear of your sister.

I wish I had a well to drink water from!

City living.. Yuck!

It's very common to get sick after not eating meat for a long time. I wonder why? I'm sure your body gets used to not having it and it's an adjustment.

I've heard that foods that help arthritis are mackerel, sardines, pilchards and salmon because of Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids are found naturally in oily fish. I'm not sure if it's just certain types of arthritis or not though. In numerous studies over the years, participants with inflammatory diseases have reported less joint stiffness, swelling, tenderness, and overall fatigue when taking omega-3s.

**SusieJD** · 05-08-2004, 03:07 PM

Good information Lisa. I have RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) and nothing helps. Except - steriods and a few other drugs that I can no longer afford do to no insurance.

I've also been blessed with severe osteophrosis, a double wammy.

Susie in MN

**writtenonmybody** · 05-08-2004, 04:02 PM

My mother also has RA. She's having a hard time with it now because she works at home as a medical transcriptionist. She's very concerned she won't be able to do it anymore. From what I've seen and heard from her it's not an easy thing to live with. She refuses to give up though because she hasn't remarried after her divorce from my father and she needs to work since she lives alone.

**SusieJD** · 05-08-2004, 04:16 PM

I've been having problems these past couple of weeks with "flare-ups", it makes you feel like you've got the flu, your tired (sleepy) all of the time, you have a "low grade fever" which make you wake up sweating. I've had to run to the bathroom every 1/2 hour.

It affects you in more ways than you can imagine. When I was first diagnoised, I was devistated. I contacted mine from a lung infection, my immune system went crazy on me! Started attacking my liver, kidneys etc.

I'm just riding the wave of this flare up now, fighting sleep.

Susie in MN

**writtenonmybody** · 05-08-2004, 05:34 PM

Originally posted by SusieJD
I've been having problems these past couple of weeks with "flare-ups", it makes you feel like you've got the flu, your tired (sleepy) all of the time, you have a "low grade fever" which make you wake up sweating. I've had to run to the bathroom every 1/2 hour.

It affects you in more ways than you can imagine. When I was first diagnoised, I was devistated. I contacted mine from a lung infection, my immune system went crazy on me! Started attacking my liver, kidneys etc.

I'm just riding the wave of this flare up now, fighting sleep.

Susie in MN

Wow, I knew it was horrible to deal with, but I didn't realize it was that bad. My mother tends to hide alot of her pain, sickness and uncomfortableness with it. I've seen her bad days and good days.

**SusieJD** · 05-08-2004, 05:43 PM

Another of RA's side effects is that it can cut 10 years off your life. Besides the disfiguration that it causes, which can or doesn't have to happen in every case, you experience numbness in your hands and feet.

If you'd like to learn more about RA, this is a good site to read:
http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/...What%20Is%20It

Susie in MN

**writtenonmybody** · 05-08-2004, 05:59 PM

Originally posted by SusieJD
Another of RA's side effects is that it can cut 10 years off your life. Besides the disfiguration that it causes, which can or doesn't have to happen in every case, you experience numbness in your hands and feet.

If you'd like to learn more about RA, this is a good site to read:
http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/...What%20Is%20It

Susie in MN

Thank you for sharing that with me. My mother has the numbness alot. she mostly gets it in her hands, arms and shoulder areas. Is that normal? She hasn't said much about her feet or leg area.