Nutrition and Herbal Therapy for Cancer

Cancer disease still become a threat until now day, while a specific drug to stop the growth of cancer cells also has not been found. By the way, some prevention efforts continue to grown. The two most popular therapists are using radiation therapy and sitostatica.

However, some people prefer an alternative therapy like using herbal to cure cancer. But using that way is very much needed understanding of how to work an alternative therapy, including the use of food supplements (vitamins and antioxidants compound mineral) and herbal preparation that can work against cancer. So that we can measure the size of its benefits and risks.

About herbal for cancer, there are various types of food was the best containing an anti cancer substances. Broccoli, mustard greens, cabbage flowers, carrots, tomatoes, meat and fish is very rich with antioxidants elements.

Various compound such as alil sulfide in garlic, turmeric in kurkumin, isoflavon in soybean, likofen in tomatoes, polifenol in green tea, revesratrol in red grape skin, and sulforafan inside broccoli, are the cancer prevention food. Some vitamins and minerals are also antioxidants, which are often promoted for the prevention of cancer: beta-karoten, vitamin C, E, and selenium.

For herbal therapy, there are a variety of plants, based on empirical experience, can fight cancer. Among parasite (Dendrophtoe petandra), virgin palm (Catharanthus roseus), meniran (Phyllanthus niruri L), white turmeric (Kaempferia rotunda L), respite (Pettiveria alliacea) and maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa).

Cancer appears when normal cell DNA were damaged causing genetic mutation. If this is not immediately corrected, the cell multiplication of damaged DNA to its potential to produce cancer cells. When the cells are intended to increase the recovery of cells damaged or worn.

From the science of nutrition, the two elements that can damage DNA cells is normal and free radical carcinogens. Free radicals can be produced through the metabolism of the body or the environment around us (gas-out factories and vehicles, cigarette smoke, chemical substances, substances such as insecticides, chemical substances or ingredients in food additive). Fortunately free radicals and can be bound and neutralized by some compound, vitamins and minerals that are antioxidants.

The compound antioxidants that neutralize free radicals is polifenol (green tea), likofen (tomatoes), beta-carotene (carrots), and some other compound in the vegetable or fruit.

Special likofen in the tomato, this compound bound with a strong fiber fruit is. To membebaskannya, tomatoes must be cooked with a little oil first, considering the nature likofen that easy dissolved in oil.

Research of Harvard University on 48,000 people in 1995 showed, people who eat 10 times dishes containing tomatoes per week will decrease the risk of prostate cancer exposed to almost half. Vitamin C, E, and selenium are found in many fruits, vegetables, sprout, and the seeds are also antioxidants that neutralize free radicals.

Second element is a carcinogen substance in food. Substance is derived from procarcinogen by the phase I enzyme in the liver changed into carcinogen. Meanwhile, phase II enzyme will remove the product residue phase I enzyme, which can prevent the formation of cancer cells. If the enzyme phase I that can be called evil enzyme, then the phase II enzyme is the good enzyme.

In fact, Phase I enzyme can being blocked by alil sulfide compound in garlic. So that procarcinogen mutation to carcinogen can be reduced. For example the one of famous carcinogen is nitrosamine compound from roasted meat / fish (eg a kabob meat dish) and cooking oil that has been used many times. Vitamin C act as antioxidants that prevent the formation of dissolved nitrosamine in the channel.

While the phase II enzyme production can be enhanced by the many sulforafan found in broccoli, cabbage flowers, and mustard greens. Therefore, the menu consists of vegetables broccoli, mustard greens, cabbage flowers, carrots, tomatoes, and pan-fish oil and a little garlic is one of the options menu that is rich in antioxidants elements.

Pressing Cancer Cell Growth

If the DNA damage of normal cells is not also successfully prevented by compound or vitamin / minerals that are antioxidants, or when the form is already cancer cells, the action that we can do is to press the growth of cancer cells. Cancer cell growth takes place quickly after the cells are getting omega-6 fatty acid. To reduce the influence of fatty acid and chase away it from cancer cells, omega-3 fatty acid that included within many fish from the cold water, have an important role. omega-3 fatty acid, also known as EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) or gama-lenolenat, is one of the essential fat.

Some types of cancer cells can also grow quickly when triggered by the human estrogen hormone, such as in breast cancer cells. In this case isoflavon which is a soybean fitoestrogen in fact competitive with the human estrogen. So that the consumption of soybean isoflavon will help prevent the growth of cancer triggered by estrogen in humans. From here we can understand the role of Sorbian cake, soy milk and in food as the growth of cancer prevention.

To prevent cells cancer metastases, we need to know how the cells are spread out. There are two ways cancer cells pro-metastase: through angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessel) and collagen, which is crushing the normal cells. Thus metastase will be blocked if angiogenesis can be prevented, while the collagen is damaged can be repaired by the body itself by using a certain food.

For angiogenesis, cancer cells release growth factors. Production of growth factors that can be hampered by inhibitor preparation Cox-2 that includes resveratrol in the skin of red wine, turmeric and kurkumin in genestein in soybean.

The collagen renovation by cancer cells occurs with the help of collagenase enzyme that is produced by cancer cells themselves.

Preparation of nutrition that can hamper the process of renovation is vitamin C and shark cartilage. In addition to joining Interferon stimulates the formation of the fight against cancer cells, vitamin C can improve the damage appeared to collagen with new collagen created through hidroksilasi prolin. Perhaps this is the role that use as a basis of controversial statements from a nobel prize winner in chemistry and peace, Linus Carl Pauling, of the nutrition therapy of cancer with mega doses of vitamin C.

Other forms of nutrition that can help repair cartilage collagen is a shark that many have been used as a cancer drug. Indeed, shark cartilage is a source of collagen that can provide natural products for body cells to synthetic collagen.

Herbal Therapy

Flavonoid compound kuersetin in the parasite is estimated to work as isomerase enzyme inhibitor of cancer cell DNA (a role in the process of multiplication and increased violence cancer). Tapak dara known compound also has two classes of alkaloid vinka a nutritious preventing multiplication and spread of cancer cells. The second compound is vinkristine and vinblastine.

Besides tapak dara also contain catharanthin alkaloid, which is similar to the compound in the cancer cell plasma. Absorption of this compound in cancer cells is predicted be urgent and dissolve the core of cancer cells.

Meniran plant and white turmeric also have an anti cancer benefit through its imunomodulator works. Both plant extracts in the experiment using mouse, in fact can increase the number of limfosit, increasing toxicities of cancer cells killer (natural killer) and the specific synthetic antibody. Attributes above will strengthen the body's defense mechanism against viruses and cancer cells.

The leaves are also alleged to have strong healing property because of suspected cancer comes from Interferon-like compound that is a natural antibody against the virus and cancer cells. How to combat the cancer with the virus that causes cancer cells to normal cells DNA damage into cancer. This said leaf respited more nutritious for the type of prostat cancer, rectum, and channel the breath.

Maitake mushroom as any cancer drug has been examined through a combination of mushroom extract with the preparation sitostatica to a number of people with cancer. According to Dr. Iwan T. Budiarso, researchers at the Balitbang MOH RI, maitake not only alleviate the symptoms of breast cancer, lung and liver, but also due to the side caused by sitostatica. Plosakarida compound 1-6 glukans B maitake believed to play a role in preventing the growth and spread of cancer cells through the increased effectiveness of all the cells in the body's defense system in addition to increasing sensitivity of cancer cells to radiation and sitostatika.

dr. Andry Hartono SpGK, physician nutrition specialists RS Panti Rapih, Yogyakarta
source: http://www.indomedia.com/intisari/1999/oktober/terapi.htm