Drug Medical Information

THE WORLD'S OLDEST AND HEALTHIEST DIET: POWER TO THE PEPPER

We think it astonishingly prophetic that many Bible-favored foods are the very ones with a super-supply of the newly discovered free-radical fighting anti-oxidants (namely vitamins A, CandE). Forexample, citrus fruits, high-carbohydrate vegetables, whole grains, beans, high-fiber fruits, peppers, onions, the garlic group, berries, nuts and seeds.
Let's look at flaxseed, currently receiving much attention. It contains two major classes of compounds linked with anticancer activity, one of which is a fiber that curbs dangerous estrogen activity on vulnerable tissues. This could explain why women who are strict vegetarians have the lowest breast cancer rates, according to Dr. Herbert Pierson, an NCI toxicologist.
Dr. Pierson is also a citrus fruit cheerleader, and points out that chemically speaking, citrus fruits are powerful free radical fighters, and thus important in cancer-preventive activity. The same holds true, for cruciferous vegetables which contain indoles, such as cabbage, broccoli and kale, and for the umbelliferous vegetables: celery, parsley, parsnips and beta-carotene rich-carrots.
Finally, there's the lowly soy bean, which NCI investigators believe contains compounds called isoflavones which have a natural affinity for inhibiting an enzyme that gets overproduced in precancerous stages, says Dr. Pierson.
While we applaud NCI's new devotion to the food pharmacy concept, we are disappointed with their single-minded focus on cancer. It stands to reason that foods that shield you from one dread disease will also protect you from others. It's highly unlikely that if eating broccoli will keep you out of the clutches of an oncologist, it will not also safeguard you from the cardiovascular surgeon, the rheumatologist, allergist, internist ... No need to name all the specialties.
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