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July 13 - September 26, 2023
For an extra boost, blend in some fresh mint leaves.
those who consume a plant-based diet are less likely to develop all forms of cancer combined.
The greatest protection appeared to be against blood cancers.
sulforaphane, considered one of the more active components in cruciferous vegetables, kills human leukemia cells in a petri dish while having little impact on the growth of normal cells.
Green, leafy vegetables, including salad and cooked greens, and citrus fruits appeared most protective.9 It’s
higher broccoli and other cruciferous vegetable intake was associated with lower risk of getting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the first place.
those who ate about five or more servings of green, leafy vegetables a week had roughly half the odds of getting lymphoma compared with those who ate less than one serving a week.12
Apparently, pills do not have the same cancer-fighting effects as produce.
real açai berries, which can be purchased as unsweetened frozen pulp.
açai berry extract on leukemia cells
appeared to trigger self-destruct reactions in up to 86 percent of the cells.
sprinkling some freeze-dried açai berries on immune cells called macrophages (from the Greek words makros and phagein, meaning “big eater”) in a petri dish appeared to enable the cells to engulf and devour up to 40 percent more microbes than usual.
The bronze for best bargain, though, goes to cloves, the silver to cinnamon, and the gold for most antioxidants per dollar—according to a USDA database of common foods—goes to purple cabbage.24
when a little curcumin was added to the broth they were bathing in, the myeloma cells’ growth was either stunted or stopped altogether.
the lowest risk of lymphoma was found in people who had had pets for twenty years or longer. The researchers suspect the reason is connected to the fact that having pets may have beneficial effects on the immune system.58
Greens may be particularly useful for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and turmeric for multiple myeloma.
If the kidneys are leaking protein into urine, it’s a sign that they may be starting to fail. The researchers found three specific dietary components associated with this sign of declining kidney function: animal protein, animal fat, and cholesterol.
The researchers found no association between kidney function decline and the intake of protein or fat from plant sources.
Excess table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup consumption is associated with increased blood pressure and uric acid levels, both of which can damage the kidney.
The saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol found in animal products and junk food are also associated with impaired kidney function, and meat protein increases the acid load to the kidneys, boosting ammonia production and potentially damaging our sensitive kidney cells.
the kidneys appear to handle plant protein very differently from animal protein.
Within hours of consuming meat, your kidneys rev up into hyperfiltration mode. This is true of a variety of animal proteins—beef, chicken, and fish appear to have similar effects.21 But an equivalent amount of plant protein causes virtually no noticeable stress on the kidneys.
Why does animal protein cause the overload reaction while plant protein doesn’t? Because of the inflammation animal products can cause.
Another reason animal protein may be so detrimental to kidney function is that it is generally more acid forming.
A 2014 analysis of the diets and kidney function of more than twelve thousand Americans across the country found that a higher dietary acid load was associated with significantly higher risk of protein leakage into the urine, an indicator of kidney damage.33
a vegetarian diet alkalinizes the kidneys, whereas a nonvegetarian diet carries an acid load. This proved to be true even among vegetarians who consumed processed meat substitutes, such as veggie burgers.43
If people are unwilling to reduce their meat consumption, they should be encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables to balance out that acid load.44
Eating a plant-based diet to alkalinize your urine may also help prevent and treat kidney stones
If the liquid in the toilet bowl remains purple or, even worse, turns pink, your urine is too acidic. Blue is the target. If your pee and cabbage water turns blue, your urine is not acidic but neutral or even basic.
By switching to a plant-based diet, you can achieve a significant drop in your blood phosphorus levels even as your intake levels of the mineral remains constant.72
This occurs because the phosphorus in animal foods appears in the form of a compound called phosphate, which is absorbed into the bloodstream more readily than phytate, the predominant form of phosphorus in plant foods.
Less than half of most plant phosphorus76 and about three-quarters of natural animal product phosphorus gets into your bloodstream,77 but added phosphate can be absorbed at a rate of nearly 100 percent.78
zero food safety decisions were made independently.
Did you know that one hot dog has as many nitrosamines (and nitrosamides, which are similar tobacco carcinogens103) as four cigarettes and that these carcinogens are also found in fresh meat, including beef, chicken, and pork?
processed or cured meat like deli slices may be particularly harmful.
a reduction in processed meat consumption to less than twenty grams a day—less than a small matchbook-sized portion—would prevent more than 3 percent of all deaths.
20 percent of heart disease deaths among American women could be averted if the highest consumers of processed meat would cut down to the equivalent of less than a half strip of bacon a day.106
Nitrites are added to cured meat as a “color fixative” and to help prevent the growth of botulism bacteria (a rare but serious paralytic illness).
Nitrites only become harmful when they turn into nitrosamines and nitrosamides. For them to do that, amines and amides must be present, and amines and amides are found in abundance in animal products. This
While nitrite from animal sources—not just processed meats—was associated with an increased risk of kidney cancer, some of the highest nitrate-containing vegetables, such as arugula, kale, and collards, are associated with significantly reduced risk for kidney cancer.
People who are doing the right thing by improving their diets in hopes of preventing cancer may in fact be successfully treating it as well.
it could be two years, or it could be more than a hundred years, before a tumor starts to cause problems.
“Diets
that revolve around whole plant foods—vegetables, whole grains, fruits and beans—cut the risk of many cancers, and other diseases as well.”13
Achieving just three of the ten AICR recommendations—limiting alcohol, eating mostly plant foods, and maintaining a normal body weight—was associated with a 62 percent lower risk of breast cancer.
eating a plant-based diet along with walking every day can improve our cancer defenses within just two weeks.
The carcinogen isn’t alcohol itself. The culprit is actually the toxic breakdown product of alcohol called acetaldehyde, which can form in your mouth almost immediately after you take a sip.
what about using mouthwash that contains alcohol? Researchers who tested the effects of a variety of retail mouthwashes and oral rinses concluded that, although the risk is slight, it is probably best to refrain from using such products if they contain alcohol.22
drinking only red wine was not associated with breast cancer risk.
A compound in red wine appears to suppress the activity of an enzyme called estrogen synthase, which breast tumors can use to create estrogen to fuel their own growth.
