In our life everything is super important until we become sick and find out that our body is already crumbled a lot unknowingly.
Then we realize there is only ever one thing that is important.
My health.
But time has already slipped away from us, this is the reality of our lives.
If we are not proactive during the early years of our lives, especially in our thirties and early forties, the only thing remains is to regret but regret doesn’t do any good.
The good care and practice of our thirties and early forties are foundational for the healthy later part of lives because our body starts to make a transition in body biochemistries around the beginning of forties.
Aristotle said, “The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge”
My firm belief in the case of our health remains the same as said by Aristotle, especially for a healthy lifestyle: reading is not for knowledge, it is for action so that our focus should be to have a healthy body for a long period of time.
One of my favourite inspirations from Buddha also works for me the same way for a healthy body, he said, “what we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow; our life is the creation of our mind.”
So basically, my philosophy is that a healthy mind of today is a healthy life for tomorrow.
The key is an uptrending healthy mind which is possible by a healthy lifestyle and a small but consistent each day action to achieve it slowly, one step at a time.
Heterocyclic amine, PhIP, is not only a carcinogen, it is also an initiator, promoter, and progressor of cancer
Let me answer the title question of this content.
Probably you already know and if you don’t, the number one killer in the world is heart disease.
And, the killer number two is cancer.
But, remember, both are not chronic diseases which suddenly appear for some unknown reasons, both are lifestyle diseases accumulated over the period of time by our own actions except for a few abnormal situations.
So the key is lifestyle, the majority is what we do and what we eat day in and day out that has a huge consequence in the long run.
Mark Hyman, MD, author of ‘Young Forever’ said, “The point of healthy life is not to live longer but to live better, not just to add more years to your life but to add more life to your years.
One way to practice a healthy lifestyle is to obey nature’s rules, our body is a product of nature so there is a connection between our body and nature for running smooth biochemistries in our body.
As an example, women who interrupt their melatonin production by working night shifts might have increased risk for breast cancer.
Melatonin secretion peaks between 2 am to 5 am and then shuts off at daybreak, which is our signal to wake up.
The level of melatonin in our bloodstream is one way our internal organs know what time it is.
It works in our circadian clock.
Melatonin activates tumor suppressor genes such as p53, modulating estrogen and androgens and increasing cytokine production, collectively contributing to cancer suppression.
In the cancer stage, p53 is a tumor suppressor protein which helps to prevent cancer by maintaining cell division and promoting cell death when cells damage their DNA.
For people with melatonin deficiency, tart cherries naturally contain melatonin and have been used to improve sleep without any side effects.
Likewise, Goji berries have the highest concentrations of melatonin.
Healthy lifestyle to avoid these killer diseases also means eating more vegetables, fruits, and plant products than meat and animal products.
As another example, men suffering from prostate related issues including prostate cancers become worse if they eat meat regularly especially chicken and turkey.
Eating poultry advances cancer because cooked meat contains carcinogens like heterocyclic amines.
These carcinogens build up faster in poultry than other meats.
The heterocyclic amine, PhIP, is not only a carcinogen, it is also an initiator, promoter, and progressor of cancer.
The best way to reduce the PhIP is to reduce the consumption of roasted, fried, grilled, and baked chicken, beef, and fish.
Research reports that both green and white teas protect DNA damage caused by PhIP, the cooked meat carcinogen.
Sulforaphane isn’t only an anticancer agent, it also helps to protect our brain, eyesight, reduces nasal inflammation, and prevent diabetes
If we reduce meat consumption, then we reduce animal protein in our body and that leads to our IGF-1 level also go down and our IGF-1 binding protein jumps up.
The IGF-1 binding protein is our body’s emergency brake.
These binding proteins are released by our liver and control IGF-1.
The more IGF-1 hormone in our bloodstream, which is insulin-like growth factor 1, the higher our risk of developing cancers including prostate cancer.
Among many, the best food habits to prevent a recurrence of cancer are broccoli, flaxseeds, walnuts, citrus, turmeric, garlic, and tea.
Broccoli, brussels sprouts, collard greens boost the activity of detoxifying enzymes in our liver.
Research reports that eating broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale reduces the risk of cancer progression by half.
This is the power of phytonutrients in a plant diet.
Sulforaphane, a component in cruciferous vegetables, suppresses the ability of breast cancer stem cells to form tumors.
Remember, broccoli doesn’t contain sulforaphane, only the precursors that turn into sulforaphane by chewing.
Sulforaphane isn’t only an anticancer agent, it also helps to protect our brain, our eyesight, reduce nasal inflammation, prevent diabetes, and even help to treat autism.
In autism, sulforaphane is assumed to act like a detoxicant, meaning it helps remove toxins or poisons from our body.
In the dietary inflammatory index, the most anti-inflammatory foods are turmeric, ginger, garlic, and tea
One fact about flaxseeds is that even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, also used flaxseeds to treat patients.
Flaxseed is one of the highest sources of essential omega 3 fatty acids.
They have 100 times more lignans than other foods.
They are phytoestrogens, they can dampen the effects of the body’s own estrogen.
Flaxseeds don’t contain lignans but the lignan’s precursors, they need to be activated and this activation is done by good bacteria in our gut.
This is the reason why we should have happy microbiomes in our gut.
Lignan consumption is associated with reduction of breast cancer risk especially in postmenopausal women.
Because lignan dampens the body’s estrogen effects.
Lignans found in flaxseeds which contain phytoestrogens slows the growth of prostate cancer.
Even people suffering from BPH, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, the enlargement of the prostate gland, can reduce the enlargement by eating flaxseed, onion, and garlic regularly.
Dr. Mark Stengler, the author of ‘Healing the Prostate’ said “Flax seeds contain lignans that are converted into certain compounds in the body by the gut, which help the body to detoxify bad estrogens which are associated with prostate cancer and prostate enlargement, so eat plenty of ground organic flaxseeds.”
Research shows that three teaspoons of flaxseed each day is equivalent to the drugs Flomax or Proscar.
But the advantage of having flaxseed means no drug’s side effects, no lightheadedness, and sexual dysfunction.
Flaxseeds also help to increase the levels of endostatin in breasts.
Endostatin is a protein produced by the body to help starve tumors of their blood supply.
One research report says that women in Asia have less breast cancer than North American women because Asian women drink green tea regularly.
Michael Greger, MD, author of ‘How Not to Diet’ said, “In the dietary inflammatory index, the single most anti-inflammatory food is the spice turmeric, followed by ginger and garlic, and the most anti-inflammatory beverage is green or black tea.”
Eat whole grains and legumes like beans, split peas, chickpeas, or lentils with every single meal
Other two foods which are directly associated with reduction of breast cancer are soy and mushrooms.
Eating more soy products, the phytoestrogens in soy help to prevent breast cancer.
Mushrooms block the estrogen synthase enzyme.
One fact regarding mushrooms so that we know why it is so vital for our body.
Ergothioneine is a potent intramitochondrial antioxidant.
DNA inside the mitochondria is vulnerable to free radical damage because many other antioxidants can not penetrate mitochondrial membranes.
Our body cannot make ergothioneine, the only source is food.
Mushrooms are the primary source of it.
After oyster mushrooms, black beans are the secondary source of ergothioneine.
One reason why we should reduce or avoid foods of animal origin is because many foods of animal origin contain sex steroid hormones like estrogen.
Nowadays, genetically improved dairy cows are milked throughout their pregnancies when their reproductive hormones are very high.
The hormones in dairy products and other growth factors could stimulate the growth of hormone sensitive tumors.
Research says that cow’s milk stimulates the growth of human prostate cancer cells but almond milk suppresses the growth of the cancer cells.
This is the difference between animal products and plant products.
Another research says that choline found in eggs is bad for prostate cancer.
This choline in eggs is the same as carnitine in red meat.
It is converted into a toxin, trimethylamine by bacteria in the gut who eat meat.
This trimethylamine once oxidized in the liver increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Cooked vegetables and legumes, beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils reduce BPH.
Remember, some veggies actually become healthier when cooked.
For example, tomatoes, when heated, release more lycopene, a potent cancer fighting agent.
Carrots, spinach, asparagus, and some mushrooms produce more carotenoids and ferulic acid, both antioxidants, when lightly steamed or slow-cooked.
There is a report from American Institute for Cancer research that says, “Eat whole grains and legumes like beans, split peas, chickpeas, or lentils with every meal. Not every week or everyday. Every meal.”
Beans are rich in fiber, folate, and phytates, which help to lower the risk of stroke, depression, and colon cancer.
TVP, textured vegetable protein, is a soybean product that is good for BPH reduction.
A prostate healthy diet is equal to breast healthy diet and both are equal to heart and cancer healthy diet.
Conclusion
Darin Olien, the author of ‘SuperLife’ said, “Eat a wide variety of whole, fresh, clean foods; mostly vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, grains, sprouts, and healthy fats. Eat a lot of it raw.”
Any processed or ultra processed foods might cause DNA damage that leads to mutations and that give rise to cancer.
The best food for DNA repair is citrus fruit or colorful foods with a lot of varieties of antioxidants.
For example, within two hours of consuming citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits; our DNA becomes significantly more resistant to damage.
Citrus consumption is associated with lower risk of breast cancer including many other cancers.
I have my personal experience here.
Few years ago, I had a burning sensation during my long distance running, which I found later that it was related to the build up of lactic acid in my muscles.
From my own research what I found is that bioflavonoids found in citrus fruits helped me to tackle my lactic acid build up.
I also found that cherries helped me to reduce my muscle pain in my long distance running.
In a nutshell, remember Michael Pollan’s advice, author of ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’, he said, “If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.”
With Michael Pollan’s great advice, my additional point is that a bad diet is by far our great killer followed by smoking.
Yam Timsina, PhD, writes primarily on health basics, scientific progress, social upliftment, and value creation.
Disclaimer: “Please note that some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.”