Watercress

Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C.

Many benefits from eating watercress are claimed, such as that it acts as a stimulant, a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, a diuretic, an expectorant, and a digestive aid. It also appears to have antiangiogenic cancer-suppressing properties; it is widely believed to help defend against lung cancer.

A 2010 study conducted by the University of Southampton found that consumption of watercress may also inhibit the growth of breast cancer. The PEITC content of watercress inhibits HIF, which can inhibit angiogenesis.
Due to its high iodine content, watercress has a strengthening effect on the thyroid gland, thus it is beneficial for sufferers of hypothyroidism.

Recipe : Watercress with Egg & Goat Cheese

Watercress nutrition value
Watercress contains fifteen essential vitamins and minerals. Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium, folic acid and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B17, C, D, E and K. Watercress can act as a mild stimulant and promotes appetite. It is a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants. Watercress is a diuretic, an expectorant and digestive aid. Other therapeutic uses of watercress include relief from coughs, head colds, bronchial ailments, asthma, stress, pain, arthritis, stiff back and joints, diabetes, anemia, constipation and emphysema.

Watercress is one of the best sources of element iodine which is important for the function of the thyroid gland. The leaves of watercress is used as a poultice and applied for relief from enlarged prostrate gland. Sulphur contained in watercress plays an important part in protein absorption, blood purifying, cell building and in healthy hair and skin.

Watercress is known for its antiscorbutic qualities. The leaves bruised or the juice from watercress can free the face of blotches, spots and blemishes when applied as a lotion. A daily portion of watercress in cancer patients has the ability to reduce DNA to a significant level and to increase those cells to resist further DNA damage caused by free radicals. Watercress also has the ability to reduce in blood triglyceride levels by an average of 10%.

Significant increase in blood levels of lutein and beta carotene which have antioxidant activity by 100% and 33% respectively can be seen by regular intake of watercress. These are associated with a lower incidence of eye diseases such as cataract and age related macular degeneration.

Turmeric for cancer prevention

Turmeric is the yellow-colored spice found in curry powder. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, functions as both an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, and it may help prevent cancer by interfering with aspects of cellular signaling. 

In laboratory animals, curcumin has been shown to help prevent cancer of the breast, colon, stomach, liver, and lung. Using curry powder to spice up chicken and egg dishes is an easy way to incorporate it into your diet — and it has the added bonus of adding flavor to your meals, without any calories!

Soy foods help prevent lung cancer in non-smokers

Eating soy foods such as tofu, soybeans, and soy milk may help reduce the risk of developing lung cancer in non-smokers, according to a new study in the Jan 13, 2010 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study shows an inverse association between intake of isoflavone, a component found high in soybeans and the lung cancer risk in both female and male non-smokers.

Non-smokers were defined as those who have never smoked in the study.

Early case-control studies have already revealed a similar association. But this may be the first prospective cohort study confirming that eating soy may cut the risk.

For the study, Shimazu T and colleagues at the National Cancer Center in Tokyo, Japan followed 36,177 men and 40,484 women aged 45 to 74 years who were not diagnosed with lung cancer when entering the study in 1995 to 1999.

The participants were surveyed at baseline through a validated 138-food-item questionnaire. During the 11-year follow-up, 481 men and 178 women were diagnosed with lung cancer.

Of the never-smoking men, those who had their intake of isoflavone in the highest quartile were 57 percent less likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than those who had the lowest quartile of the phytochemical, the researchers found.

Why some smokers avoid lung cancer

Study: Higher blood levels of vitamin B6, certain proteins, mean lower risk

(Reuters) — Smokers who have higher levels of vitamin B6 and certain essential proteins in their blood have a lower risk of getting lung cancer than those deficient in these nutrients, according to study by cancer specialists.

Scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said that although they had not found a causal link, the results may be a clue to why some smokers never get lung cancer and some non-smokers or former smokers do.

Lung cancer is the most common form of the disease in the world and 90 percent of all cases are caused by cigarette smoking. It kills 1.2 million people a year.

About 10 to 15 percent of smokers develop lung cancer -- although they often die of other smoking-related causes like heart disease, stroke or emphysema. Lung cancer is also known to kill people who never smoked or who gave up years ago.

The IARC study, which looked at around 900 people with lung cancer, found a link to low levels of vitamin B6 and an amino acid called methionine, found in protein like meat, fish and nuts. B6 is also found in meat, nuts, vegetables and bananas.

"What we have found is that these two things are strong markers of lung cancer risk, but we have not shown they are causing that rise in risk," said Paul Brennan of the Lyon-based IARC, who led the study and published its findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Tuesday.

"This indicates that diet may have an important role in lung cancer development, but it's still a little premature to say simply that if you change your diet and eat more foods with these vitamins then you'll change your future lung cancer risk."

Brennan's team studied around 900 lung cancer patients, mostly smokers but also including about 100 who never smoked and 260 who had quit.

Brennan said the change in risk of lung cancer linked to B6 and methionine levels was the same for all three groups, although of course the overall risk of getting the disease was much higher in the smokers to start with.

"For the two nutrients together, the risk reduction was about 60 percent," he said. "Obviously if you had a very high risk because you smoke, then a 60 percent reduction of that is quite important, although not as important as quitting smoking."

Brennan said his findings appeared to reinforce previous research which suggested deficiencies in B vitamins may increase the probability of DNA damage and subsequent gene mutations.

A Swedish study in 2005 found that women with high levels of vitamin B6 had a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer.

"Basically, these B vitamins and nutrients are all involved in the pathway which is responsible for the creation and maintenance of DNA," Brennan said. "So obviously you would want that pathway to work as well as possible."

Gene May Predict Lung Cancer in Smokers; Remedy May Prevent Cancer

Scientists say they’ve discovered a gene they believe sets off a series of pre-cancerous changes that could help predict which smokers will develop lung cancer.

They also say a natural substance may be able to reverse the chain-reaction before it develops into full-blown cancer.

The gene in question, P13K, affects the pathway of other genes and may activate the genetic changes that lead to lung cancer, Andrea Bild of the University of Utah, Avram Spira of Boston University and other colleagues report in their study published in the journal “Science Translational Medicine.”

Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told AOL Health the study’s findings will allow doctors to look for dysplasia, or the abnormal growth of cells, which is often leads to cancer.

“Just the fact that you can identify the dysplasia is an enticing reason to test smokers for these genetic changes and try to get them to stop smoking before they develop lung cancer,” he said.

Lung cancer, which killed nearly 160,000 Americans last year, is the leading cause of cancer deaths. And smoking is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer -- although not all smokers will get it.

"Even for people who have stopped smoking, there's a significant risk of cancer down the road, and it would be nice to identify which patients are really at risk," Duke University lung cancer specialist Dr. Neal Ready told the Associated Press.

"To have some sort of molecular test that would identify those patients would be very useful."

Study researchers say PK13 can be found in the windpipes of smokers, meaning they do not need more dangerous and uncomfortable lung tests.

"These cells are like a canary in the coal mine," Spira told Reuters. "Even though lung cancer develops deep down in your lungs when you smoke, these cells can tell you whether you are on the way to developing lung cancer. It is sort of a window into the lung."

Doctors could also test for dysplasia using a bronchoscopy, Horovitz said.

“It’s slightly invasive, you would go through the nasal pharynx and into the lungs,” he said. “There’s no biopsy so it’s a little uncomfortable but you don’t actually have to remove anything. And hopefully, there will eventually be a weigh to test just by using sputum samples alone.”

Researchers have conducted two trials so far. For their experiments, researchers used a brush to collect cells from the windpipes of smokers. They found that P13K was “turned on” in patients that had lung cancer. A second experiment also found that patients with precancerous lesions on their lungs had activated P13K genes.

Stopping Cancer Before It Starts

For the same study, researchers tested a natural compound called myo-inositol in a second group of patients to try to prevent the lung cancer from occurring. What they found was that the patients who took supplements containing myo-inositol actually saw their lesions shrink.

“The inositol part of the study was fascinating to me,” said Horovitz. “Previous studies done with inositol have involved hair loss. Researchers found that mice without inositol in their bodies would lose their hair. And when researchers gave them the inositol, it would grow back. Some have also used it to lower cholesterol and others believe it’s good for the nervous system to treat mood disorders.”

Myo-inositol is also found in fruits, beans, grains and nuts. Horovitz said the substance is also found in a number of multivitamin supplements.

Myo-Inositol

What is it?
Myo-Inositol is produced in many human tissues and it is also found in many food sources. The best sources of Myo-Inositol are fruits, beans, grains, and nuts. Fresh vegetables and fruits contain more Myo-Inositol than frozen, canned, or salt-free products. Cantaloupe and citrus fruits other than lemons are very rich in Myo-Inositol and oats and bran contain more than other grains. There is very little Myo-Inositol in milk and yogurt. Myo-Inositol has been used in the treatment of liver disease, depression, panic disorder, diabetic neuropathy (damage to the nerves which results in pain and numbness), respiratory distress syndrome (found in premature babies due to poor lung development), and to treat the side effects of the medicine lithium.

Other names for Myo-Inositol include: Inositol, Inositol Monophosphate, and Inositol Hexaphosphate

Wyeth’s Menopause Hormones Increase Risk of Lung Cancer Deaths

Wyeth’s hormone replacement therapy, a menopause treatment whose use has declined after being linked to heart attack, stroke and breast cancer, increases the risk of death from lung tumors, a study found.

After five years on Wyeth’s Prempro, a combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin, 67 women died from non-small cell lung cancer, compared with 39 on placebo, the research showed. Results of the trial, which examined women age 50 to 79 and included current and former smokers, were presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Orlando.

Sales of the pills plunged in 2002 after a U.S. study linked the therapy to breast cancer and cardiovascular risks. As many as 6 million women took the menopause treatments before the study curbed use. The products generated $1.1 billion last year, down from more than $2 billion in 2001.

“This is a new finding that tells us women who smoke shouldn’t take estrogen and progestin for menopause symptoms,” said Rowan Chlebowski, the study author and a researcher at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, in an interview.

Tobacco use causes almost 80 percent of lung cancer deaths in women, according to the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More lung cancer cases were also diagnosed in women on hormones, though the difference wasn’t statistically significant, today’s study found.

‘See the Logic’

“I can see the logic of that kind of recommendation,” for women smokers to avoid hormone pills, said Joseph Camardo, head of medical affairs at Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth, in an interview. “I would absolutely advise women not to smoke.” Camardo said he had not seen the data.

About 200,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer each year, and 160,000 die from it, more than any other tumor, according to the CDC.

About 85 to 90 percent of lung malignancies are of a variety called non-small cell, the type in today’s study, according to the American Cancer Society, an advocacy group.

The trial analyzed lung cancer diagnosis and death among 16,608 patients who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative, the same U.S. research project that identified other risks of hormone therapy seven years ago.

Among current and former smokers studied in the research, there were 56 deaths for women treated with hormones and 34 deaths with placebo. Among non-smokers, there were 9 deaths for women on hormones and 5 deaths for patients taking a placebo.

Menopause Symptoms

Reduced estrogen levels during menopause cause the part of the brain responsible for temperature control to malfunction. Hot flashes strike suddenly and can be accompanied by rapid heart beat, nausea, dizziness, headaches, muscle weakness and fatigue.

Patients today take lower doses of Wyeth’s hormones to reduce their risk of breast cancer and heart attacks. Prempro combines two hormones, estrogen and progestin, to curb the risk of uterine cancer that is linked to taking estrogen alone. Premarin, an estrogen-only pill, is given to women who have had hysterectomies, surgery removing the uterus.

Prescribing information on the label for Wyeth’s hormones details risks identified by earlier research from the WHI study, including breast cancer and heart attacks. No warnings about lung cancer are currently included.

More than 5,000 lawsuits have been filed against Wyeth, alleging its hormones caused cancer.

New York-based Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, said in January it would buy Wyeth for about $65 billion.