Originally published October 5 2005
Celebrities with lung cancer stimulate discussion about disease
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
At MSNBC.com, the American Institute for Cancer Research provides tips for lowering your chances of lung cancer with healthy eating habits.
The recent death due to lung cancer of respected news anchor Peter Jennings, who had once been a long-time smoker, reminded us of the terrible toll that tobacco takes.
If they quit before age 50, they can eventually reach the risk level of someone who never smoked.
Passive smoking, technically referred to as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), accounts for 3,000 deaths each year from lung cancer among nonsmokers in the U.S. A major step to lower lung cancer risk for people who never smoke is to make family homes and workplaces non-smoking areas.
Healthy eating habits seem to help protect smokers, ex-smokers and nonsmokers from lung cancer.
According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, eating the equivalent of at least four cups of vegetables and fruits a day could reduce lung cancer worldwide by 12 percent.
Although vegetable and fruit consumption is not linked with lower lung cancer risk in all studies, in some cases a too-short follow-up period may be the reason.
A variety of natural phytochemicals may be responsible for the protection vegetables and fruits provide.
Some studies show that higher intakes of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and bok choy, could reduce the risk of lung cancer in some people by as much as 40 percent.
Antioxidant power Many other vegetables and fruits supply phytochemicals called flavonoids.
Research suggests that flavonoids may also inhibit cancer by slowing cell growth and reproduction and stimulating the self-destruction of cancer cells.
In some studies, people who eat more foods high in a carotenoid known as beta-cryptoxanthin have about a 25 percent lower risk of developing lung cancer.
Experts emphasize that our total consumption of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is more likely to lower lung cancer risk than any particular anti-cancer vegetable or fruit.
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