Antioxidant: The Miracle Cure To Cancer?

Countless researches has been done on defining the role of antioxidants in preventing, or slowing down the growth of cancer. And the good news is, considerable laboratory evidence from chemical, cell culture, and animal studies indicates that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent the development of cancer.

Antioxidants are necessary because they combat free radicals. Free radicals are byproducts that are formed when oxygen is used by the body. Free radicals start a chain reaction under the skin's surface, and outlined below is the process of destruction.

What are Free Radicals?
They have an unpaired electron in their outer orbital, making the molecule unstable.
Free radicals attempt to gain an electron from natural proteins in the skin to acquire stability.

This sets off a chain reaction because all molecules want to form an octet, which is an atom with eight valence electrons. In the aftermath of the reaction are free radical waste products of misshapen and broken molecules. Therefore, the structure of our skin is damaged and its cellular structure is weakened.

Dangers of Free Radicals!
Free radicals is capable of altering our DNA, which results in aging and illness! We definitely do not want that to happen to us!

How Antioxidants Prevent Cancer?
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals as the natural by-product of normal cell processes. Free radicals are molecules with incomplete electron shells which make them more chemically reactive than those with complete electron shells. Exposure to various environmental factors, including tobacco smoke and radiation, can also lead to free radical formation. In humans, the most common form of free radicals is oxygen. When an oxygen molecule (O2) becomes electrically charged or radicalized it tries to steal electrons from other molecules, causing damage to the DNA and other molecules. Over time, such damage may become irreversible and lead to disease including cancer.

Antioxidants are often described as mopping up free radicals, meaning they neutralize the electrical charge and prevent the free radical from taking electrons from other molecules.

How to Incorporate Antioxidants in my Diet?
Epidemiologic observations show lower cancer rates in people whose diets are rich in fruits and vegetables. This has lead to the theory that these diets contain substances, possibly antioxidants, which protect against the development of cancer. There is currently intense scientific investigation into this topic. Thus far, none of the large, well designed studies have shown that dietary supplementation with extra antioxidants reduces the risk of developing cancer.

Can Antioxidant Slow the Aging Process Too?
Antioxidants are also thought to have a role in slowing the aging process and preventing heart disease and strokes, but the data is still inconclusive. Therefore from a public health perspective it is premature to make recommendations regarding antioxidant supplements and disease prevention. New data from ongoing studies will be available in the next few years and will shed more light on this constantly evolving area. Perhaps the best advice, which comes from several authorities in cancer prevention, is to eat 5 servings of fruit or vegetables per day.

So what are you waiting for? Eat the right foods which are high in oxidants, and if needed, get a all natural antioxidant supplement! Your health condition Needs Antioxidants!

About the Author:
Jerry Hall Leo
Can Antioxidants Prevent Cancer and Aging? More Info at http://antioxidants.eask.info/ http://Antioxidants.eask.info
Posted: 02-08-2006
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com

Of Lumps, Bumps And Breast Cancer

You feel a mild soreness in the breast so you checked for lumps. You felt a little bump. The next best step is to consult a doctor, you might have breast cancer. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from the cells of the breast. Breast cancer occurs mainly in women but this does not mean that men are safe from this disease.

A woman's breast is made up of lobules, which are glands that make the milk; ducts, which connect lobules to the nipples; fat and connective tissues; blood vessels; and lymph vessels. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts. It may also begin in the lobules then spread to other tissues.

When one feels a lump in the breast, there is really no virtual worry because most lumps are benign which means that they are not cancerous. In fact, benign breast tumors are abnormal growths but do not really pose threats because they do not spread outside of the breast. However, some benign lumps increase the risk in having breast cancer.

Then there are lumps that are not really tumors at all which are often caused by fibrocystic changes -- cysts are fluid-filled sacs while fibrosis is the formation of scar-like tissue. These changes can cause swelling of the breasts resulting to being lumpy and sometimes a fluid discharge from the nipples.

There are different types of breast cancer and knowing them will greatly help in assessing the disease.

Carcinoma in situ is a term used for early stage of breast cancer where the cancer cells are still confined to the place where it started. In particular, the cancer cells are confined in the lobules or the ducts, depending on where it started. The cancer cells have not gone into the fatty tissues in the breast nor spread to other organs of the body.

Ductal carcinoma in situ is the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer. Similar with Carcinoma in situ, the cancer cells have spread through the walls of the duct into the fatty tissue of the breasts. Almost all women with breast cancer at this stage can be cured and the best way to find is through the use of mammogram.

Lobular carcinoma in situ is the condition which begins in the milk-making glands but does not go through the walls of the lobules. This is not a true cancer but this can increase the risk of a woman to have breast cancer later. For this very reason, it is of utmost importance for women with this type of condition to follow the guidelines for breast cancer.

Infiltrating (or invasive) ductal carcinoma is a type of breast cancer that starts in the milk passage, breaks through the duct walls, invades the fatty tissue of the breast then spread to other parts of the body. This is the most common type of breast cancer.

Infiltrating lobular carcinoma starts in the milk glands then travel to the other parts of the body.

As of now, there is no exact cause for breast cancer but there are certain factors that are linked to the disease. Some factors that cannot be controlled are age, gender, family history, personal history of breast cancer, and race. Factors such as not having children, birth control pills, diet, exercise, and alcohol are some of the factors that can be controlled which may lessen or heighten the risk of a woman to have breast cancer.

There are several tests that may confirm and disconfirm if you suspect breast cancer such as imaging tests which includes mammography, breast ultrasound, and ductogram and biopsy which includes fine needle aspiration biopsy, stereotactic core needle biopsy, and surgical biopsy.

About the Author:
Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links and information about cancer, please go to: http://cancer.besthealthlink.net/ or for updated links and information on all health related topics, go to: http://www.besthealthlink.net/

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

The Benefits of Green Tea for Cancer and Leukaemia

Green tea has long had many health benefits associated with it and its curative properties have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Green tea, black tea and oolong tea are all made with the leaves of the Camellia sinensis bush. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and is reputed to contain the highest concentration of polyphenols, chemicals that act as powerful antioxidants. The more the leaves are fermented, the lower the polyphenol content and the higher the caffeine content. Tea polyphenols are classified as catechins and green tea contains six primary catechin compounds: catechin, gallaogatechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate (also known as EGCG). EGCG is considered to be the most active component in green tea and is the best researched of all the green tea polyphenols.

Several studies have suggested that green tea and green tea extract have cancer-fighting abilities, possibly because the tea's concentration of antioxidants such as EGCG help minimize the cell damage that can lead to cancer.

A recent study conducted at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has demonstrated the benefits of green tea in adult sufferers of leukaemia. EGCG (the key antioxidant in green tea) has been shown to kill cancer cells taken from leukaemia patients and put in a test tube.

Doctors at the clinic reported that four patients had started using green tea on their own last year, after hearing media reports about its health benefits. All four patients had CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukaemia). In the months after they started drinking green tea or taking green tea extracts, three of them showed measurable improvements in their condition. The fourth patient who did not show an improvement in her cancer overall, still exhibited an increase in her white blood cell count.

In one case, a patient had been showing progressive swelling in her lymph nodes before she starting taking green tea capsules twice a day. Swelling of the lymph nodes is one of the characteristic symptoms of CLL. However, over the next year the patient's lymph nodes steadily reduced in size.

Other research has come up with an explanation for why regular green tea drinkers have a low incidence of gastric and oesophageal cancers. Researchers have found that EGCG, the anti-cancer compound in green tea, works in a similar way to the anti-cancer drug methotrexate. Both work by blocking the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase, which is essential to the growth of tumour cells. However, the benefit of EGCG over methotrexate is that it has far fewer side effects.

The same study also showed that blocking the dihydrofolate reductase enzyme lowers folic acid levels. This side effect could explain the increased risk of birth defects and explains why some studies suggest green tea increases the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida. However, in a study conducted at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California in Oakland, researchers found that women who drank more than one half cup of caffeinated green tea every day doubled their odds of conceiving. Women seeking to conceive or who are already pregnant are advised to consult their medical practitioner about the risks associated with drinking green tea.


About the Author:
Chris Galloway
The author gave up drinking coffee several years ago and has been tasting and researching the benefits of green tea and herbal teas ever since. He writes for http://www.tealeafmagic.com

Added: 22 May 2006
Article Source: http://articles.simplysearch4it.com/article/27838.html