Can Certain Foods Help Smokers Reduce Their Risk Of Getting Lung Cancer?
According to a study headed by Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, professor of epidemiology in the UCLA School of Public Health,THE ANSWER IS YES.
Findings of the study indicated that tobacco smokers who eat three servings of fruits and vegetables a day and drink green or black tea had a lower risk of developing lung cancer. There are several possible reasons for this:
1. These foods contain certain chemicals called flavanoids, which can block the formation of blood vessels that tumors develop. This prevents tumors from growing and spreading.
2. In addition, according to Dr. Zhang, when flavanoids stop cancer cells from growing, it allows for naturally programmed cell death.
3. Dr. Zhang also indicated that the antioxidant properties found in the flavanoids may also work to counteract the DNA-damaging effects of tobacco smoke.
The findings of the study are extremely important in that tobacco smoking causes more than 80 percent of lung cancers.
Obviously, quitting smoking is the best way to help prevent lung cancer, but if you can’t stop smoking, you may help reduce the threat of lung cancer by eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more green and black tea.
The findings of study may also be good news for non smokers. If smokers can benefit from eating foods that contain flavanoids, then, inasmuch as there are other causes of lung cancer, it follows that non smokers may also help reduce their chances of getting lung cancer by eating flavanoid-rich foods.
Note: The study was reported in the November 2008 issue of UCLA Public Health. It also appeared in the June 2008 issue of Cancer, published by the American Cancer Society.