All it takes is a healthy diet

I recently posted to A Patients Perspective concerning the effects of taking vitamins and supplements. I believe it may have contributed to my lymphoma and my wife's myeloma. Of course I can't be sure, but there is more and more evidence suggesting it is.

Dr Rob Lamberts over at the Medical Blog Network sheds some additional light on the subject, casting a somewhat suspicious eye towards the supplement industry.

Now this article on MSNBC may be supporting my belief, by suggesting it's not the antioxidant benefit of vitamins, but the phytochemicals in natural foods, that provide the real cancer fighting benefit.

Phytochemicals seem to slow tumor growth, but key is in variety of foods By Karen Collins, R.D.

.....Research does show that berries are among the fruits highest in antioxidant content and that they are excellent sources of several phytochemicals that seem to help block cancer development. However, other fruits and vegetables provide different nutrients and phytochemicals with unique health benefits. The best advice, then, is to eat berries often for their great taste and health boost, but stay focused on the main goal of eating a wide variety of produce every day.

Strawberries are known as excellent sources of vitamin C, providing as much or more than a whole day's recommended amount in just one cup. But all berries are good sources of vitamin C..... One of the ways vitamin C protects our health is its function as an antioxidant..... Yet laboratory studies show that much of the antioxidant power of fruits and vegetables comes not from the classic antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C, but from natural protective compounds called phytochemicals.

Anthocyanins are a group of phytochemicals that give many berries their red color. In laboratory studies, anthocyanins inhibit growth of lung, colon and leukemia cancer cells without affecting growth of healthy cells. Decreased cancer development is also seen in animals given anthocyanins.

Ellagic acid is another important phytochemical in virtually all berries. More than a simple antioxidant, ellagic acid also blocks metabolic pathways that can lead to cancer. In animals, it has inhibited development of colon, esophageal, liver, lung and skin cancers stemming from a variety of carcinogens.

Pterostilbene is yet another powerful antioxidant phytochemical that seems to affect metabolic processes to decrease development of both cancer and heart disease. Blueberries are an excellent source of this relative of the health-promoting resveratrol that is found in grapes and red wine.

Phytochemicals seem to be a vital part of the benefits we get from berries. One study showed that strawberries power to inhibit cancer cell growth was unrelated to their antioxidant content, suggesting that the direct influences of the phytochemicals on cancer development are very important.

An essential question remains: Do normal portions of berries give us enough phytochemicals to get protective benefits or do we need to eat larger portions than standard 1/2 cup servings? Some research does suggest that concentrations normally found in the blood after eating berries are enough to substantially decrease cancer cells growth and to stimulate their self-destruction, but more study is needed.

Overall, research on phytochemicals shows that looking at the effects of single foods does not show the full picture. Studies show that a wide range of phytochemicals found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans act together in ways far greater than would be expected from looking at them individually. That's why, as fabulously healthy as berries are, the bottom line has to be abundance and variety of many fruits and vegetables.

Nutrition Notes is provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C.