Fruits are nutritious, they also prevent cancer

JANUARY 23, 2015 BY BUKOLA ADEBAYO 

   

 

 

Fruits
| credits: File copy

You know the nutritional benefits of eating fruits which are loaded with Vitamin C and all, but your doctor has probably not told you that incorporating fruits and vegetables in every meal you eat will help reduce your risk for cancer.

Yes, there is increasing and overwhelming evidence that eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day can reduce one’s risk for cancer by more than 40 per cent.

Scientists say even though the causes of cancer are not known, some foods contain substances that eat up cancerous cells in the body, invariably reducing one’s risk for the disease that killed more than 8.2 million people in 2012 alone.

Experts say the global incidence of cancer is soaring at an alarming rate. It is particularly worse in developing countries such as ours where awareness on the risk factors and the early diagnosis of the disease is a luxury.

According to the Professor of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Aderemi Ajekigbe, who defines cancer as an abnormal and uncontrollable growth that persists in the body’s cells, there are two million cases of cancer in the country currently.

Ajekigbe estimates that each year, about 100,000 Nigerians are newly diagnosed with cancer; and he attributes this shocking statistics to poor diet and poor lifestyle.

The cancer specialist laments that many individuals have abandoned foods such as fruits and vegetables that are high in dietary fibre, for highly fatty foods which have been proved to increase one’s risk for breast cancer, a disease that kills over three million women in their prime annually.

“Why do we have to abandon our natural foods, fruits and vegetables for processed ones that have no nutrient? We say people should eat more fruits to reduce their risk for cancer because they do not contain any fats and oil. Foods that we eat these days are so high in cholesterol and fats and these has been known to up the risk for cancer of the breast, the commonest cancer in the world,” the oncologist notes.

He adds, “Also, fruits contain a lot of fibre which reduces one’s risk for cancer of the intestines (colorectal cancer), which is happening at a disturbing rate now because people are eating more fatty acids than before. Fruits have enough fibre that is needed for wastes such as faeces and other toxic substances to be excreted from the body.”

An apple a day keeps diseases at bay

Apple is high in soluble fibre. Nutritionists say people with diets low in fibre have a higher chance of certain intestinal disorders such as hemorrhoids and some cancers. Older people who have trouble with toilet regularity and constipation are more at risk, experts warn. A diet high in fibre is one of the best ways to build up regularity again.

Research by scientists at the University of Abeerden, Scotland, has shown that people who eat fruits and other high-fibre foods gain a certain amount of protection against breast and prostate cancer.

They link this to the free radical-fighting power of the antioxidants contained in the fruits.

They maintain that apples are also good for the respiratory system, as the fruit protects against cancer of the lungs by combating radical cells that form in the respiratory tracts that may become cancerous in future.

The researchers also found that kids of women who ate the most apples while pregnant were less likely to wheeze or develop lung cancer and asthma.

Studies suggest having a serving of tomatoes or tomato products every day may prevent the DNA damage associated with the development of prostate cancer.

“For a balanced diet and to help you reduce your risk of developing cancer and heart disease, add at least five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables to your diet each day,” the researchers counsel.

Oranges, tangerines, grapes

A nutritionist, Dr. Tosin Akinsanya, who has authored a book on the cancer prevention properties of citrus fruits, notes that two oranges, grapes or tangerines contain 25.5mg of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that suppresses cancer-forming cells from thriving in the body.

He explains that fruits also have flavonoids, which boasts enviable anti-cancer properties that stop the proliferation of tumours.

Akinsanya states, “If there is any reason why we should eat fruits, it is because of their role in the prevention and management of cancer. Science has been showing us that the solution to cancer may eventually be in fruit.

“Fruits have fibre that helps the body lower its cholesterol levels, thereby preventing some cancers. Also, the colourful pigments in fruits have flavonoids and antioxidants that neutralise free radicals, which are disease-causing molecules in the body.”

Akinsanya adds that the quantity of vitamins C and A in oranges and other citrus fruits is more than what you can find in any multivitamin prescribed for the purpose of preventing cancer.

Vitamin C is vital to all processes going on in the body. Akinsanya says this nutrient is crucial to the synthesis of collagen in the body. Collagen is also the body of cells that gather to hold together the tendons, ligaments, bones and blood vessels and the muscles of the body.

“The nutritional and medicinal components of citrus fruits are inexhaustible. But you have to eat it right. Don’t just drink its juice and throw the flesh away. More than 80 per cent of their nutrients are in their flesh. Eat them up to get their cancer-preventing benefits,” he counsels.

source: PUNCH.