food extracts and supplemental vitamins and nutrients in order to provide a consistent supply of what we now know to be potentially very beneficial and protective.

SS:  Thank you, Cristiana.

Knock It Out-Quick takeaways that may reduce your cancer risk

• Supplement antioxidants in a balanced way.  For example, you may take resveratrol, an amazingly powerful antioxidant and genetic modulator, but don’t skip the other antioxidants.  If a fruit seems great, such as pomegranate or grapes, don’t just prioritize that.  A mix of antioxidant supplements with a large variety of fruits and vegetables will be most protective against cancer overall.

• Avoid unnatural forms of supplements as much as possible, as they can interfere with your body’s ability of absorbing important natural nutrients from your diet. Obviously the long term safety of artificial compounds (not normally occurring in nature) is not known and why take chances if we could avoid them?

• With supplements that contain vitamin E, look for products that contain natural mixed tocopherols as the primary form of vitamin E listed on the label.  If it contains mixed tocotrienols, that is also beneficial, as studies have shown promising results that they may reduce the risk of breast, colon, and prostate cancer.  Avoid vitamin E listed as d,1-alpha-tocopherol.

• When choosing a supplement that contains vitamin A, look for mixed carotenoids.  A nutritional supplement that contains only beta-carotene as the primary form of vitamin A will cause an imbalance of other natural carotenoids, because they compete for absorption in the body.

• Avoid anything (supplements, processed foods) that contains artificial dyes.  Instead, look for products that use natural pigments (e.g., from red grapes skin or turmeric) that are also powerful antioxidants.

• While supplementation with folic acid in people who are deficient can reduce the risk of various cancers, there’s a big difference between synthetic folic acid and natural folates (found mainly in fruits, vegetables, and liver).  Supplementation with high amounts of folic acid may promote growth of precancerous cells.  As far as foods go, it would be best to get natural folates from fruits and vegetables, not folic acid from refined flour products.

• Pay attention to how many carbohydrates you consume at one time, as eating too much will increase your blood glucose level.  Sugar fuels cancerous and precancerous cells and raises insulin excessively, which also acts as a stimulating factor for cell growth, cell division, and ultimately multiplication of these “bad” cancer cells.  Exercising after a high-carb meal can help you burn the carbs immediately after they are absorbed in your body, so take a walk right after dinner if you’ve overindulged.
  
  
• As people age, cells multiply less accurately.  We can protect our cells by making sure we have adequate vitamins such as natural folates and B12 in our diet and/or supplements.

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