Inflammation is key to cancer formation. Cancer cells utilize our body's response to inflammation to feed themselves. There are many anti-inflammatory drugs available. However, each has bad side effects. Because drug companies cannot make money off them, medical science has ignored the many anti-inflammatory foods which are available. A diet rich in these foods can help prevent cancers from developing or recurring.

Foods which aggravate inflammation include:  refined sugars, white flour, red meats from industrially raised animals (see the documentary King Korn), oils rich in omega-6 (such as corn, sunflower, saffloer, soy), dairy products from industrially raised livestock (especially if full fat), eggs from industrially raised hens fed corn and soybeans, persistent anger or despair, less than twenty minutes of physical activity a day, cigarette smoke, atmospheric pollution, domestic pollutants.

Inflamation reducing foods include:  Mediterranean, Indian and Asian cuisine, multigrain and whole grain flour, at most three times a week--organic meat from animals fed grass or flax meal, olive, canola or flaxseed oils, omega-3 rich fatty fish, dairy products fed on grass or flax meal, omega-3 eggs or eggs from hens raised in a natural environment or fed flax meal, laughter, lightheartedness, serenity, a fifty minute walk three times a week or thirty minutes six times a week, a clean environment, including one free of indoor pollutants or self-induced ones such as anti-perspirants.

Cauliflower (fresh/frozen, boiled) Cauliflower contained minimul residues (only twelve in thirty-six samples) with permethrin being most prevalent. Grapefruit (raw) Fifty-three pesticide residues were found representing seven chemicals or their metabolites with thiabendazole in thirty-five of thirty-six samples. --Diet for a Poisoned Planet, David Steinman, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2007

This post is part of our Food and Health lunchtime series.  Read all of the entries: Food and health: Introduction Food and health: Anti-Cancer Food and health: Inflammation Food and health: Plant food Food and health: Red light and green light foods Food and health: Ancestral diet Food and health: Glycemic index Food and health: High glycemic index foods Food and health: Low glycemic index foods Food and health: Red light foods

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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