3 Natural Foods to Prevent and Improve Leukemia
If someone unfortunately suffers from leukemia, how can one treat it? And what natural foods can help prevent leukemia?
Leukemia is usually treated by chemotherapy or transplantation. As we all know, the leukemia patient’s white blood cells are affected by external harmful factors during their development process and undergo genetic mutations. As a result, they escape the normal cycle of cell life, and start multiplying indefinitely. The genes are the code of life, and the mutation of genes touches on some things in the nature of our life.
In order to change the abnormal state of our cells, besides taking medication, we need to use some more natural methods to improve our health.
As traditional Chinese medicine has always emphasized the homology of medicine and food, we will now introduce a few ingredients that have been found to be effective in improving leukemia.
Mangosteen (Xanthone)
There is an element in mangosteen called xanthone. In a study published in the Journal of Natural Products, the Gifu International Institute of Biotechnology in Japan showed that xanthones could induce apoptosis in leukemia cell lines.
The researchers studied six xanthones and discovered that all of them showed growth-inhibiting effects on cancer cells. Among them, α-mangostin showed complete inhibition of leukemia cells at a concentration of 10 μM. Moreover, it does not cause toxicity to normal cells.
Leukemia is an abnormal proliferation of blood cells that don’t go through a normal apoptosis (cell death) so they proliferate endlessly. Further studies have found that α-mangostin can induce apoptosis in leukemia cells in as soon as three hours.However, it is worth noting that mangosteen is cold in nature and should not be eaten by people with a “deficiency-cold” constitution. It is also high in sugar, so diabetics need to be aware of this.
Almond Mushroom
Almond mushroom is also known as Agaricus blazei Murill (AbM). The Japanese discovered its anti-cancer and immunity-boosting effects and therefore developed many types of health food from it.
In 2017, a study published in BioMed Research International found that Agaricus blazei extract (Andosan) has the effect of inhibiting human leukemia cells.
It was discovered that the addition of 5 percent and 10 percent of Andosan inhibited the growth of cancer cells by 17 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
In a cell cycle study, the researchers cultured cells of different cell phases (sub-G1, G1, S and G2 phases) in the experimental group of 10 percent Andosan and the control group and observed the changes.
As we know, cell replication has cycles of birth, aging, illness, and death; and the same is true for cancer cells. It was discovered that the percentage of cells in the apoptotic phase (sub-G1 phase) was higher in the cells cultured with the addition of Andosan 10 percent, while the percentage of cells in the Growth 1 phase (G1 phase) was lower, suggesting that Andosan can induce apoptosis in cancer cells.
The ingredients in almond mushroom can also enhance the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy. So it will be more effective if we combine chemotherapy with dietary therapy.
Green Tea
Tea is one of the most popular beverages, and it’s a healthy one. A study published in Nature Reviews Cancer showed that green tea extracts inhibited the formation and development of tumors in different organs in animal studies.
Green tea contains a large amount of catechins (including EGCG), which inhibit many hematological cancers. Catechins can act on multiple targets of cancer cells, inhibit cancer cell proliferation, enhance cancer cell apoptosis, and inhibit cell invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis.
A characteristic of many natural drugs is their ability to act on “multiple targets.” Western medicines usually only work on a “single target.” This makes a big difference in their effectiveness.
A 9-year prospective cohort study of approximately 42,000 participants assessed the association between green tea and the risk of hematologic tumors. And this appears to be a very convincing study.
This study discovered that people, who drank one to five cups of tea per day, had varying degrees of risk reduction for leukemia, compared to those who did not drink tea. The risk of leukemia was significantly lower in those who drank five cups per day.
We need to pay attention to the water temperature when making green tea, as it should not exceed 80 ℃, because too high a temperature may damage catechins and other substances in the tea.
We hope that these natural plant research data can help you prevent and treat leukemia. In addition, please also try to avoid contact with carcinogens and radiation, and limit your exposure to electronic devices.
About the Author: Dr. Yuhong Dong, medical doctor and Ph.D in infectious diseases, is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of a Swiss biotech company and former Senior Medical Scientific Expert for Antiviral Drug Development in Novartis Pharma in Switzerland.
Editor's Note: As new research continues to emerge, it has become increasingly clear that your diet can have a major impact on your risk of cancer. More studies are needed to understand how these foods may directly affect cancer development in humans. In the meantime, it’s a safe bet that a diet rich in whole foods, combined with a healthy lifestyle without smoking, will improve many aspects of your health.
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