Preventing Blood Cancer

A diagnosis of leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma can be devastating, but there is hope.

Numerous large-scale studies suggest a strong connection between diet and risk of blood cancers.  A diet rich in leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables can have protective properties and improve survival rates.

Yale study following 500 women with lymphoma for 8 yrs found that those who ate 3-4 daily servings of green, leafy vegetables, including salad, cooked greens and citrus fruit, had an improved 42% survival rate over those who ate less.

A Mayo Clinic study found that those who ate 5 or more servings of green leafy vegetables a week had roughly half the chance of getting lymphoma compared to those who ate only one serving a week.

University of Oxford study of 60,000 people for 12 years found those who ate a plant based diet had a lower risk of developing all forms of cancers.  Vegetarians had nearly half the incidence of blood cancers compared to meat eaters.

The EPIC study, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, followed over 400,000 men and women across 10 countries for 9 years.  Of all the animal products studied including organ meat, poultry was most associated with greatest risk of lymphoma and leukemia.  The risk increased between 56-280% for every 50 grams of poultry consumed daily.  The result could be due to cancer-causing viruses in poultry which may also explain the higher rates of blood cancers among poultry farmers, slaughterhouse workers and butchers.  Growing up on a poultry farm was associated with 3x likelihood of developing blood cancer.

The Iowa Women’s Health Study following 35,000 women for decades found that consumption of higher broccoli and other cruciferous vegetable was associated with lower risk of getting non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the first place. 

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage is a promising anticancer agent and can potentially prevent cancer spread, DNA damage, protect brain and eyesight, reduce inflammation, defend against germs and toxins, boost liver detox enzymes, reduce prostate cancer progression, and even treat autism.

Sulforaphane, one of the active compounds formed almost exclusively in cruciferous vegetables, is thought to be responsible. Cabbage juice can kill leukemia cells in a petri dish.  Turmeric has shown promise in stunting or stopping growth of myeloma cancer cell growth in a petri dish.

Some of the protective benefits of a plant-based diet might also be linked to antioxidants. Studies show a clear connection between higher dietary intake of antioxidants and a significantly lower risk of disease.  The best bang for your buck for antioxidant per dollar is purple cabbage, then cinnamon and cloves.

It is worth pointing out that antioxidant supplements do not appear to offer the same cancer-fighting advantages. This is because supplements typically contain just a few isolated antioxidants, while fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains provide a symphony of hundreds of naturally occurring antioxidants working together synergistically.  Worse, high doses of a single isolated antioxidant might disrupt this balance and even reduce the body’s ability to fight cancer.

While a plant based diet isn’t a guaranteed cure, embracing a diet rich in colorful vegetables, especially leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, may be a powerful tool for promoting health and lowering overall cancer risk with a natural spectrum of antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients.

Sulforaphane is formed by an enzyme when chopped or chewed but is inactivated by cooking.  But once sulforaphane is formed, it is resistant to heat.  So the trick is to cut the vegetables and wait 40 minutes before cooking.

Frozen vegetables have been flash cooked before getting frozen.  But if you sprinkle some mustard powder on frozen broccoli, it activates the enzyme that forms sulforaphane.  You can also sprinkle mustard powder on cooked vegetables. 

All this to say that eating more colorful and green vegetables is more crucial now than ever before. 

Definitely worth adding to complement your doctor’s medical treatment.

Cruciferous vegetables include: Arugula, bok choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, horseradish, kale, mustard greens, radishes, turnip greens, watercress.  

Eat 3-5 servings a day!

For more information, check out Dr Michael Greger’s How Not To Die.