Nutrients to the Rescue

Nutrients to the Rescue (for breast cancer survivors)

Literally thousands of studies have uncovered a clear and distinct relationship
between vital nutrients and cancer risk. One influential study (Ramesha et al. 1990)
provides a powerful example. A powerful carcinogen known as DMBA was given to
a group of female rats. Then the rats were given none, one of four, two of four,
three of four, or all of four nutrients: the minerals selenium and magnesium, and
vitamins C and A. The results were truly astonishing. When no nutrients were
administered, all of the rats developed breast cancer. When one of the nutrients was
given, 46.4 to 57.1 percent of the rats developed tumors, depending on the nutrient.

When two of the nutrients were given in combination, the tumor incidence further
decreased to 25.9 to 34.6 percent, depending on the combination. Administration of
nutrients in groups of threes resulted in still further reduction of tumor incidences,
approximately 16 to 23.1 percent. And when all four nutrients were given together,
tumor incidence dropped to 12 percent. Remember, our DNA is 99 percent identical
to that of rats. Nutrition is power!

Professor Ames’s Triage Theory

A professor of biochemistry at the University of California, Bruce Ames (2006)
is one of the most frequently cited scientists in the world, with over five hundred
publications and several dozen awards to his name. Ames has been working on a
theory connecting micronutrient intake, cancer risk, and other degenerative
diseases. Known as Ames’s “triage theory,” it suggests, among other things, that
optimizing intake of the approximately forty essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals,
amino acids, and fatty acids) leads to a reduction in chronic, degenerative diseases,
including cancer. Let’s take a look at some of the nutrients that Ames and others
consider to be the most critical ones for keeping cancer at bay. Keep in mind,
however, that there’s just no substitute for getting all of the nutrients you need, all of
the time, and a nutrient-dense, Eating for Health diet is your foundation for
accomplishing this.