Selenium: Healthy Food Chemical with Anti-Cancer activity in a Brazil nut Diet

Deep in the Amazon forest in South America lies some of the most unique plant species that cannot be found anywhere else on the Planet. The Brazil nut (Lecythidaceae) is one of such rare but popular plant species. As on of the healthy things to eat, the Brazil nut is a delicious nut, which has been cherished by the Amazonian natives for ages, provides the much needed properties for healthy living. With a vast array of protein, fats and other essential nutrients, the Brazil nut ranks high among many foods which have been grouped by nutritionists as ‘healthy things to eat’. It has high calorie, contains good quantities of vitamins, anti-oxidants and minerals. It is believed that 100g of Brazil nut provides 656 calories, much of which comes in form of fat. The fat present in this food is mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which helps to lower bad cholesterol or LDL and increases good cholesterol or HDL. This non anti-cancer healthy blood lipid profile which the Brazil nut provides is helpful in preventing coronary diseases and stroke. Another non anti-cancer importance of Brazil nut is that it is gluten-free which can serve as a healthy alternative for people with wheat flour allergy and celiac disease.

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Curcumin: Food Chemical with Anti-Cancer ability in a Tumeric Diet

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous, herbaceous, perennial plant of the ginger family called Zingiberaceae. When not used fresh, turmeric rhizomes are boiled for several hours, dried in a hot oven and grinded into a deep, orange-yellow powder commonly used as a spice in curries. When used as a food additive, turmeric is mostly use in savoring dishes. Some of the foods which turmeric can be used include canned beverages, biscuits, sauces, yellow cakes, dairy products, soups, yoghurts and so on.

Research studies have tried to investigate the food chemicals found in turmeric to evaluate their potential effects on diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, cancer and other clinical disorders. According to a 2012 report by the US National Institute for Health, about 71 clinical trials are currently registered to use the food chemical in turmeric for various clinical disorders. One research showed that this food chemical in turmeric reduced the severity of pancreatic-associated lung injury in mice.

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Vitamin C: Common Food Chemical in our Diet with Amazing Anti-Cancer activity

Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or Ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and other animal species. Vitamin C as a chemical refers to a number of vitamers that have vitamin C activity in animals, including ascorbic acid and its salts, and other oxidized forms of the molecule, like dehydroascorbic acid. Ascorbate and ascorbic acid are both naturally present when either of them is introduced into the cells.

As food chemicals, vitamin C is widely used as a food additive to prevent scurvy and more importantly, oxidative stress. This food chemical can be oxidized in the human cells by the enzyme, L-ascorbate oxidase. Vitamin C is essentially a healthy thing to eat in foods in both an anti-cancer and non anti-cancer diet,

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Resveratol: Healthy Food Chemical in Red Wine Anti-Cancer Diet that may fight Breast Cancer

Red wine is a type of wine made from dark-colored grapes varieties. The external color of the wine can range from intense violet for young wines, through to brick red for matured wines, and brown for older red wines. The red color of red wine comes from anthocyan pigments present in the skin of the grapes which produce a red colored juice. Most of the red wine’s flavor and color comes from the grape skin. 

Before we go further, it is important to state here that red wine in this context refers to non-alcoholic red wine.  As one of the healthy things to eat, red wine in our diet has a lot of non anti-cancer benefits. One

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Theaflavin: Anti-Cancer Food Chemical in Black Tea Diet

Whether it is green, white, oolong or black, the tea drink is certainly one of the healthy things to eat (or drink) on a daily basis. Tea has been known to be a power-house of anti-oxidants that have been discovered long ago to have both anti-cancer and non anti-cancer abilities. Because the discussion of tea in general is such a broad topic, this review will be taking a look at the anti-cancer perspective of black tea.

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Lentinan: Food Chemical with Anti-Cancer ability in a Shiitake mushroom Diet

The Shiitake Mushroom (Lentinula edodes) is an edible mushroom native to East Asia that has long been considered a delicacy as well as a medicinal mushroom. It is an edible fungus which is regarded as the second most commonly edible mushroom in the world. Extracts of Shiitake mushroom have been used in herbal remedies. As one of the healthy things to eat, the Shiitake mushroom offers so many non anti-cancer health benefits. It is a good source of protein. It contains selenium, a powerful anti-oxidant which helps prevent cell damage. The Shiitake mushroom is also rich in copper, a vital component in red blood cell production. It is a proven fact that Shiitake mushroom in our diet enhances immune effectiveness, cholesterol-lowering and possesses both anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Some research works also say that eating Shiitake mushroom fights the development and progression of cancer and AIDS by boosting the body’s immune system.

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Lycopene: Food Chemical in Tomato Fruit that makes it an Anti-Cancer Diet

If you are looking an anti-cancer diet and a healthy thing to eat and you come across a tomato fruit (Solanium lycopersicum), then you have probably gotten what you truly deserve. The tomato fruit is one food that can be consumed in diverse ways. It can be eaten raw, or can be as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces and drinks. The tomato fruit has medicinal values that are listless. The nutritional value of this food is such that it contains a lot of vitamins and minerals which can be taken daily in large quantities without worrying about weight gain. As a food with anti-cancer properties, tomato consumption has been associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer. Also, the tomato fruit has shown reasonable anti-cancer effect against neck and throat cancer. There is a popular saying that “one tomato a day keeps cancer at bay”. Like every food/fruit in our anti-cancer diet, the tomato fruit contains food chemicals that give it its anti-cancer qualities. The primary food chemical that makes the tomato fruit one of the

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Quercetin: Food Chemical that makes the Apple fruit a very important Anti-Cancer Diet

The apple fruit (Malus domestica) is a pomaceus fruit of the apple tree. It is the most widely known of the many members of the genus Malus that are used by humans. The apple fruit, as one of the healthy things to eat, is laced with important food chemicals that have both anti-cancer properties and other health benefits. The proof that that apple fruit is of great benefit to human health is shown in a report released in 2004. The report showed that the Red Delicious and Granny Smith apple varieties ranked 12^th and 13^th respectively amongst over 100 foods investigated by USDA scientists.

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