Antioxidants & Cancer

How antioxidants protect against cancer.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so I wanted to look into the potential role that antioxidants play in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

One of the major ways that antioxidants help in preventing cancer is by protecting our cells from the damaging effects of free radicals. 

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that are produced in small amounts as a natural byproduct of metabolism and the immune response.

For example, our immune cells release free radicals to destroy invading pathogens as part of the body's defense mechanism against disease. 

When present in high amounts, however, “free radicals can be hazardous to the body and damage all major components of cells” according to the National Cancer Institute. 

There are many external factors in today's society that contribute to an overproduction of free radicals:

• Cigarette smoke

• Environmental pollutants

• Radiation

• Excess stress

• Lack of sleep

• Lack of physical activity

• Elevated blood sugars

• Certain drugs

• Pesticides

• Heavy metals

• Inflammatory foods including highly processed foods, sugar, gluten, excess alcohol, vegetable oils, trans fats, and other inflammatory foods

It's the combination of natural free radicals from metabolic processes + external free radicals from our environment that leads to an overproduction of free radicals that the body simply can't keep up with. 

Here's how excess free radicals damage our cells and contribute to oxidative stress, cancer, and disease over time: 

• Free radicals damage cell membranes and cellular DNA

• When DNA is damaged, this causes mutations in your genes

• Cells with too many mutations:

  • Stop functioning normally

  • Grow out of control

  • Become cancerous

If you Google “what causes cancer,” one of the first results you'll see is from the Mayo Clinic stating “Cancer is caused by changes (mutations) to the DNA within cells."

As stated in an article published in the journal Springerplus, “free radicals are key players in the initiation and progression of tumor cells and enhance their metastatic potential. In fact, they are now considered a hallmark of cancer.” 

Since free radicals damage cellular DNA which contributes to mutations, one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of cancer is by reducing your exposure to free radicals in the first place. 

If you've been reading my emails for a while, you may have noticed that the list of factors above that contribute to free radical production are also the same factors that contribute to inflammation. 

This is because chronic inflammation produces lots of free radicals which ultimately create more inflammation. It's a vicious cycle. Inflammation and free radicals go hand-in-hand; when one is present, so is the other. 

According to an article published in the journal Immunity, “Inflammation predisposes to the development of cancer and promotes all stages of tumorigenesis" or tumor growth/development. 

Fortunately, antioxidants help to protect our cells from the damaging effects of free radicals in a few ways:

• Preventing the formation of free radicals

• Destroying existing free radicals before they can damage cells

• Repairing cells that have already been damaged

This is why it's SO important to eat plenty of antioxidant-rich foods daily to protect our cells, slow the aging process, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease which is exactly what we're going to cover next week.

Until then, focus on reducing your exposure to free radicals in the first place, since this is what's driving the formation of many cancers. You can do this by:

• Not smoking

• Getting regular physical activity

• Controlling blood sugars

• Reducing your exposure to toxins and chemicals found in makeup, household cleaners, and foods (EWG is a great resource)

• Swapping inflammatory vegetable oils for extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and other healthy fats 

• Limiting sugar and refined carbohydrates

• Reducing your intake of processed foods and fried foods 

• Emphasizing a whole-foods diet rich in protein, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, antioxidants, and healthy fats (all the recipes in my cookbook Recipes For Longevity 😉)

What's the #1 area you can work on to reduce inflammation and free radicals?

-xo Kate