Scientific evidence shows that certain foods play a role in preventing cancer. This is because foods like fruits and vegetables contain powerful antioxidants that protect the brain. The effects of antioxidants are even passed through the diets of mothers to their unborn children. Consult a medical professional before trying to prevent or treat brain cancer.
Process
Antioxidants protect neurons, or brain cells, by scavenging free radicals that destroy neurons. Oxidation is a natural process of cellular metabolism. But oxidation is what creates these destructive free radicals. Cells use oxygen and nutrients to synthesize ATP, which is the form of energy used by cells. Free radicals form when cells are exposed to oxygen. Antioxidants bind to free radicals and make free radicals inactive in the brain.
Need
The brain is particularly susceptible to oxidative damage among its cells because the brain, compared to the rest of the body, has a high need for oxygen. As a result, the brain has a high need for the micronutrients, including antioxidants, from fruits and vegetables to prevent cancer. Plants contain phytochemicals that provide antioxidant protection in the body and that are contained in the pigment of the rinds, seeds, leaves, fruits and flowers of plants. Fruits and vegetables are better than vitamin pills such, as vitamin C. Cornell University researchers found that 100 g of apple skin provided antioxidant activity equal to that of 1,500 mg of vitamin C in a study published in June 2000 in Nature. Vitamin C is only responsible for a small portion of antioxidant activity. Better antioxidant protection comes from a mixture of polyphenols in the diet.
Types
A study published in 2007 in Neurochemical Research found resveratrol to be a potent antioxidant. Resveratrol is an antioxidant compound produced by some plants like grapes and is present in red wine. Resveratrol has the ability to cross from the blood to the brain, so it can protect neurons. In the study, resveratrol was found to reduce cellular damage. In addition, resveratrol did not merely attack free radicals directly. It also prevented free-radical damage indirectly by increasing the body's natural ability to produce its own free-radical scavenging compounds, according the findings of the researchers.
Considerations
The food consumption of pregnant women is related to brain tumors in their children after birth through the age of 19. A study published in March 2009 in the Annals of Epidemiology covered seven countries examining maternal diet in relation to childhood brain tumors. It found that yellow-orange pigmented vegetables such as butternut squash and sweet potatoes related to fewer tumors in general. Cruciferous vegetables, the category containing broccoli, horseradish, Brussels sprouts and kale, decreased the risk of anaplastic astrocytomas, a type of aggressively growing brain tumor that has a tendency to invade surrounding brain tissue.
Treatment
One standard type of brain cancer treatment called whole brain irradiation causes oxidative damage to the brain. Brain irradiation is used in the cases of cancer that spread to the brain from another part of the body, such as the lungs. Many brain metastases are unaffected by chemotherapy because its compounds cross poorly through the the protective barrier that regulates what is allowed to enter the brain's sensitive environment. The harmful effects of brain irradiation therapy are not preventable, and there is no way to treat them. The toxic side effects lead to short-term memory problems, dementia and even death, according to an article published in September 2009 in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Because the damage is oxidative in nature, antioxidants are implicated in the treatment of brain cancer.
References
- Neurochemical Research: Effect of Resveratrol on Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in the Brain of Healthy Rat
- Free Radical Biology and Medicine: NADPH Oxidase Mediates Radiation-Induced Oxidative Stress in Rat Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells
- Nature: Nutrition: Antioxidant Activity of Fresh Apples
- Annals of Epidemiology: An International Case-Control Study of Maternal Diet During Pregnancy and Childhood Brain Tumor Risk: A Histology-Specific Analysis by Food Group
