Your lungs carry out an essential function, exchanging carbon dioxide in your blood for oxygen to provide your cells and tissues with the oxygen they need. Lung cancer is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that begins when cells in your lung become abnormal and grow out of control, forming tumors that interfere with lung function and may spread to other tissues and organs. Pomegranate is a traditional remedy that fights cancer and may be of benefit if you are at risk for or have lung cancer. Talk to your doctor to decide if pomegranate might be helpful for your situation.
Symptoms and Risk Factors
Early stages of lung cancer may cause no symptoms. As the disease progresses, you might experience a persistent cough that may bring up blood, difficulty breathing, chest pain, hoarseness, recurring chest infections, fatigue or weight loss. The greatest risk factor for lung cancer is smoking cigarettes, pipes or cigars, especially if you have smoked for a long time. Other factors that raise the likelihood of developing the disease include exposure to radon gas, asbestos or other carcinogens, having a family history of lung cancer or being over 65.
Pomegranate
The pomegranate tree, or Punica granatum, is native to Iran but cultivated worldwide. It produces a fruit filled with pulp-covered seeds that yield a red juice when the pulp is squeezed. All portions of the plant are part of traditional herbal medicine, but the juice and rind are especially rich in natural compounds with biological activity. These include polyphenols such as tannins, flavonoids, anthocyanins and ellagic acid that are antioxidants and natural cancer-fighting agents.
Evidence
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center summarizes the results of studies demonstrating the anti-cancer actions of pomegranate in the laboratory, and a review of its potential benefits, published in "Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition" in 2011, concludes that pomegranate has many uses in fighting cancer. Pomegranate has been used in very few clinical studies, but in one focused on prostate cancer published in "Clinical Cancer Research" in 2006, subjects who had surgery or radiation for the disease and then consumed pomegranate juice daily had a decrease in markers indicative of cancer regrowth. In addition, in a study of laboratory animals exposed to lung cancer carcinogens and fed pomegranate extract, published in "Cancer Research" in 2007, fewer tumors developed in these animals compared to others fed a placebo. These encouraging findings on lung cancer still need to be confirmed in clinical trials with human subjects.
Recommendations
Pomegranate juice is available from health food or specialty stores, and pomegranate extract is available as a supplement from health food stores or pharmacies. Pomegranate is considered very safe when 8 to 12 ounces are consumed daily, although it may worsen diarrhea and interact with some medicines such as blood pressure medications and cholesterol-lowering drugs. Discuss pomegranate with your doctor before adding it to your regimen.
References
- National Cancer Institute: What You Need to Know About Lung Cancer
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Pomegranate
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Pomegranate
- Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition; The Bioactivity of Pomegranate: Impact on Health and Disease; A. Faria and C. Calhau; August 2011
- Clinical Cancer Research; Phase II Study of Pomegranate Juice for Men With Rising Prostate-Specific Antigen Following Surgery or Radiation for Prostate Cancer; A. Pantuck, et al.; July 2006
- Cancer Research; Oral Consumption of Pomegranate Fruit Extract Inhibits Growth and Progression of Primary Lung Tumors in Mice; N. Khan, et al.; April 2007
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