Your lungs carry out an essential function -- exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen -- that is needed by your cells for life-supporting chemical reactions. Lung cancer develops when lung cells become abnormal and grow out of control, forming cancerous tumors that can interfere with lung function and cause serious, possibly life-threatening illness. Noni juice is a natural remedy that may help prevent lung cancer or treat it. Talk to your doctor to determine if consuming noni juice is a good strategy for your situation.
Symptoms and Risk Factors
Although the early stages of lung cancer may cause no symptoms, as the disease progresses you might experience a cough that steadily worsens. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, hoarseness, unexplained weight loss or fatigue. Frequent lung infections can also be a symptom of lung cancer. Although the cause of lung cancer is not always known, you are at increased risk for the disease if you currently smoke cigarettes, pipes or cigars, or if you have smoked in the past. Exposure to other potentially carcinogenic compounds such as radon gas, asbestos, heavy metals or other toxic chemicals also increases your risk of lung cancer. Finally, if you have a family history of the disease or are over 65, you also have a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
Noni Juice
The morinda plant, also called noni or Indian mulberry, is native to Asia and Polynesia. The fruit of this plant has a bumpy surface and yellow flesh that produces a juice consumed for its medicinal properties. Practitioners of traditional medicine recommend noni juice as a treatment for painful joints, diabetes, infections, high blood pressure and tumors. Noni contains many different phytochemicals, including polyphenols, terpenes and alkaloids. These natural compounds may boost the immune system, directly suppress growth of cancerous cells, and protect normal lung cells from carcinogens such as those in cigarette smoke.
Research
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center describes results of several laboratory studies showing that components of noni juice stimulate immune cells to produce factors that attack and potentially destroy malignant cells. Other noni compounds directly suppress division of cultured human cancer cells, causing them to die. In a clinical study published in "Nutrition and Cancer" in 2009, human subjects who smoke consumed noni juice or placebo daily for one month. The findings showed reduced precancerous changes in those who drank noni juice compared to the placebo group. The authors concluded that chemicals in noni juice prevent carcinogens from binding to lung cell DNA, a likely first step in causing lung cancer. A clinical trial of noni juice in cancer patients was completed by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in September 2011, but the results were not available as of the publication date.
Recommendations
Noni juice is available from health food and specialty stores, and it is generally considered safe. However, the juice is high in potassium and should not be consumed if you have kidney disease. It may also interact with certain medications, such as some diuretics and chemotherapy drugs. If you are diabetic, check labels to determine if sugar has been added to noni juice. Talk to your doctor about noni before adding it to your regular regimen.
References
- National Cancer Institute: What You Need to Know About Lung Cancer
- American Cancer Society: Noni Plant
- Drugs.com: Noni
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Noni
- "Nutrition and Cancer"; Miranda Citronella (Noni) Reduces Cancer Risk in Current Smokers by Decreasing Aromatic DNA Adducts; M. Wang, et al.; 2009
- ClinicalTrials.gov; Study of Noni in Cancer Patients; April 2002
