Lettuce is the 'anti-cancer overlord', can kill cancer cells and relieve the side effects of chemotherapy? tell you the truth
In December 2021, the American Institute for Cancer Research announced the latest 26 anti-cancer foods. Common vegetables include carrots, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli and cruciferous vegetables, asparagus, etc. Common fruits include apples, blueberries, strawberries, Cherry, grapefruit, etc.
The researchers point out that a diet rich in a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and other plant foods can reduce the risk of many types of cancer.
In recent years, more and more "anti-cancer foods" have appeared. In order to pursue their "anti-cancer effects", many friends consume a large amount of these "anti-cancer foods" . There are more and more statements about these foods, such as:
"Lettuce is an 'anti-cancer tyrant', which not only fights cancer but also relieves the side effects of chemotherapy."
"Sweet potatoes can kill 98.9% of cancer cells in the human body."
"Dandelion is the 'king of anti-cancer', not only can kill cancer cells, but also eliminate nodules."
So, are these foods "anti-cancer overlord dishes" or "gimmicks" promoted by businesses? Today Xiaojiu will tell you clearly.
1. "Anti-cancer overlord" lettuce: can it really kill cancer cells?
Lettuce, do you like it? Among the anti-cancer foods released in the United States, lettuce ranks second and is called a new generation of "anti-cancer overlord". Is it true?
Lettuce is crisp in taste, light green in color, rich in vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium, dietary fiber, etc.
The reason why "lettuce can fight cancer" is because there is a saying that "lettuce contains aromatic hydrocarbon hydroxyl esters, which can prevent liver cancer and stomach cancer , and can also alleviate the side effects of radiotherapy or chemotherapy in cancer patients."
Experimental studies have indeed extracted certain ingredients from lettuce, and after animal testing with a certain dose, it is found that it has an anti-cancer effect.
However, the extracted anti-cancer ingredients are limited, and only a certain dose can be used to exert anti-cancer effects, so it is not equivalent to anti-cancer with antioxidants.
In addition, after the lettuce is eaten, it needs to be digested. During this process, the nutrients contained in the lettuce will be decomposed by digestive enzymes, and some components will lose their original efficacy . Therefore, the claim that eating lettuce can fight cancer is untenable, let alone scrutinized.
But in daily life, if you eat it in normal cooking, instead of pursuing its "anti-cancer effect" and eating a lot, lettuce is still beneficial to human health.
Chinese medicine believes that lettuce can "benefit the five internal organs, open the meridians, and open the chest and diaphragm". Modern medicine believes that lettuce is rich in potassium, which can reduce the burden on the heart, promote urination, and play a certain role in preventing and reducing hypertension, edema, and heart disease symptoms.
In addition, studies have found that lettuce can improve the symptoms of allergic rhinitis.
There are various ways to eat lettuce, but it should be noted that it is best not to blanch lettuce with hot water , otherwise the water-soluble inorganic salts and vitamins contained in lettuce will easily be lost.
For the elderly and the sick, cold lettuce shreds are not easy to digest, so it is recommended to cook them.
2. "Anti-cancer king" sweet potato: can kill 98.9% of cancer cells?
Some people say that sweet potatoes are the "anti-cancer king", which can kill 98.9% of cancer cells.
This statement comes from a study conducted by Japanese scientists in 2014. The results of the study found that raw sweet potatoes can play a 95% anti-cancer effect, and cooked sweet potatoes even have a 98.9% chance of inhibiting cancer . Are sweet potatoes really that powerful?
Let's put aside the "sweet potato anti-cancer" for a while, in fact, eating sweet potatoes is really beneficial to the body. Sweet potatoes are rich in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta-carotene, and minerals such as calcium and potassium.
On the one hand, the beta-carotene rich in sweet potatoes can prevent the lack of vitamin A; on the other hand, the dietary fiber rich in sweet potatoes can enhance satiety, speed up intestinal peristalsis, and promote defecation.
However, in response to the claim that "sweet potatoes prevent cancer", simply eating sweet potatoes will definitely not have an anti-cancer effect . So far, no food has been scientifically proven to reduce the incidence of cancer.
In addition, there are three "cancer-fighting" sweet potatoes that are wrong:
The first one : thinking that eating sweet potatoes is equivalent to buying anti-cancer insurance, guaranteeing that you will not get cancer, so indulge yourself in smoking, drinking, staying up late, and tossing your body every day.
The second : eat only sweet potatoes and do not eat other foods, causing nutritional imbalances, resulting in nutrient deficiencies, severe malnutrition, and susceptibility to other diseases.
The third : without changing the daily eating habits, adding a sweet potato a day may also lead to excessive calorie intake, leading to overweight and obesity . Overweight and obesity are closely related to rectal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer and other cancers.
It can be seen that the different eating methods of sweet potatoes have a great impact on their nutritional value.
To eat sweet potatoes, it is recommended to steam, boil, roast, stew, fry, bake, etc., so as not to bring extra fat and refined sugar to the sweet potatoes, instead of using the nutritional value of the sweet potatoes themselves.
3. "King of anti-cancer" dandelion: kill 98% of cancer cells within 48 hours?
The claim that dandelion is anti-cancer was also circulated for a time, mainly because a paper published by a research team at the University of Windsor in Canada stated that " dandelion kills 98% of cancer cells within 48 hours ." However, the research is only carried out in vitro, and has not been studied in the human body, and the effect and safety on the human body are not known yet.
Ma Ping, professor of Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and vice chairman of Guangxi Nutrition Society, said that dandelion is not only a traditional Chinese medicine, but also a common wild vegetable. It contains nutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins, which can be used as medicine. It can also be eaten raw, used in soup, as medicine and food.
As for the anti-cancer effect of dandelion, "Compendium of Materia Medica" only records that dandelion is sweet, flat and non-toxic, can clear heat and detoxify, eliminate carbuncle and disperse knots, but it also says that it has anti-cancer effect .
So what exactly is the Canadian study? It turned out that the researchers just put the dandelion root extract and cancer cells together, and found that the cancer cells were killed in a large area.
In fact, the study was aimed at cancer cells in test tubes and some animals, and it has not been proven to be effective in humans, and there is a lack of relevant human studies . And the free use of dandelion to fight cancer may also bring side effects.
However, since dandelion can clear heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and disperse knots, and Chinese medicine classifies thyroid nodules as gall tumors, why is dandelion so little effective in treating thyroid nodules?
In fact, in the treatment of thyroid nodules, it is necessary to soothe the liver and regulate qi, soften firmness and dissipate knots, promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, rather than simply clearing away heat and detoxifying .
Finally, remind everyone that dandelions are not suitable for everyone. Dandelion is cold in nature . It is not suitable for people with yang deficiency constitution, cold spleen and stomach, cold hands and feet, and loose stools . In addition, it is not recommended to consume dandelion for a long time, so as not to damage the spleen and stomach.
In fact, the American Cancer Institute also emphasized that no single food can prevent or fight cancer . To prevent cancer through diet, the most important thing is to adhere to a healthy diet for a long time.
References
[1] "1 catty of sweet potatoes and 2 catties of feces? Sweet potatoes are very nutritious, you have to eat them like this! 》. Nutshell. 2021-10-25
[2] "Can dandelion root kill 98% of cancer cells within 48 hours? It's just an experimental study, not directly equivalent to anti-cancer
[3] "Is it the herb that nourishes liver in spring, or the "Queen of Herbs"! Clearing liver heat and removing dampness will not be a big loss." Family Doctor. 2020-03-02
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