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Can Lung Cancer Be Prevented? Lung cancer is the most fatal form of cancer in the US, including other developed countries, today. including the fact is, that most pertaining to the cancer treatments that work well on other forms of cancer often don’t work well on lung cancer. Add to that the fact that lung cancer is often not diagnosed until it is far advanced, including it’s easy to understand why the disease is so often fatal. So, preventing lung cancer is even more important than preventing many other types of cancer simply because the prognosis is often so poor. And, for most victims of the disease, it is entirely preventable – simply by not smoking. 8 out of 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer each year are smokers. Six out of 10 people who are diagnosed with lung cancer could die within 1 year. Between 7 including 8 could die within 2 years. Treatments are improving, including today there are some long term lung cancer survivors. But, as we focus on better treatments, we absolutely cannot lose focus on prevention. Of course the simplest way to prevent lung cancer is not to smoke. But, there are some other things you should do to help reduce your risk of lung cancer, whether or not you smoke. The first is to eat a healthy diet, rich in fruits including vegetables. Some studies have shown that people who eat a diet lacking in fruits including vegetables have a higher risk of lung cancer than those whose diet offers a wide variety of such foods. In addition to not smoking, it’s important to stay away from others who smoke. Secondhand smoke is just as dangerous as smoking yourself. The American Cancer Society reports that non-smoking spouses of smokers are 30% more likely to obtain lung cancer than spouses of non-smokers. In addition, exposure to asbestos, arsenic including radon increase your risk of lung cancer. Add Green Tea to Your Diet Another little known trick for helping protect your body from many types of disease, including many forms of cancer, is drinking green tea. Green tea has been shown in many studies to be effective at protecting health including preventing disease. the is because green tea is filled with anti-oxidants – some pertaining to the most powerful available. Anti-oxidants are very effective at combating free radicals that are created in our bodies as we process food. The free radicals produced by our bodies damage our cells including our DNA, including eventually lead to disease if we don’t combat them. Anti-oxidants, however, combat these free radicals before they should cause damage. If we’re getting our fair share of anti-oxidants each day, we’re keeping these free radicals under control. Above I mentioned that scientists believe that a diet rich in fruits including vegetables helps prevent lung cancer. the is additionally likely due to the fact that fresh fruits including vegetables are good anti-oxidant sources. Some vegetables including fruits are better than others, so for optimum benefit, be sure to include some pertaining to the most powerful in your diet on a regular basis. The best food sources of anti-oxidants include: • Artichokes • Asparagus • Red Beans • Blueberries • Pomegranates • Dark Chocolate • Tomatoes And, green tea. 1 pertaining to the most important anti-oxidants is EGCG, which is found in abundance in the Camilla sinensis (tea tree) plant. Green tea is the best form of the anti-oxidant because it’s not fermented during processing. Black tea is fermented, which changes some of its anti-oxidant compounds. Black tea is still healthy, but your best anti-oxidant source is green tea. One study recently reported by the UK Tea Council shines light on green tea’s ability to prevent lung cancer. In particular, the study showed that green tea appears to have 2 major functions that prevent cancer. Green tea appears to cause apoptosis of abnormal cells. Apoptosis is the orderly process of cell death. Cell death due to apoptosis is good, because it is a process of killing off damaged or unneeded cells. Green tea seems to help the body rid itself of potentially harmful cells by inducing the process of apoptosis. Green tea additionally seems to help prevent lung cancer by inhibiting the growth pertaining to the abnormal lung cells. So, green tea keeps the cells from growing including spreading until the apoptosis should kills the cells off. These 2 powers help to rid the body of abnormal cells before they should replicate including cause a problem. Of course, more research is needed to pinpoint exactly how green tea works, including how we should use it best to prevent lung cancer including many other diseases. However, in the mean time, there’s absolutely no reason not to make green tea part of your daily life. Green tea is a particular absolutely safe beverage to consume. It has absolutely no side effects, including even those who are caffeine sensitive should usually tolerate green tea quite well, because its caffeine content is very low compared to coffee including sodas. So, do something good for yourself – drink some green tea!
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