Inflammation and Cancer

I've been in the alternative health field as a health food retailer in the past, and more recently have thoroughly enjoyed writing about this health passion of mine. Combining this with the medical background I've gained as a certified nursing assistant one thing I can be abundantly sure about is the fact that inflammation and cancer go hand in hand.

As a devout reader of my favorite magazine, Life Extension, an informative article by David Hoffnung focused on the role of a molecular component of inflammation formally referred to as nuclear factor-kappaB, however, we can call it NF-kB.

NF-kB and Breast Cancer

NF-kb consists of a protein that stimulates inflammatory genes that create inflammation. As a result, a team of researchers has found that a cascade of inflammatory events occurs to stimulate cancer growth in breast tissue that will readily metastasize and are quite prolific. Researchers have been able to find this process occuring not only in the breast cancer realm, but in a wide array of cancers across the board.

NF-kB's Activation

The activation of Nf-kB isn't as complex as you may think. In the Life Extension article reference is made to the stimulating factors of NF-kB. These consist of various things that include tobacco, obesity, radiation, infections, toxins and stress. These circumstances and substances play a key role in creating an environment conducive to the cancer development of many types due to the inflammation they cause. Once cancer begins to develop or early "parent cells" start, NF-kB increases and gains more momentum which contributing to it's invasive ability.

Natural Anti-Inflammatory Remedies

Anti-oxidants of various types are key to preventing the inflammatory process before it begins. There are estimations that up to 90 % of cancers could be avoided with diet and lifestyle changes. The molecular structure of phytochemicals that are found in fruits, vegetables and a number of spices. Some of these are listed below along with the types of inflammation they can help to prevent.

Milk Thistle- Assists in the prevention of prostate cancer cell death by reducing NF-kB's presence in the nucleus of cells.

Lycopene- Also stops the inflammation in prostate cells by decreasing NF-kB but in a different way than does milk thistle.

Vitamin E- Forever known as a potent antioxidant, this nutrient downsizes the NF-kB in tumor cells within the pancreas.

Turmeric- A powerful natural anti-inflammatory spice that has been known for centuries to decrease the inflammation process. This spice holds huge nutritional value in particular because of it's ability to thwart inflammation at 3 different stages, initiation, progression and promotion that contribute to cancer cells.

The Life Extension article goes on to include a number of other natural options to decrease and prevent inflammation that include green tea, omega 3 fatty acids, isoflavones, and more.

Source: November 2011 issue of Life Extension