The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life (16 page)

As I describe in my book
Super Immunity
, G-BOMBS (Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, and Seeds) are the foods with the most powerful immune-boosting and anticancer effects. These foods help to prevent the cancerous transformation of normal cells and keep the body armed and ready to attack any precancerous or cancerous cells that may arise.

G: Greens

All greens, even lettuce, have powerful antioxidant and anticancer effects.
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Green vegetables contain compounds with anticancer substances that protect blood vessels; they also promote healthy vision and reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
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Lettuce contains a number of antioxidant phytochemicals, including beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C, caffeic acid, quercetin, and anthocyanins
¹³
—all of which contribute to observed decreases in the risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular disease. In other words, eating a huge salad as your main dish at least once a day is good for your health.

Meta-analyses of observational studies by the American Institute for Cancer Research have found that consumption of raw vegetables had dose-dependent protective effects against oral and esophageal cancers. In similar analyses, both salad greens and raw vegetables decreased the risk of stomach cancer. A daily 50-gram serving of salad greens (about 2 cups), for instance, was estimated to produce a 57 percent reduction in risk.
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Several observational studies have also reported a reduced risk of breast cancer with the increased consumption of raw vegetables.
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The anticancer benefits are more powerful and consistent for raw compared with cooked vegetables in the studies.

Other studies corroborate that the consumption of salads and raw vegetables reduced the risk of cancers and cardiovascular disease. A high consumption was linked to a 41 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack and a 50 percent reduced risk of stroke.
¹⁶

Not only does eating lettuce and other raw salad vegetables protect your health; it also helps you lose and control your weight. When women were given salads as a first course, or with a main course, they ate fewer calories during the rest of the meal.
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B: Beans

Beans (plus lentils and other legumes) act as anti-diabetes and weight-loss foods because the body digests them slowly, which stabilizes blood sugar levels, reducing hunger and caloric drive and helping to prevent food cravings.
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Beans are unique foods because of their very high levels of fiber and resistant starch—that is, carbohydrates that aren’t broken down by digestive enzymes. The fiber and resistant starch in beans reduce the total number of calories absorbed from beans (about a third of the carbohydrate calories contained in beans may not get absorbed, but more studies are needed to accurately quantify this amount).
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I have taught for years that beans are nutritionally superior to whole grains and should be the preferred starch source for diabetics; I often call my dietary recommendations for diabetics “the greens and
beans diet.” A new study published by the research group of Dr. David Jenkins, who originally developed the concept of the glycemic index (discussed more in the next chapter), has confirmed the advantages of beans over whole grains, especially for diabetics and people trying to lose weight.
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When diabetics switch from white flour, sugar, and white rice to whole grains in their diet, they experience significant health benefits. Plus, when they switch from white potatoes to whole grains, they experience significant glycemic and other benefits, since whole grains have a comparatively lower glycemic index and more fiber than white potatoes.
²¹
But when diabetics rely on beans as their primary carbohydrate source instead of whole grains, they see even
more
benefits, in lower blood glucose levels—dramatic evidence of the nutritional superiority of beans as a carbohydrate source. In Jenkins’s study, the group eating more beans and fewer whole grains also saw more of a reduction in cholesterol levels. Beans are rich in minerals and fiber, especially soluble fiber, and low in glycemic load—characteristics that have blood pressure–lowering effects.
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People who eat more beans tend to have lower blood pressure in addition to higher levels of fiber and minerals, lower body weight, and a smaller waist circumference.
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The decrease in blood pressure in the bean group significantly improved their calculated Framingham risk score, an estimate of heart disease risk over the following ten years. This is an extremely important point, since most diabetics die of heart disease or stroke.

Beans also have considerable anticancer effects. The resistant starches in beans are converted by healthy gut bacteria into fatty acids that help to prevent colon cancer. Eating beans, peas, or lentils more than twice a week has been found to decrease colon cancer risk by 50 percent.
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Beans not only protect the colon against cancer, but a high bean intake is also associated with a decreased risk of esophageal, stomach, kidney, and breast cancers.
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Plus, a recent analysis of ten scientific studies has shown that the higher your fiber intake, the lower your risk of breast cancer.
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O: Onions

The
Allium
genus of vegetables includes onions, garlic, leeks, chives, shallots, and scallions. They not only add great flavor to meals, they have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular and immune systems, as well as anti-diabetic and anticancer effects.
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These vegetables are known for their characteristic (and eye-irritating) organosulfur compounds, which slow tumor growth and kill cancer cells. Eating onions and garlic frequently is associated with a reduced risk of cancers of the digestive tract. These vegetables also contain high concentrations of anti-inflammatory flavonoid antioxidants that contribute to their anticancer properties.
²⁸

Epidemiological studies have found that increased consumption of allium vegetables is associated with a decreased risk of several cancers. For example, one large European study found striking risk reductions in oral, esophageal, colorectal, laryngeal, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers in the participants who consumed the greatest quantities of onions or garlic—an amazing 55 to 85 percent reduction!
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Similar to the myrosinase enzyme in cruciferous vegetables, the alliinase enzyme in allium vegetables catalyzes the reaction that makes cancer-fighting organosulfur compounds, which are produced when the cell walls of the vegetables are broken down by chopping, crushing, or chewing.

In scientific studies, organosulfur compounds have been shown to prevent the development of cancers by detoxifying carcinogens and halting cancer cell growth. These garlic and onion phytochemicals are also antiangiogenic, which means that they can prevent tumors from obtaining the blood supply needed to fuel their growth. Similarly, in studies of breast cancer cells, garlic and onion phytochemicals caused cell death or halted cell division, which prevents the cancer cells from multiplying.
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Onions, garlic, and their family members also contain flavonoids and phenols. White onions aren’t as rich in these antioxidant
compounds as yellow and red onions, but shallots are especially high in polyphenol levels. Red onions are particularly rich in quercetin and flavonoid antioxidant molecules called anthocyanins (also abundant in berries). Quercetin can contribute to preventing damaged cells from advancing to cancer and also have anti-inflammatory effects that may contribute to cancer prevention.
³¹

Onions and the other vegetables of the
Allium
genus can be added to any and every vegetable dish for great flavor and anticancer benefits. Remember: They must be eaten raw and chewed well or chopped finely before cooking to initiate the chemical reaction that forms the protective sulfur compounds.

M: Mushrooms

Mushrooms are valuable in many ways. They are vital in the ecosystem of our planet as a natural recycler, breaking down fallen trees into simpler compounds, for instance. They also help detoxify environments contaminated with wastes that we humans produce. And they are one of the most important human foods on the planet. Both dried and cooked mushrooms add unique flavors and textures to vegetable and bean dishes and soups.

Mushrooms have long been regarded around the world as a gourmet cuisine, but now they are finally being recognized as an essential food for health, with tremendous powers to enhance our immune system function. Recently, a number of antitumor agents have been identified in various mushrooms with numerous mechanisms of action. Mushrooms’ specialized lectins (called antigen-binding lectins) can recognize and bind to abnormal cells and cancer cells, labeling the cell for destruction by the immune system, while its compounds also prevent abnormal cells from dividing and replicating.
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Mushroom phytochemicals also enhance the activity of natural killer cells, that is, specialized immune cells that attack and destroy virus-infected and cancerous cells.
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I
N
T
HEIR
O
WN
W
ORDS

Julie’s life was a revolving door of doctor’s visits and antibiotics. She discovered that more pharmaceuticals aren’t the solution to health problems; nutrient-dense eating is
.

BEFORE:
More than 225 pounds

AFTER:
150 pounds

My journey to health started fourteen months ago. I was lying on the couch with my three-year-old. Both of us were sick—again. He had a double ear infection, and I had sinusitis and pneumonia. I was on my fifth course of antibiotics in four months. I had been suffering with a headache for months at that point, and my migraine medications had stopped working. I had to go to the doctor to get shots for my migraines, and when they didn’t work, I had to go to the urgent care clinic to get stronger shots. I was missing work because of headaches. It was awful.

My total cholesterol was just under 200, and the last time I had seen my doctor, he had told me that I needed to start watching my blood pressure because it was high too. My polycystic ovary syndrome was out of control. I was taking 300 milligrams of progesterone, but the pain was still horrible.

I knew I needed to make a change, but I had tried all kinds of diets, with no success. I felt hopeless. One life-changing day, I happened to hear Dr. Fuhrman on television speak about a different kind of food pyramid and a way to nourish my body and lose weight at the same time. I was inspired. I committed to following the nutritarian diet style for six weeks. I figured what did I have to lose? Six weeks later I had lost 22 pounds.

I now weigh 150 pounds. And I haven’t had a single migraine headache. My polycystic ovary syndrome has disappeared. I don’t even get premenstrual syndrome anymore! I don’t get sick like I did before either. My husband says he isn’t afraid I’m going to die in my sleep, like he used to be because I snored so much and would stop breathing. I have energy. I can play with my kids. I’m glad to say I’m off all of my medications—progesterone gone! Allegra, gone! Albuterol, gone! Flonase, gone! Sudafed, gone! All migraine medications, gone!

In one recent Chinese study, women who ate at least 10 grams of fresh mushrooms each day (roughly one button mushroom) decreased their risk of breast cancer by 64 percent.
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Plus, mushrooms contain aromatase inhibitors, compounds that can block the production of estrogen. Even the most commonly eaten mushrooms—white, cremini, and portobello—have high antiaromatase activity.
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Mushrooms also contain powerful angiogenesis inhibitors.
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All types of mushrooms have a wide variety of anticancer properties, and mushroom phytochemicals have shown anticancer effects against stomach, colorectal, and prostate cancers as well.
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Because angiogenesis is also required for the growth of fat cells, mushrooms oppose fat deposition on the body while simultaneously working against the growth of cancer cells.