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Vitamins for Cancer Patients

Winning the fight against cancer is no easy task. Many times the treatments patients are exposed to bring about side effects that are nearly as debilitating as the disease. What we put into our bodies in the form of food and vitamins can be equally important in preventing and treating cancer as the conventional treatments available.

  1. COQ10

    • COQ10 is a powerful anti-oxidant that has been beneficial in the fight against cancer. It helps raise the energy levels of the body and protects the immune system. COQ10 actually aids conventional cancer treatments making them more effective. It helps the body's own immune system attack existing cancer cells, which reduce the risk of new growth and spreading. It is currently used extensively in Japan for treating cancer.

    Vitamin D

    • Vitamin D is thought to significantly reduce a person's risk of cancer. Vitamin D activates proteins in the body that can suppress tumor growth. It prohibits new blood cells from developing out of existing blood cells which limit the blood supply to tumors. Vitamin D also increased the body's ability to destroy mutated cells. Vitamin D can be effective in fighting more than 16 types of cancer, however according to Gale Maleskey, registered dietitian and author for stop aging now.com, and between 40 percent to 70 percent of Americans are thought to have lower than needed levels of Vitamin D.

    Omega 3

    • Omega 3 found in fish oil has numerous cancer-fighting properties. It stabilizes the immune system while encouraging damaged cells to die. Omega 3 also prevents the growth of cancerous blood vessels and helps prohibit the spread of cancer throughout the body.

    Vitamin C

    • Vitamin C has numerous health benefits in addition to its cancer fighting properties. Vitamin C helps boost the immune system, which is important for a patient under going chemotherapy. Vitamin C is also a powerful anti-oxidant than can inhibit the growth of tumors by limiting the supply of oxygen to them. According to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University citamin C reduced the presence of cancer in mice under certain conditions. They did warn that this was a preliminary finding and taking huge quantities of vitamin C or other anti-oxidants in hopes of curing cancer was not a wise thing to do. However the findings do produce a possible link between vitamin C and treating cancer.

    Beta Glucan

    • Beta Glucan is actually a chain of sugar molecules that can help bolster the immune system. It is found in bakers yeast, Shitake and Maitake mushrooms. Beta glucan has the ability to find cancer cells and stick to them. This is significant in that it helps the immune system identify and destroy them. Beta glucan also works well with other traditional cancer treatments.

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