Cancer Relief Supplements
The current number of new cancer cases in the U.S. is 439.2 per 100,000 adults. More than 1/3 of all people in the U.S. will get cancer at least once in their life. In addition, we spend $147.3B per year dealing with this plague.1 So what can you do? First of all, there is no guarantee for avoiding it, but there are many things you can do, and not do, to lower your risk. One risk reducing factor is what you put in your body. Of course you should eat a healthy diet, but there are many nutrients that can be beneficial that you will probably not get enough of from food alone.2 The following are 3 heavy-weight cancer preventing and/or cancer fighting supplements. Of course, I can’t guarantee that anything will cure you, but there is strong evidence for them to at least provide some cancer relief.
Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) for Cancer Relief
There are a million antioxidants out there, all of which may reduce your cancer risk. They do this by neutralizing damaging free radicals which can cause cancer and other diseases. 3 You consume some antioxidants every day, especially in fruits and vegetables, but they all differ. Some dissolve in and thus are only effective in water. Others only in fat. Thus, few antioxidants do this job in both watery AND fatty areas of your body. ALA is one of these exceptions, which makes it one of the best cancer fighting supplements. Since it neutralizes free radicals, it prevents cancer-causing damage to cells to occur in the first place. Furthermore, it has been shown to trick cancer cells into actually killing themselves. 4 That’s sort of the definition of cancer relief!
Vitamin D; Especially for Women
You may know vitamin D as the sunshine vitamin because your skin makes it when it comes in contact with rays from the sun. What you may not know is the widespread deficiency of vitamin D. In fact, having too little vitamin D has strong ties to colon, breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. And so, vitamin D is one of the most significant cancer fighting vitamins. Also, because vitamin D helps calcium absorb properly, a lack of this vitamin is also harmful to your bones.4 Not surprisingly, vitamin D and calcium together has been shown to reduce a woman’s risk for all types of cancer.5 In any case, vitamin D is involved in a multitude of biochemical processes in the body. Thus not having plenty in your diet can spell disaster for your health even if it doesn’t result in cancer.6
Shark Cartilage May Starve Cancer
Although you don’t hear about this one much anymore, it might be the best of the cancer fighting supplements out there. Since sharks don’t get cancer, if you take shark cartilage, you won’t either, right? In fact, some sharks do get cancer, it is just very uncommon.7 However, it is clear that shark cartilage works as an anti-angiogenic, meaning it prevents the formation of new blood vessels.8 Of course, cancer cells need blood, and lots of it. Shark cartilage is thus thought to prevent cancer cells from getting enough blood and therefore dying.
There is much controversy surrounding shark cartilage and so you will have to decide for yourself if it is worth taking. Some experts claim it is the Holy Grail of cancer treatment while others call it nothing more than pseudoscience.6,8 Nevertheless, there are many survivors who attribute it to cancer relief and recovery.
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