Herbals in Cancer Therapy
When God created all forms of plant life, He provided over 20,000 different chemical compounds to assist in their growth and to protect them from harm. These compounds, called “bioflavonoids” or “flavonoids,” support the photosynthesis process and guard the plants from the sun’s radiation and other dangers. Bioflavonoids are widely distributed in all plant life producing bright color pigmentation while protecting the plant cells from everything from microbes to insects. They are scavengers of free radical cells that are precursors to cancer cells. Because the body does not produce bioflavonoids, they must be supplied through the diet or supplementation.
The greatest concentrations of bioflavonoids are found in deep, dark colored vegetables and fruits. One type of bioflavonoid is prevalent in black grapes, beets, red onions, and most berries. Another type is in cranberries and raspberries. Several types are present in kale, spinach, apples, green tea, black tea, green beans, and citrus fruits. The life-supporting and protective qualities of bioflavonoids in plants have been found, through the ages, to produce the same qualities in animals. In laboratory experiments, animals with implanted tumors lived longer when given bioflavonoids from grape rinds. Bioflavonoids administered in the diet of rats helped to reduce DNA damage from certain carcinogens. In other studies, various bioflavonoids have produced striking reductions in animal cancers, often up to almost complete cessation of tumor growth.
It is a very small step in deductive reasoning to conclude that the bioflavonoids created to energize and protect plants are also created to benefit animals, particularly humans, through nutritional intake. From ancient civilizations up to recent generations, people have relied on selected plants with healing properties to cure all kinds of ailments and diseases. The typical diets of previous generations included much more bioflavonoid-rich plant content than today’s diets. This may contribute to cancer’s free reign to do damage to our bodies in modern times. Once cancer attacks, the lack of sufficient bioflavonoids in our system may be frustrating our body’s ability to fight it. What if the principal reason that there is so much more cancer today than in previous centuries has to do with our avoidance of bioflavonoids? What if the cancers that attacked previous generations were in large measure contained by diets rich in bioflavonoids? How much decisive research is being done to determine how cancer patients could benefit from bioflavonoids? The answer to the last question is obviously almost none. That is why integrative oncologists who practice and promote further research into this area of cancer therapy are so critical to a new strategy for the war on cancer.
Help us find more integrative oncologists by listing those you know in an email to: info@cancerchoices.org.