QUEBEC (PasseportSanté.net) August 19, 2005 – The latency period of cancer being 10 years to 40 years, it is essential to focus on prevention. And what are the most formidable weapons, and at the same time the simplest and most accessible, to counter the appearance of cancer? Fruits and vegetables.
This is the message launched by Dr. Richard Béliveau, oncologist at Sainte-Justine Hospital.1, during FAV Health 2005, an international symposium on the health effects of fruits and vegetables, which was held from August 17 to 20 in Quebec2. This event, which brought together 150 speakers and participants from many countries, opened with a fascinating lecture by Dr. Béliveau in front of more than 400 people from the general public.
“Not many people know that the latency phase of cancers is very long,” he said. Microtumors appear spontaneously in humans, but they remain undetectable because they are tiny – 1,000 times smaller than a pinhead. “
To illustrate this point, Dr. Béliveau mentioned a study carried out on the results of autopsies made on people who died of a cause other than cancer. “These autopsies revealed that one third of the women had breast cancer, one third of the men had prostate cancer, and 98% of the people had thyroid adenomas. However, in the vast majority of these people, no cancer had been diagnosed. “, He explained.
A third of cancers are caused by a poor diet, recalled Dr. Béliveau. “However, by adopting a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, we create an environment hostile to these microtumors, which prevents them from turning into macrotumors,” he said.
The consumption of good quantities of fruits and vegetables therefore allows a balance between activators and inhibitors of cancer in our body. “It is estimated that a person who eats six to ten servings of fruits and vegetables per day consumes 2 g to 4 g of beneficial phytochemicals. It’s huge! This is the equivalent of what is given in chemotherapy to some patients. The difference is that these molecules, rather than being synthesized in the laboratories of the pharmaceutical industry, are synthesized by plant cells, ”said the researcher, who plans to map the anticancer potential of the fruits and vegetables. Interestingly, plants make these anticancer molecules to defend against insects and viruses.
Fruits and vegetables are useful for the prevention, but also for the treatment of cancer. Indeed, according to him, they would increase the action of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
Dr. Béliveau concluded by noting that, for the first time in human history, according to a WHO estimate, the current generation risks having a lower life expectancy than the one before it. But, at the same time, he adds that we must not give up. “Go into ‘nutra-prevention’. Count your portions of fruits and vegetables and eat at least five a day, ideally eight to ten. There is a possibility of effective intervention against cancer at hand by changing our lifestyle, ”he insisted, before being warmly applauded by the audience.
In Quebec, cancer is now the leading cause of death, ahead of cardiovascular disease.
Françoise Ruby – PasseportSanté.net
1. Dr. Béliveau is also director of the molecular biology laboratory at the Charles-Bruneau Cancer Center at Sainte-Justine Hospital. Full professor of biochemistry at UQAM, he is also the author of a book entitled Foods for cancer (Éditions du Trécarré), which will be published at the end of August.
2. This symposium also included a section devoted to horticultural techniques aimed at increasing the content of beneficial phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables.
