Cellular Health

Broccoli and Cancer: The Low-Down on Why You Should Eat Your Veggies

Most people remember the “good old days” when parents made kids clean their plates, which included finishing their veggies. Unfortunately, many give up these healthy habits when they grow up and can make their own dietary decisions. This can have a huge negative health impact, as vegetables are a vital part of a healthy diet. In fact, a new study has found a link between broccoli and cancer that should have us reaching for our veggies at every meal rather than pushing them around the plate.

Broccoli: An Underrated Superfood

Like all cruciferous vegetables, broccoli is full of nutrients. Chock full of vitamin K, folic acid, calcium and vitamin C, this leafy green packs a huge nutritional punch. These vitamins act as needed cofactors for the many cell reactions necessary in metabolism. In addition, broccoli has large amounts of fiber, which can prevent high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and a variety of gastrointestinal issues. In addition, broccoli is one of the more affordable healthy foods in the supermarket. There is really no reason to say no to a plate of this vegetable, but now there is even more reason to say yes… and even reach for a second helping.

Broccoli and Cancer Risk

According to a new study, broccoli may help prevent Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), which is a precursor to liver cancer. In addition, mice who eat broccoli who are then exposed to carcinogens known to affect the liver have a lower rate of cancer, as well as lower stage cancer when they do get it. This suggests that broccoli may be a powerful agent in preventing liver cancer. In addition, a separate study has found that taking supplements that include compounds from broccoli sprouts can help reduce the risk of oral cancer. More research is currently underway to investigate whether it can prevent other kinds of head and neck cancer.

How Can a Vegetable Prevent Cancer?

Broccoli has a slight bitter taste due to high levels of a compound known as sulforaphane. Sulforaphane belongs to the glucosinolate class of phytonutrients and has been linked to protecting against cancers of all kinds. It is believed to be a kind of chemoprevention, which is a term for compounds that may help to prevent cancer before it even starts. While certain medications such as tamoxifen are used to prevent cancer in people who are high risk, some foods can be used to gain the same benefits. In addition, broccoli appears to kill cancer cells once they have formed, presenting potential as an adjunctive treatment to traditional medical treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy.

Vegetables: An Essential Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

With cancer rates increasing every decade, many researchers are turning their eye toward the changing Western diet. We are only just beginning to discover the healthy effects of many foods. Eating a varied diet with plenty of phytonutrient-rich vegetables may be the best thing that people do to stay healthy and lower their risk of developing deadly diseases. There may be many phytonutrients and disease-preventing compounds in fruits and vegetables that have yet to be discovered. As with all disease, prevention is the best cure.

Eating more vegetables is always a healthy lifestyle choice, helping you to achieve a healthy weight and get the nutrients that you need to thrive. With new research indicating a link between broccoli and cancer prevention, there is no good reason not to eat your greens.

Chronobiology of the Skin: The 24-Hour Cycle of Your Largest Organ

Feb 27 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

All life on earth and each organ in our body follow circadian rhythms that revolve around the 24-hour light/dark cycle. Scientists are discovering more and more about the unique circadian rhythm of the skin.

You are probably not aware that your skin follows its own circadian rhythm, but this cycle determines every action of your skin cells from the growth of new tissue to damage repair. Understanding the chronobiology of the skin can help you to better take care of this important organ, as well as also protect against some of the damage that occurs with aging.

The 24-Hour Cycle of Skin Cells

During the day, your skin is exposed to a variety of damaging elements from the environment. Radiation from normal sunlight can cause the formation of free radicals, and even DNA damage. The wind, pollution and other harsh environmental factors also damage delicate skin cells. Our skin would quickly become aged and dysfunctional if we didn’t have cell cycles that allow for repair and rejuvenation.

Most of the repair and growth of our skin cells occurs at night. This makes sense because nighttime is when skin is least likely to be exposed to damaging environmental stressors. Throughout most of human history, people spent the night asleep in dark areas where further damage was unlikely to occur. At night, DNA repair agents begin fixing the DNA damage from the day, while toxic elements and waste products are removed. Cells begin to replicate, undergoing mitosis to generate new cells to replace those that are dead or damaged. Blood and lymph flow to the skin also increases at this time so cells have the nutrient supply that they need to complete these essential processes. Skin cells are most susceptible to damage when they are actively repairing themselves.

When the Chronobiology of the Skin Is Disturbed

When the natural circadian rhythm of the skin is disturbed, your skin cannot recover as effectively from daytime damage. Waste products can build up and cause further damage to the skin cells. New cells are not made as rapidly, giving skin a duller and older appearance. If DNA repair does not occur, the mutations and damage over time can lead to health concerns like skin cancer. The negative effects gradually build up over time, leading to noticeable damage over a lifetime. It does not take a lot to disturb the circadian rhythm of skin cells; exposure to elements and pollutants at night or simply not getting adequate sleep can interfere with these vital processes.

Preventing Aging by Working With Internal Clocks

Understanding the chronobiology of your skin can allow you to prevent damage and also to develop skincare routines that complement your internal clock. Dermatologists recommend that people use external skin products that prevent damage during the day, such as sunscreen and gentle moisturizers. At night, external skin products that assist in damage repair, such as retinol and alpha and beta hydroxy acids, will have more effects. In addition, certain lifestyle changes and the addition of a chronobiology-based dietary supplement that promotes skin health can help your skin to rejuvenate itself. Getting high-quality sleep at night consistently allows more stable circadian rhythms. Preventing nighttime exposure to toxins, such as cigarette smoke and weather, protects skin at a time when it is most prone to damage.

Our skin is our largest organ, protecting our bodies from the elements and performing essential activities such as synthesizing vitamins. Understanding the chronobiology of the skin will allow people to enjoy a healthier, more youthful appearance and to prevent health problems that are caused by accumulated damage.

Recent Discoveries Reveal New Connections Between Melatonin and Cancer

Feb 05 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Scientists have long been aware of the link between melatonin and a healthy sleep-wake cycle. New evidence reveals previously unknown connections between melatonin and cancer.

Many people use melatonin as a supplement to get better quality sleep and to treat circadian disorders such as jet lag. Several new studies suggest that melatonin also may have an impact in relation to cancer treatment. Not only does it appear to improve response to chemotherapy, but the presence of melatonin may also promote healthy cell growth.

A Possible Link Between Melatonin and Cancer

A study performed in Iceland looked at levels of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin in the urine of men with and without prostate cancer. 6-sulfatoxymelatonin is a metabolite of melatonin, so its presence in urine is a rough indicator of blood melatonin levels. Men with low levels of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin were more likely to report sleep issues such as problems falling or staying asleep. They also were more likely to develop cancer of the prostate gland. In fact, those with higher-than-normal levels of this melatonin metabolite were 75 percent less likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

New Hope for Cancer Treatment?

This study is not the only one pointing to a relationship between low melatonin levels and potential cancer risk. Several other studies have linked higher melatonin levels with lower cancer risk. In addition, melatonin has been found to dramatically improve the effects of chemotherapy.

How can a hormone associated with sleep have such a huge effect when it comes to cancer? Melatonin and cancer appear to be linked, but how? Melatonin is one of the strongest antioxidants produced by the human body. Not only can it promote healthy cell growth, but studies show that patients who take melatonin with their chemotherapy have a higher rate of tumor response and a higher rate of one year survival, even in tumors previously deemed untreatable.

How Melatonin Helps

Scientists have identified a few mechanisms behind melatonin’s effects. First, it appears to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy as well as its symptoms, which allows patients to complete their treatments at a higher rate. Melatonin’s effects on sleep allow patients to get higher-quality rest, which leaves them physically stronger and healthier. There is also evidence that melatonin also may more directly promote healthy cell growth, but the mechanism of this effect is not currently known. Some researchers believe that melatonin may lower levels of linoleic acid, which increases the growth of some cancers.

Melatonin and Healthy Cell Growth

Doctors and scientists remain unsure about the effects of melatonin in relation to cancer prevention. It is important to talk to your health care provider whenever you add a new supplement or medication to your regimen. However, melatonin has very low toxicity and almost no side effects when taken in a moderate dose, so many health care providers are supportive of its use as a supplement.

While more research will be needed to determine the exact nature of the link between melatonin and cancer, information gathered from studies done to date is very promising. Melatonin appears to be a beneficial adjunct in the treatment of a variety of cancers, helping patients sleep better and feel healthier during therapies. These new discoveries may change the way doctors approach the treatment of cancer while improving survival and quality of life for people who struggle with disease.