23 Cancer Stem Cell Killing Foods Smarter Than Chemo and Radiation

An important scientific review identifies 23 of the top foods and herbs which kill the cancer stem cells at the root cause of cancer malignancy

There are thousands of natural compounds that have been studied with demonstrable anti-cancer activity, but only a small subset of these have been proven to target and kill the cancer stem cells which lie at the root of cancer malignancy. Turmeric, for instance, we have featured a number of times for this “smart kill” property of targeting just the heart of cancerous tumors. More recently, ginger has been found in pre-clinical research to contain a compound up to 10,000 times more effective than the chemotherapy drug Taxol at killing breast cancer stem cells. Even common food like blueberry have special cancer killing properties, as discussed in a previous article: Research: Radiotherapy Causes Cancer, Blueberry Kills It.

A powerful study published in the journal Anticancer Research titled, “Natural Products That Target Cancer Stem Cells,” has made our job much easier of identifying this special category of cancer killers by reviewing the extant literature on the topic and listing the top 25 substances in this category. They are listed here below, along with some of their commonly recognizable dietary sources:

1. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) – Green Tea
2. 6-Gingerol – Ginger
3. β-Carotene – Carrot, Leafy Greens
4. Baicalein – Chinese Skullcap
5. Curcumin – Turmeric
6. Delphinidin – Blueberry, raspberrry
7. Flavonoids (Genistein) – Soy, red clover, coffee
8. Guggulsterone – Commiphora (myrrh tree)
9. Isothiocyanates – Cruciferous vegetables
10. Linalool – Mint
11. Lycopene – Grapefruit, tomato
12. Parthenolide – Feverfew
13. Perylill alcohol – Mint, cherry, lavender
14. Piperine – Black pepper
15. Platycodon saponin – Platycodon grandiflorum
16. Psoralidin – Psoralea corylilyfolia
17. Quercetin – Capers, onion
18. Resveratrol – Grapes, plums, berries
19. Salinomycin – Streptomyces albus
20. Silibinin – Milk Thistle
21. Ursolic acid – Thyme, basil, oregano
22. Vitamin D3 – Fish, egg yolk, beef, cod liver oil
23. Withaferin A – Withania somnifera (ashwaganda)

Why Are These Substances so Important?

The primary reason why conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy have failed to produce any significant improvements in cancer survival rates is because cancer stem cells are resistant to these interventions. In fact, chemotherapy and especially radiation are both capable of increasing the number and virulence of these cells in a tumor, while at the same time having the well known side effect of further damaging the patient’s immune system.

By Sayer Ji

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