How Brazil Nuts Can Beat Cancer
09 Oct
2004 Daily Mail
A HANDFUL of Brazil nuts a day can reduce the risk of eight
types of cancer by up to 76 per cent, scientists said
yesterday.
They are packed with the mineral selenium, which can help
prevent cancer of the liver, lung, stomach, prostate,
pancreas, brain, kidney and oesophagus by blocking the
formation of tumours.
Selenium also fights tumours once they appear, improving the
chances of survival.
Dr Margaret Rayman, of the University of Surrey, told the
British Association Festival of Science in Exeter that
people should aim for a daily intake of around 200
micrograms (mcg) of the mineral.
That cuts risk by between 46 per cent, in the case of lung
cancer, and 76 per cent, for prostate cancer, studies have
found.
A handful of Brazil nuts a day is enough. Other sources are
liver, kidney and shellfish.
People also get some selenium from the soil, through crops
such as wheat.
However, Britons get on average only 30mcg in their diet
today, half the level of the early 1970s. Dr Rayman said
this is partly because when we joined the forerunner of the
European Union, we changed from importing wheat from
selenium-rich Canada to European sources, where the soil
contains a lot less of the mineral.
She warned that taking more than 450mcg of selenium a day
can cause some toxic effects.
A medical conference in London heard how the spice turmeric,
which helps give curries their distinctive flavour and
colour, can help protect against leukaemia in children.
Scientists suspect some children-are born with a
predisposition to the blood cancer and that it is triggered
by environmental factors. Infections, viruses, radiation and
pesticides are suspected culprits.
Professor Moolky Nagabhushan, of the Loyola University
Medical Centre in Chicago, told the conference, organised by
the charity Children with Leukaemia, that studies suggest
turmeric and its colouring, curcumin, protect against these
'triggers'.
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