Diet and Cancer page 6

Red wine

We recommend that adults drink 1-2 glasses of red wine each day. If you don't finish a bottle of wine, make sure to put the cork back in and to store it in the refrigerator. Resveratrol dissipates very quickly from opened bottles of wine left at room temperature, but it lasts several days if the bottle is corked and refrigerated.

Resveratrol is also available as a supplement for those of you not inclined to drink red wine on a daily basis. A glass of red wine contains about 640 mcg (micrograms, not milligrams) of resveratrol. So if you are going to take supplements, make sure you are taking between 650-1,300 mcg each day.

Alcohol is an addictive substance as most of us know, so drink responsibly. Do not drink alcohol if you have an addictive personality or if you have had alcohol problems in the past.

Pycnogenol® and grape seed extract

Since it is difficult to eat enough grape seeds each day or make tea out of pine tree bark, we definitely recommend supplements for this very important substance. We recommend grape seed extract over Pycnogenol because it is cheaper and because it has a higher concentration of the protective bioflavonoid. Most people should take 100 mg per day.

Curry and curcumin

There are two easy ways to obtain your curcumin requirements: one is eating foods with curry, and the other is taking supplements. Either way is good, but, as usual, getting it directly from the natural dietary source is the best idea. Curcumin is not toxic even in extremely high doses. Since most of us will find it impractical to eat curry every day, you might want to take a supplement. We recommend 600 mg per day.

Berries and ellagic acid

We highly recommend that one of your daily servings of fruits and vegetables be berries of some kind. The best kind are raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. There are ellagic acid supplements on the market, but we think eating a bowl of berries a day is the better option. Berries are usually sweet, which makes them an ideal dessert. Make sure you do not add sugar to your berries. If you decide to take supplements, a good dose would be 400-800 mg each day.

Aspirin & ibuprofen

Take one aspirin or 200 mg ibuprofen tablet every other day if you are under 50, and one every day if you are over 50.

Garlic and other allium plants

You should work garlic, onions, chives, leeks, and scallions into your diet. They will add another dimension of taste to your food. If you don't like their taste or your breath after eating them, there are many garlic supplements to choose from. If you don't like the taste of the supplements, deodorized garlic supplements are available. Anywhere from 1,000-4,000 mg would be a beneficial dose.

Mushrooms

You should incorporate shiitake and maitake mushrooms into your meals. They make great appetizers, are excellent side-dishes, or can be used as ingredients in different dishes. Many supermarkets and specialty food stores carry them.

Quercetin and Apples

You've heard it a million times: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". Believe it and practice it. Besides apples, you should eat other foods that contain quercetin such as allium plants and citrus fruits, and you should drink red wine and green tea. If you are not following a cancer-preventive diet, you should probably take a quercetin supplement in the range of 500-1,000 mg each day.