example, found in broccoli, that negates nitrogen com-
pounds in cooked foods such as meats.There are other triggers of cancer, from radiation and chronic
infections to synthetic hormones. But there remains the question of
which came first, or what part of the process do we blame. All these
examples can cause excess free radicals and chronic inflammation.
Let’s look at a real example of this process. Certain pesticides and
chlorine compounds can disrupt the body’s normal hormone balance.
This imbalance can promote a cancer-causing process to begin in hor-
mone-dependent areas such as the breast and prostate. The most suc-
cessful way to prevent these cancers, for example, is to avoid expo-
sure to the chemical triggers — in this example, by avoiding as much
as possible pesticides and chlorine compounds.
In addition, keeping body fat to normal levels keeps higher
amounts of these chemicals out of the body, and excess body fat fur-
ther increases the chance of more serious hormone imbalance. And,
providing the body with sufficient nutrients to stop or slow the
process of cancer in the breast and prostate itself, for example, is
another key. It’s important to look at the earliest stage of cancer and
intervene at that point, but also consider other ways to slow or stop
the process.
To better understand these ideas, it’s helpful to know how cancer
evolves, from onset to metastases.
Three Phases of Cancer
In most cases, regardless of what triggers cancer, there are three phas-
es. In cancer’s initiation phase, a normal cell is changed to an altered
cell through a process called mutation. Early in this first phase, for
example, free radicals can outweigh antioxidants, triggering DNA
alterations. It is in this initiation phase that a person may have the
most control over the process through food and nutrition.
The next step is the proliferation phase, in which the cancer cells
rapidly multiply, partly as a result of increased blood vessels that sup-
port such rapid cell growth. At this point, the affected area is referred
to as a tumor. Free radicals and group 2 eicosanoids promote tumor
growth. Antioxidants can impair tumor growth at this stage; balanc-
328 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH