23. Synergy

Glutton-Free: Cultivating a Theology of Enough

Part 23: Synergy

Many anticancer foods, like tomato and broccoli or turmeric and black pepper, work better in combination than either does alone. 

Researchers at the University College of Medical Sciences in New Delhi have studied the effect of combinations of food, known as synergy, in protecting the body from cancer. When exposed to a carcinogen, 100% of mice developed breast cancer unless they were given certain healthy foods. The four groups of food tested were:

1. Selenium (found in organically grown cereals and vegetables)
2. Magnesium (found in spinach, nuts, whole-grain cereals)
3. Vitamin C (found especially in citrus fruit, green vegetables, cabbage, strawberries)
4. Vitamin A (found in all bright-colored fruits and vegetables)

If a mouse ate food from one of these groups, only 50% developed a tumor; when from two groups, only 33%. If three groups were combined, only 1/5 developed cancer and when food from all four groups were combined, only 1/10. 

“As the statistics show, simply by consuming a combination of ingredients found in common foods, these mice went from a 100 percent risk of developing cancer to a 90 percent chance of escaping it.” (Servan-Schreiber, Loc 2364-2377).

"As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."