医药学专业英语

药学英语
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Table of Contents
Lesson 1 Pharmacy in China …………………………………………………Lesson 2 Vitamins ………………………………………………………………Lesson 3 Foods That Fight Cancer …………………………………………Lesson 4 Good Drugs Dangerous Doses
A growing threat to public and personal health …………………………Lesson 5 Green Pharmacy Herbal Medicine …………………………………Lesson 6 Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine …………………………….. Lesson 7 Natural Products ……………………………………………………
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LESSON ONE
TEXT
Pharmacy in China
The educational system was perhaps the first shock I encountered in China. The schools of pharmacy in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are operated by two different governmental agencies. The State Pharmaceutical Administration, an agency of the central government, operates two pharmaceutical universities that have 4000 and 4500 students respectively. These two schools, in Shenyang in Northeast China and in Nanjing in East China, exist to prepare industrial pharmacists for positions within the pharmaceutical industry.
In addition, another approximately 50 colleges of pharmacy throughout the various provinces of the PRC are operated by the Ministry of Public Health. There, colleges of pharmacy are almost equally divided between western medicine oriented schools1and those which teach future pharmacists the art and skills of Chinese herbal medicine. Most of the western medicine oriented schools are departments within large medical faculties where the traditional Chinese Medicine schools are sometimes found at medical faculties.
SIMILAR TO THE U.S.
The next surprise was that the curricula at the colleges of pharmacy in China were not so different from those encountered by pharmacy students in the U. S. In fact, the American student would probably be pleased to learn that the state board examination2prevalent here does not exist in China; rather, graduation and successful completion of studies enable one to become a fully qualified and registered pharmacy practitioner. Furthermore, recent graduates have more options in seeking employment than those who were usually assigned to an employment site based on existing needs of state-run pharmaceutical enterprises. The guided search for employment upon graduation is one of the major changes in China’s higher education, embraced by most college graduates.
Virtually all of the graduates of the two pharmaceutical universities operated by the State Pharmaceutical Administration are employed within the
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pharmaceutical industry.
Graduates of the other schools of pharmacy generally find employment in hospitals and clinics.
You are probably asking: “What about community pharmacy3?”Well, the answer is that people usually receive medical care in clinics at their place of employment, within various neighborhood health centers, or as outpatients at large hospitals. All of these sites employ pharmacists who dispense drugs. Therefore, it is not often that a patient needs to go to a community pharmacy shop to obtain medications.
EAST AND WEST
Most of the community pharmacies have two departments or two areas, and this is also the case in hospitals and clinics. On one side of the pharmacy we find something which very much resembles any pharmacy that we would see in the U. S. or in Western Europe; but on the other side of the room, or in the next room, is a strange sight - drawers and drawers of herbs and items such as dried portions of small animals, antlers, roots, and pieces of various other dried objects. These are compounded by specialists in traditional Chinese medicine; powders are made, for swallowing by patients.
It is easy for us to laugh at this latter type of therapy, but it retains its faithful followers and is considered to be equal in importance to the western drugs and western medicine practiced in China.
If one chooses to purchase a drug and does not feel the need to visit the physician at a clinic, one can go to the several community pharmacies which are located on the main shopping streets in downtown areas and ask for drugs. Virtually all drugs except narcotics and other scheduled substances4are legally available without a prescription. The patient may walk into the pharmacy and ask for ampicillin by name and be sold a small bottle containing 12, 16 or 24 capsules.
Or he may ask the pharmacist to recommend an antibiotic for a child with an infection, sore throat, etc.
While this is rather unusual in our American orientation, it was not a complete surprise to me, as I have seen Rx drugs5 being sold over-the-counter in many parts of the world. I admit, though, that I was curious about the potential for
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abuse. I was assured by numerous individuals that the Chinese population had better things to spend their money on than taking needless drugs, and that there was a minimal if not almost non-existent chemical dependency problem6.
SCOPE OF SPA
Something ought to be said about the State Pharmaceutical Administration (SPA) which was mentioned earlier. It is a combination of the Food and Drug Administration, the entire pharmaceutical industry, research laboratories, pilot factories7 and educational institutions-all rolled into one.
The Beijing-based SPA is a huge unit within the central government. SPA operates thousands of pharmaceutical factories and dictates production schedules8. It arranges contracts for raw materials and intermediate products9and also negotiates for the sale of finished dosage forms to the pharmacies and for export.
Other divisions maintain quality control and quality assurance while yet other divisions oversee SPA’s two massive pharmaceutical universities as well as their on campus pilot plants used for training and for the production of drugs for clinical trials.
The SPA also has a technology branch which conducts research into improving production techniques and evaluating new technology.
During the three-week visit, I gave about a dozen lectures. At many of them, questions about American pharmacy practice were asked. Perhaps the most difficult concept for my Chinese colleagues to grasp was that of Americans deciding individually to move to another part of the country - to quit their jobs, return to school, accept employment elsewhere, or whatever the reason might be. When I mentioned anything of this nature, I was deluged with questions which basically asked what would hap pen if one’s supervisor refused to grant permission to leave one’s job. This says something about the employment situation in the PRC. My audiences were stunned when I indicated that one need only give some notice if there is not a formal contract, as a courtesy, and to select freely another place of employment.
SPARTAN, BUT SIMILAR
Despite the rather spartan conditions found at most pharmacy operations in hospitals and clinics, the work was similar to what we do in that nearly all of the
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products were prefabricated at the factory, including most of the traditional remedies. The pharmacists generally dispensed already manufactured capsules, tablets or powders. Powders were seen more frequently than they are here, but the bulk of the medication was, as it is here, in tablet dosage forms.
Most of my Chinese colleagues were professionally well informed, reasonably happy with their jobs, and optimistic about the future.
Nearly all of the persons I encountered were enthusiastic and positive about their profession and its future.
There is a Chinese Pharmaceutical Association which has its headquarters in Beijing and branches in most other cities and provinces. These groups get together, discuss professional matters, and often publish journals and newsletters.
The Association receives a subsidy or support from the national government.
Interest was shown in social pharmacy, clinical pharmacy and pharmacy management, as these subjects are not presently taught at the colleges of pharmacy within the PRC. It was my impression, however, that pharmaceutics, biopharmaceutics, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology are similar to what is taught and known in this country.
MONTHLY W AGE: $ 70
In the 1980s, pharmacist earns about $ 70 per month, an amount that enables one to live reasonably comfortably. Rents are minimal; only a few dollars per month pays for a typical small apartment. Nearly all of the urban population resides in that type of housing.
Transportation on buses costs only about a dime a ride, but most people appear to use bicycles as their principal means of conveyance. A sight I found interesting was a parking lot with bicycles arranged in neat rows for as far as the eye could see-similar to the huge automobile parking lots in the U. S. It costs about two pennies to park a bicycle for a day. Most of the other needs are relatively inexpensive, although the cost of food is increasing.
The Chinese pharmacists I met appeared well dressed and there is an ever increasing variety of clothing styles, colors and designs. Health care is considered good and the status of the pharmacist is at least equal to that accords to pharmacists in this country.
The possibility exists for greater interprofessional relationships. Reason: so - 6 -
much of pharmacy is practiced in institutional settings where other health care practitioners function in close coordination with the pharmacist.
A large number of the people I met in pharmacy circles had been to the U. S. at one time or another for postgraduate studies, short training classes or professional visits.
I was convinced that the warm reception I received was due in part to the fond memories that many of these people had about their kind reception by American families and pharmacists while they visited the U. S.
The trip was indeed fascinating and an eye opener.
I recommend that my colleagues take such a voyage after they have passed a test in the use of chopsticks, as knives and forks are unavailable at many places.
In reflecting about the visit after coming home, I once again came to the conclusion that we are very fortunate with the resources, appliances and status that we have as a profession in the U.S.
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
pharmacy [ ♐❍☜♦♓] n.药学；药店
pharmaceutical
[ ♐❍☜♦◆♦♓☜●] adj.制药(学)上的药学的；药用的
pharmacist [ ♐❍☜♦✋♦♦] n.药剂师，药商；a ~’s药房oriented
[ ❒♓♏⏹♦♓♎☜☺] adj. 导向的；以…目的的；重视…的
herbal[ ♒☜♌☜●] adj.草的；草药的
curriculum
[ ☜❒♓◆●☜❍] n.学校的全部课程，（一门）课程prevalent [ ☐❒♏❖☜●☜⏹♦] adj.
普遍的；流行的
option [ ☐☞☜⏹] n.选择权enterprise [ ♏⏹♦☜☐❒♋♓]n.企业；公司
embrace [♓❍♌❒♏♓♦] vi. 拥抱n.拥抱拥抱，接受
outpatient [♋◆♦☐♏♓☞☜⏹♦] n. 门诊病人
an ~ clinic 门诊所
dispense [♎♓♦☐♏⏹♦] vt.分发, 分配；(尤指按处方)配（药）、发（药）
medication
[ ❍♏♎♓♏♓☞☜⏹] n.药物；药物治疗
antler [ ✌⏹♦●☜] n.鹿角, 茸角鹿角
therapy [ ♏❒☜☐♓] n.治疗，
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疗法
retain [❒♓♦♏♓⏹] vt.保持, 保留
narcotic [⏹♦♓] n. 麻醉剂；催眠药
prescription
[☐❒♓♦❒♓☐☞☜⏹] n.药方，处方
ampicillin [ ✌❍☐♓♦♓●♓⏹] n. 氨苄青霉素
orientation
[ ☎✆❒♓♏⏹♦♏♓☞☜⏹] n.定向位，方向位，熟悉，适应
minimal [ ❍♓⏹♓❍☜●] adj.最低限度的，最小的
dictate [♎♓♦♏♓♦] v.命令，支配
intermediate
[ ♓⏹♦☜❍♓♎☜♦] adj.中间的
negotiate [⏹♓♈☜◆☞♓♏♓♦] v. 谈判；解决
dosage [ ♎☜◆♦♓♎✞] n.剂量,用量
assurance [☜☞◆☜❒☜⏹♦] n.保证；自信
oversee [ ☜◆❖☜♦♓] v. 监督/视；检查
massive [ ❍✌♦♓❖] adj.规模巨大的；大剂量的
on-campus [ ✌❍☐☜♦] adj.校园内的
clinical [ ●♓⏹♓☜●] adj.
临床的
deluge [ ♎♏●◆♎✞] v.淹没；泛滥
supervisor
[ ♦◆☐☜❖♋♓☜] n. 主管人
stun [♦♦✈⏹] vt. 使大吃一惊；不知所措
courtesy
[ ☜♦♓♦♓ ] n.礼貌；好意
Spartan [ ♦☐♦☜⏹] adj.简朴的
prefabricate
[ ☐❒♓♐✌♌❒♓♏♓♦] v.预制；预先构想
remedy [ ❒♏❍♓♎♓] n.治疗(法),药物
capsule [ ✌☐♦◆●] n.胶囊
tablet [ ♦✌♌●♓♦] n.药片powder [ ☐♋◆♎☜] n.药粉，粉剂
bulk [♌✈●] n.大批（量）；大部分
newsletter
[ ⏹✞●♏♦☜☎❒✆] n.业务通讯
subsidy [ ♦✈♌♦♓♎♓] n. 津贴pharmaceutics
[ ♐❍☜♦◆♦♓
♦] n.制药学，药剂学biopharmaceutics
[ ♌♋♓☜◆♐❍☜♦✞
8
♦♓♦] [复] n.生物制药学，生物药剂学
pharmacology
[ ♐❍☜●☜♎✞♓]
n.药理学，药物学
reside [❒♓♋♓♎] vi.居住dime [♎♋♓❍] n.一角；很少的钱
conveyance [ ☜⏹❖♏♓☜⏹♦] n.交通工具
accord [☜♎] vt.给予，使一致
interprofessional[ ♓⏹♦♏☐❒☜ ♐♏☞☜⏹●] adj.专业之间
的；职业之间的
institutional
[ ♓⏹♦♦♓♦◆☞☜⏹☜
●] adj.公共机构的
setting [ ♦♏♦♓☠] n. 环境coordination
[ ☜◆♎♓⏹♏♓☞☜⏹] n.协作；配合
postgraduate
[ ☐☜◆♦♦♈❒✌♎◆♓♦
☐☜◆♦♦♈❒✌♎✞◆♓♦] adj.研究生的
fascinating [ ♐✌♦♓⏹♏♓♦♓☠] adj.迷人的；吸引人的
chopsticks [ ♦☞☐♦♦♓♦] n.筷子
NOTES
1.western medicine oriented schools: schools with western medicine as the
main course
2.the state board examination: the examination organized by the state board of
pharmacy in each state
munity pharmacy: public drug store on the street
4.scheduled substances: Drugs with severe side effects have been classified by
the U.S. Government as the scheduled drugs, hence controlled by law.
5.Rx drugs: drugs which must be prescribed by the doctor
6....that the Chinese population had better things to spend their money on
than taking needless drugs, and that there was a minimal if not almost non-existent chemical dependency problems: ... that the Chinese people would spend their money on other things rather than on unnecessary drugs, and that the number of the persons addicted to drugs was quite limited, if there did exist such things
7.pilot factories: factories in which drugs are produced for clinical trials
8.production schedules: contents of drugs to be produced
9
9.intermediate products: half-finished drugs
EXERCISES
I. Questions:
1.Why was the author puzzled about the educational system in China?
2.What’s the same characteristic of about 50 colleges of pharmacy throughout
China?
3.What kind of job will students get when they graduate from the
pharmaceutical universities? And what about the graduates of other colleges of pharmacy?
4.What’s the function of the SPA?
5.What questions were often asked at the lectures given by the author?
6.Why did the author think that the Chinese pharmacists were well-informed?
7.According to the author, the Chinese colleagues were friendly to him. Why?
8.The author was much impressed by what he had seen in China. Find the proof
in the text.
9.What’s the author’s attitude towards traditional Chinese medicine?
10.Can you tell, according to the text, something about pharmacy in the USA?
II. Translation
1.人首次与医生打交道也许是在他出生时。

2.药剂师根据医生的处方给病人配制一定剂量的药。

3.药剂学是一门有关制备、生产和分发药物的学科。

4.作为药剂师，你首先应该做到一丝不苟地配药。

5.制药业涉及到药物研制和生产。

6.经过数百年的临床实践，我们的医生终于证实了这种疗法真正价值。

7.现在，中国的义务工作者已开创了一条中西医相结合的崭新的发展之路。

8.经过大量的科学实验，科研工作者对这种传统疗法的临床应用的基本原则
有了更进一步的了解。

9.一种药物在被医生用于处方之前，其对人体所产生的作用将受到仔细检
测。

10.中国年轻一代药剂工作者中相当一部分人都去西方国家读过研究生或接
受过短期培训。

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LESSON TWO
TEXT
Vitamins
Do you know that it is possible to eat large amounts of food and still starve? You may be eating a good mixture of different kinds of foods furnishing all the calories you need; yet lacking certain necessary substances. About fifty years ago scientists began to realize that foods contain tiny amounts of other things that the body needs for good health.
The antiberiberi substance,at first was called an accessory food factor. Experiments soon revealed Mill another such factor. The new substance cured yore eyes and promoted growth. It appeared in the fat of eggs, butter, and cod-liver oil rather than in the coats of rice grains.
Later scientists called these substances vitamins and named them by the letters of the alphabet.
In the early days of the clipper ships, sailors who went on long voyages would often get a dangerous disease called scurvy. Just 200 years ago, a doctor in the British navy found that eating fresh fruits and vegetables would cure this disease. It was the first time people recognized that a definite sickness could result when something was missing from the diet.
Nowadays this scurvy-preventing material is called vitamin C, and it can be manufactured in large quantities and add to other foods. Oranges, lemons, cabbage, turnips and tomatoes are some natural foods containing large amounts of vitamin C; like all vitamins, it cannot be stored very long in the body but must be replaced all the time. Now you can see one reason why a glass of orange juice or a half grapefruit is part of a good breakfast.
A similar experiment in the Japanese navy a century later involved beriberi. In one of the languages of Ceylon1 beriberi means weakness. This disease causes the nerves to become inflamed and to degenerate. It is widespread in rice-eating countries of the Orient2. It is sometimes a cause of heart failure.
The vitamin for curing beriberi is called thiamin or vitamin B13. It takes nearly a hundred tons of rice husks to give a single ounce of vitamin B1.
Fortunately, we need only very tiny amounts of each of the vitamins daily-less than one ten-thousandth of an ounce If you eat enough cereals, peas, beans, eggs and tomatoes, you get a good supply of vitamin B1. This keeps your nerves in good condition and helps appetite and digestion.
Another vitamin that helps you grow, keeps you strong and active and even protects you against some eye diseases, is called vitamin A. It is found in foods .e milk, butter, eggs, green vegetables, corn and carrots.
Vitamin D can be formed right in your skin by the action of sunlight. This compound helps build calcium and other minerals into the bones and teeth. If the bones do not take up minerals properly, they become soft; and a disease called rickets may be the result. Ordinary foods do not have much of this vitamin; so it is important for you to get as much sunshine as you can. The livers of fish are rich in vitamins A and D. Doctors often give young children fish liver oils to supply plenty of these vitamins.
The subject of vitamins is not a simple one. Biochemists are finding out more about it all the time. Of the several other vitamins now known, at least one other should be mentioned, and this is vitamin B2, which is also called riboflavin. It keeps the skin, eyes and hair healthy, and it is plentiful in meat, milk and eggs.
Vitamins are defined as organic nutrients required in very small amounts and essential for growth and for good health. Diseases such as beriberi, scurvy, and rickets that develop in the absence of vitamins are termed deficiency diseases.
Besides being needed only in minute amount, vitamins differ from other nutrients is that no chemical tests have showed their presence. Only biological experiments could identify the foods that contain a particular vitamin.
While it is true that we can buy most of the important vitamins in the form of pills at the drug store, the best, safest and cheapest way to get them is by eating the proper foods. And besides, eating is much more fun than taking pills.
People today often respond to advertising4that emphasizes the vitamin content of food products even when they lack a clear understanding of what these important nutrients do for them. Indeed, precise knowledge about vitamins is quite recent, even though the effects produced by the lack of certain vitamins were observed over 200 years ago.
WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
furnish [ ♐☜⏹♓☞] vt.供应，提供
calorie [ ✌●☜❒♓] n. 卡（热量单位）
lack [●✌] v.缺乏
sickness [ ♦♓⏹♓♦] n.疾病accessory [✌♦♏♦☜❒♓] n.附件，配件，附属品
adj.补充的，辅助的，附加的，附属的
sore [♦ ♦☜] adj. （一碰就）痛的
cod-liver n. 鱼肝油
inflame [♓⏹♐●♏♓❍] v.使发炎
degenerate
[♎♓♎✞♏⏹☜❒♏♓♦] v.变质，变性
clipper [ ●♓☐☜] n.快速帆船scurvy [ ♦☜❖♓] adj.下流的, 卑鄙的, 无礼的
n. [医] 坏血病
lemon [ ●♏❍☜⏹] n.柠檬；柠檬树
turnip [ ♦☜⏹♓☐] n.萝卜tomato
[♦☜❍♦☜◆ ♦☜❍
♏♓♦☜◆] n. 番茄；西红柿grapefruit [ ♈❒♏♓☐♐❒◆♦] n.柚子
beriberi [ ♌♏❒♓♌♏❒♓] n.脚气（病）
thiamin [ ♋♓☜❍♓⏹] n.[生化]硫胺(维生素B1)
husk [♒✈♦] n.（果类或谷物的）外壳(通常用复数)；皮cereal [ ♦♓☜❒♓☜●] n.谷类食物
digestion
[♎♓♎✞♏♦♦☞☜⏹
♎♋♓♎✞♏♦♦☞☜⏹]n.消化
carrot [ ✌❒☜♦] n.胡萝卜calcium [ ✌●♦♓☜❍] n.钙rickets [ ❒♓♓♦♦] n.佝偻病liver [ ●♓❖☜] n.肝脏biochemist n. 生物化学家riboflavin
[ ❒♋♓♌☜◆♐●♏♓❖♓⏹] n. 核黄素；维生素B2 advertise [ ✌♎❖☜♦♋✋] v.登广告；做宣传
nutrient [ ⏹◆♦❒♓☜⏹♦] adj.营养的；滋养的
n. 营养品；营养成分
NOTES
1.Ceylon: an island country in southern Asia, now called Sri Lanka
2.the Orient: the countries lying east of Europe, especially the far East
3.It takes nearly a hundred tons of rice husks to give a single ounce of
vitamin B1:A single ounce of vitamin Bt can be obtained from nearly a
hundred tons of rice husks.
4.People today often respond to advertising ... People today influenced by
various ads, tend to buy their food products ...
EXERCISES
I . Questions:
1.What substances may people lack in their diet, although the food is, in most
cases, rich in all the calories they need?
2.What is scurvy? How can it be cured?
3.What conclusion can be drawn from the case of scurvy?
4.Why is it said that a glass of orange juice or a half grapefruit is part of a good
breakfast?
5.What is the result of beriberi? Where is it most likely to be seen?
6.How can vitamin D be formed? And what’s its use to our health?
7.Why are some diseases termed as deficiency diseases? Can you mention some
of them?
8.In what way are vitamins different from other nutrients?
9.Why do you think advertisements now lay stress on the vitamin content of
food products?
10.Don’t you think it is wiser and easier to take in the important vitamins
necessary to our health by buying the pills in the drug store than by eating the proper foods? Why?
II. Translation
1.研究人员发现普通感冒患者体内维生素C 水平急剧下降，接近坏血病患
者水平。

2.虽然只有当饮食中新鲜水果、蔬菜严重缺乏时人才会患上坏血病，但轻度
维生素C 缺乏症还是普遍存在的。

3.维生素是有机化合物，必须通过饮食或肌肉注射予以补充，以维护身体健
康。

4.维生素不产生能量，但却在能量转换及新陈代谢调节方面起着重要作用。

5.维生素是按字母分类的，如维生素A、C、D、E、K和复合B等。

6.和其他营养素相比，维生素和矿物盐的存在量较少，而需要量也很少。

7.由于维生素缺乏而引起的疾病叫维生素缺乏症，例如，维生素A 缺乏出
现夜盲症，维生素D 缺乏导致佝偻病。

8.有些维生素溶解于脂肪，而其他的则溶解于水，故它们分别被称为脂溶性
维生素和水溶性维生素。

9.除了一般的营养素之外，另两类营养素―维生素和无机盐或矿物盐也是
人体必需的。

10.大多数食品含有多种营养素，但没有哪一种食品囊括人体所需的所有营养
素。

LESSON THREE
TEXT
Foods That Fight Cancer
Diet is now considered a major weapon against cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that about one-third of all cancers are linked to diet, and recent research indicated that what you eat may help to significantly reduce your risk.
Cancer develops over a long time, which means that you have years-typically decades-in which to hinder or promote it. Researchers are finding that what you eat may interfere with cancer growth at various stages. For example, certain foods can block the chemicals that initiate cancer. Antioxidants, found in some vitamins and minerals, can snuff out oxygen free radicals, substances that are thought to make cells more susceptible to cancer1, and they can even repair some of the cellular damage that has been done. And some food - wheat bran in particular - has been shown to shrink precancerous cells.
A recent review of 17 studies from 17 nations reveals that people who eat the most fruits and vegetables have about half the cancer rates of those who eat the least. That includes cancers of the lung, colon, breast, cervix, esophagus, oral cavity, stomach, bladder, pancreas and ovary. In fact, some research suggests that frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables can cut the risk of lung cancer even in smokers. “It is almost mind-boggling,” says Tim Byers, an epidemiologist with the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “that ordinary fruits and vegetables can be so effective against such a potent carcinogen as cigarette smoke.”
One of the most studied antioxidants in vegetables and fruits thought to
protect against cancer is beta-carotene, concentrated in deep green, yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes and spinach2. Fruits high in beta-carotene include apricots and cantaloupes. In test-tube studies at Harvard University, beta-carotene had a direct toxic effect on cells taken from malignant tumors. It also reduced the growth of lung-cancer cells and altered the proteins needed for tumors to grow.
Research also shows that beta-carotene can change in the body to retinoid acid3, a substance used in clinical trials to treat certain cancers.
Here are some of the foods that contain cancer-fighting chemicals.
Tomatoes. One of the compounds in tomatoes that is thought to reduce the risk of cancer is lycopene, the pigment that makes tomatoes red. Lycopene, an antioxidant that is also found in watermelons and apricots, quenches certain cancer-triggering oxygen free radicals.
Having little lycopene in your blood is associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a Johns Hopkins University study. People with pancreatic cancer showed lower levels of lycopene compared with healthy individuals. Those with the least blood lycopene had over five times the risk of pancreatic cancer as healthy people with the most blood lycopene.
Lycopene is present in tomato products, including sauces, tomato paste and even ketchup.
Green Vegetables. A recent Italian study showed that dark-green leafy vegetables lower the risk of many cancers. Spinach, broccoli, kale and dark-green lettuces are chock-full of4 antioxidants, including beta-carotene, folate and lutein.
A good rule of thumb5: the darker the vegetable, the more antioxidants within.
Pungent Preventives. A whole host of chemicals thought to have cancer-inhibiting properties have been identified in allium vegetables, which include garlic, onions and scallions. Animal studies show that many of these chemicals block carcinogens that have been linked to colon, stomach, lung and liver cancer.
A study at Pennsylvania State University found that feeding rats various garlic extracts and preparations reduced mammary tumors by as much as 71 percent. In humans, studies suggest that those who eat more onion and garlic are less prone6 to gastrointestinal cancer.
Research suggests that garlic compounds may even interfere with cancer
progression. A recent German study found that ajoene, a garlic compound, is toxic to malignant cells. Garlic may also antagonize existing cancer by boosting immune functions, according to researchers at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Their study, done on mice, found that garlic’s sulfur compounds increased the activity of macrophages and T-lymphocytes, two of the components of the immune system that destroy tumor cells.
Citrus Fruit. “Eat oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes as often as possible,”says toxicologist Herbert Pierson, a former project officer with the National Cancer Institute. He calls citrus fruit an all-around cancer package7 because it possesses every class of natural substances (carotenoids, flavonoids and others) that individually have neutralized powerful chemical carcinogens in animals.
Citrus fruit may be particularly effective in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer. One study found that in a group of Swedes, those who ate a citrus fruit almost daily reduced the risk of pancreatic cancer by one-half to more than two-thirds, as compared with eating citrus fruit less than once a week.
Cruciferous Vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, mustard greens and turnips, may reduce the risk of breast cancer. In fact, researchers at Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska at Omaha found that feeding animals cabbage and collard greens (also a cruciferous vegetable), along with a low-fat diet, reduced the incidence of mammary cancers. Eat cruciferous vegetables raw or lightly cooked. Overcooking may destroy the indoles, compounds found in these vegetables that may protect against cancer.
Cruciferous vegetables may also work to head off stomach and colon cancer. Research conducted in Utah revealed that men who ate the most cruciferous vegetables had a 70 percent lower risk of colon cancer than those who ate the least of such vegetables.
Soy beans. Soybeans contain at least five compounds believed to inhibit cancer. In fact, one of the compounds is chemically similar to the drug tamoxifen, which is routinely used to treat estrogen-dependent breast cancer and is now being tested in a large clinical trial to see if it can prevent the disease. In animal studies, soybean constituents have been found to block colon, skin and other cancers by possibly slowing the growth and division of cancer cells.。