【TED Talks】Can we eat to starve cancer?

by Dr. William Li

Dr. William Li presents a new way to think about cancer treatment: angiogenesis, targeting the blood vessels that feed a tumor. The crucial first (and best) step: Eating cancer-fighting foods that beat cancer at its own game. 

Angiogenesis means the growth of blood vessels. Your body usually knows how to regulate the growth of blood vessels, but sometimes there are defects in blood growing and pruning. Too little angiogenesis can lead to things like wounds that won't heal, heart attack, and other diseases. Too much angiogenesis leads to other bad things such as blindness, arthritis. It's is a common denominator of many diseases. It's also the "hallmark of every type of cancer."

In autopsies of people who died in car accidents, doctors have found microscopic cancers in 40% of woman (breast) and 40% of men (prostate). Something like 70% of older people have microcancers in their thyroid. But the cancer is harmless -- "cancer without disease." If you block angiogenesis, the cancer can't grow. "It's a tipping point between harmless cancer and deadly one."

Li showed a photo of a poor dog with gnarly tumor hanging off its side. The vet gave the dog three months to live. They started anti-angiogenesis drugs. In a few weeks, the tumor shrank away completely. They also cured a dolphin of mouth cancer and saw a complete remission of a deadly lip cancer on a horse.

Today there 12 different anti-angiogenesis drugs available for people and dogs. They are quite effective for many cancers, but not much for liver, lung, and breast cancers. The problem with these cancers is that by the time they are detected they have progressed too far for anti-angiogenesis drugs to do their work.

The good news, Li says, is that "we eat to starve cancer." Lots of foods contain naturally occuring inhibitors of angiogenesis, and many are even better than drugs for blocking angiogenesis (see image below).

Angiogenesis also plays a huge role in obesity. "Adipose tissue is highly angiogenesis-dependent." You can cycle the weight of mice by inhibiting and promoting angiogenesis. "We can't create supermodel mice -- it takes them to normal weight."

Dr. William W. Li is an international expert on health and disease fighting based on diet, lifestyle, and treatments that keep the body’s blood vessels in balance. As President and founder of the Angiogenesis Foundation, he is leading a worldwide effort to bring forth revolutionary health improvement emerging from cutting edge medical research.A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dr. Li received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, and his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.  He completed his clinical training in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

P.S. Except food ,Acupuncture is the great natural way to keep the body balance expecially the angiogenesis balance, so properly diet or regular acupuncture treatment will keep you away from all these diseased because of the out of balance of angiogenesis.Jarry Liu: one of the best Chinese Acupuncturist since 1989