What is the relationship between antioxidants and cancer?
Antioxidants are substances that some people believe that they could protect cells from stabilizing unstable molecules known as free radicals that are expected to contribute to diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Various studies focused on this relationship between antioxidants and cancer, and these studies have brought different results. The difference between the conclusions was led by some people in the scientific community to question the effectiveness of using antioxidant supplementation when attempting to combat or prevent cancer. Free radicals are unstable, so they can damage cells, proteins and other genetic materials such as DNA, leading to many health -related problems. It is known that enzymes that are proteins in the body contain antioxidants, as well as nutrients such as vitamins A, C and E, selenium and beta carotene. During some ways, these nutrients were given to patients to explore the relationship between antioxidants and cancer.
During the 90s, researching cancer prevention of effects toOmbinations of antioxidants that could be given to healthy men and women who were considered to be a significant risk of developing stomach cancer. The results indicate that antioxidant supplementation significantly reduced the likelihood of stomach and other cancer. As a result, the link between antioxidants and cancer prevention was determined.
On the other hand, further research conducted on male smokers in the mid -90s showed that the degree of lung cancer increased significantly with the supplementation of beta carotene. It has been found that vitamin E supplementation does not have a harmful or beneficial effect on a group of samples. As a result, the relationship between antioxidants and cancer has become questionable and has ever tried to further analyze and evaluate this relationship.
Many breast cancer -cancer believes that the use of antioxidant supplements will be protected from recurring tumors and that the side effects of treatment could be alleviatedbreast cancer. However, some oncologists believe that women who receive some chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatment should avoid using these supplements during treatment because they could have an adverse effect on the results. Radiation treatment and some chemotherapy medicines work by helping to produce free radicals that can attack cancer cells. It is known that antioxidants destroy free radicals, so it is the opinion of some people in the medical profession that complementing can interfere with treatment.