The Mini Medley No.3

I have for you here a sprinkle of info about how you can Target Cancer Naturally with natural compounds, the mind, exercise and diet. First up…

A Natural Compound Profile

Cyanidin-3-glucoside C3G

🌿 What is it sourced from?

Blueberry Scientific name Cyanococcus

Acai berry Scientific name Euterpe oleracea

Black soybean Scientific name Glycine max (L.) Merr.

Also found in dark grapes, black rice, purple potato, and other pigmented foods.

🌿 What does it do?

Cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) is a polyphenol and has potential anti-cancer properties and autoimmune modulation.

It has antioxidant activity and reduces NFκB and MAPK signalling².

It reduces tumours in skin and lung cancer preclinical studies³ and it reduces angiogenesis (development of new blood vessels) in breast cancer via the STAT3/VEGF pathway⁴.

Ding et al reports:

“C3G belongs to the flavonoid class of molecules and is a member of the anthocyanin family, the largest group of pigments present in many edible berries, dark grapes, cabbages, and other pigmented foods. Evidence suggests that anthocyanins may serve as natural antioxidants (9). Anthocyanins repair and protect genomic DNA integrity. Studies have shown that berry anthocyanins are beneficial in reducing age-associated oxidative stress, as well as in improving neuronal and cognitive brain function. Early studies have shown that supplementations with berries rich in anthocyanins were effective in reducing oxidative stress associated with aging and were beneficial in reversing age-related neuronal and behavioral changes (9, 10).”

Specific cancer types exploit specific biochemical pathways. By suppressing these pathways that may be out of balance, we can potentially target cancer growth mechanisms.

🧪 Biochemical Pathways

(for more on these pathways see my website resource page)

Cyanidin-3-glucoside can suppress:

NFκB
STAT3/VEGF pathway
MAPK signalling

🌿 Safety

A study entitled: The Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Cyanidin-3-Glucoside after 2-Week Administration of Black Bean Seed Coat Extract in Healthy Subjects found no adverse side effects of consuming black bean seed extract⁵.

There are number of associated compounds of cyanidin of which the actions and properties differ to Cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G).

now, to the mind 🧠 …

A tool for the mind

The slow exhale.

I had a blood test today and I used to get stressed about it but I tried my new chill technique and it worked again. In the past, especially when I had these tests every week, I’d find the procedure painful. I would end up with a purple bruise and sore elbow after what felt like I had a stick stuck into my arm. It’s taken me a while but finally I’ve discovered that if I consciously breath out slowly, and simultaneously relax my muscles, I hardly feel the needle. This might also be because I am transmitting a more relaxed posture to the person taking the blood thus making them feel more at ease too. A win all round.

There is a range of physiological, stress-reducing benefits of a relaxed mind.

Changes that take place when you are relaxed are:

Your blood pressure is immediately lowered
Your heart rate slows (you can test this with a fitbit or heart rate monitor)
muscle tension decreases
your body’s demand for oxygen is reduced
the flow of blood to your organs and muscles decreases
your natural output of cortisone is reduced.

The combination of these changes allows your mind to be more efficient, with memory clearer. Your sense of wellbeing is enhanced. This physiological state is protective against the negative biochemical feedback loops of stress and cancer. Great for reducing pain from medical procedures too such as the blood taking.

One simple way to do this is to consciously breath in, then exhale with a long slow breath out. As you breath out, feel your muscles relax and drop down slightly. Feel your shoulders relax. Imagine your heart slowing. You can also imagine somewhere peaceful like a stream or lake.

I also do this while driving which I’ve found useful in reducing muscle and mind fatigue. Good for long driving stints and responding to road ragey drivers.

Targeting Cancer with Exercise…

I regularly run. Luckily this was part of my lifestyle prior to my diagnosis of breast cancer. Somehow, I managed to run or walk throughout chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This I believe helped my body deal with the toxins and physical onslaught it went through plus it also helped me psychologically. Running on the beach for me was the one time I couldn’t control my emotions. This I see now is both good and bad. That emotional release I fought initially, then I finally acknowledged the need to have this outlet with no one near me. Reflective sunglasses became mandatory wear.

My severely downgraded physical ability to run like I used to, rammed home how sick I was. Often mid run I’d flop to the sand exhausted, nauseas and quite frankly angry too. A rock bottom day I remember was very slowly shuffling, head down like a drug addict back along the sand dunes of the beach, focusing on just getting to the exit path and back to the car. I had overdone it … yet again. This day became my new calibration point. I compare even today, how I am feeling physically and mentally to that 800 metre nightmare shuffle. Times like that I’d say in my head my mantra words “this is temporary”. Of course, I was right in that.

Now I prioritise running for a myriad of reasons and they all interrelate to combating cancer growth. Running modulates some biochemical pathways that cancers use. For instance, it suppresses the skeletal hypoxic pathway or HIF (Hypoxic Inducible Factor) which many cancers including Triple negative breast cancer use. Running reduces inflammation and boosts our immune response, another anticancer action. It reduces stress which is part of the anticancer loop.

Running also helps to make chemotherapy and immunotherapy more effective on the body. Right now, I am undergoing immunotherapy for melanoma, so I run a few times each week to help my body/mind with that. Clear of the breast cancer, but melanoma sneaked through.

You might say, well running obviously didn’t help you but I think the HIF pathway was not the pathway the melanoma cells hijacked in my body, but another one. I think the same for the breast cancer. The HIF pathway, I most probably did suppress with exercise.

When you back’s against the wall, tell yourself these three words…

This Is Temporary

If you’d like a downloadable worksheet to help you find your optimum exercise session CLICK HERE.

To read my previous post on finding your optimum exercise session, CLICK HERE.

Targeting cancer with food 🥗

Mechanisms Associated with Berries’ Anticancer Capacity

……from a Journal Article entitled Protective Role of Dietary Berries in Cancer.

“Edible berries are receiving increasing attention due to the great variety of phytochemicals, including but not limited to typical antioxidants, linked to protection against cancer among other chronic diseases.”

The parts of the berries that exert cancer protective effects in cells include:

phenolic acids (hydroxycynnamic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid),
stilbenes (resveratrol, pterostilbene, piceatannol),
flavonoids (anthocyanins, flavonols, catechins),
lignans,
tannins (proanthocyanidins, ellagitannins).

The way the berries suppress cancer are:

down-regulate all major inflammatory markers (such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, iNOS, COX-2, PGE₂, NF-κB). Anti-inflammatory pathways have been shown to be induced by berry derived anthocyanin rich extracts. Inflammation suppression may lead to protection against both cancer occurrence and/or progression.

Berries reduce cellular proliferation by down-regulating PCNA and Ki-67/MKI67, as well as inhibiting signaling pathways such as the PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis, MAPK/ERK and Wnt pathways.

Anti-cancer effects can be extended via the inhibition of STAT3 and cell cycle arrest, thus impeding proliferation of cancer cells.

Another potential mechanism via which berries were shown to provide protection against cancer development is the induction of apoptosis. ¹ 🔬. (apoptosis = programmed cell death)

Take Home = Edible berries are good at suppressing cancer loving biochemical pathways.

Supporting Research 🔬

Kristo AS, Klimis-Zacas D, Sikalidis AK. Protective Role of Dietary Berries in Cancer. Antioxidants (Basel). 2016;5(4):37.
Moody R, Wilson K, Jaworowski A, Plebanski M. Natural Compounds with Potential to Modulate Cancer Therapies and Self-Reactive Immune Cells. Cancers (Basel). 2020;12(3).
Ding M, Feng R, Wang SY, et al. Cyanidin-3-glucoside, a Natural Product Derived from Blackberry, Exhibits Chemopreventive and Chemotherapeutic Activity *. J Biol Chem. 2006;281(25):17359-17368.
Ma X, Ning S. Cyanidin-3-glucoside attenuates the angiogenesis of breast cancer via inhibiting STAT3/VEGF pathway. Phytother Res. 2019;33(1):81-89.
Jeon S, Han S, Lee J, Hong T, Yim D-S. The safety and pharmacokinetics of cyanidin-3-glucoside after 2-week administration of black bean seed coat extract in healthy subjects. The Korean journal of physiology & pharmacology : official journal of the Korean Physiological Society and the Korean Society of Pharmacology. 2012;16(4):249-253.

Now you have a few ideas for how you can target cancer naturally.