William Li Can we eat to starve cancerWord文档格式.docx

William Li Can we eat to starve cancerWord文档格式.docx

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sgoingtohelpusconquersomeofsociety'

smostdreadedconditions,includingcancer.Therevolutioniscalledangiogenesis,andit'

sbasedontheprocessthatourbodiesusetogrowbloodvessels.

Sowhyshouldwecareaboutbloodvessels?

Well,thehumanbodyisliterallypackedwiththem:

60,000milesworthinatypicaladult.Endtoend,thatwouldformalinethatwouldcircletheearthtwice.Thesmallestbloodvesselsarecalledcapillaries;

we'

vegot19billionoftheminourbodies.Andthesearethevesselsoflife,and,asI'

llshowyou,theycanalsobethevesselsofdeath.Nowtheremarkablethingaboutbloodvesselsisthattheyhavethisabilitytoadapttowhateverenvironmentthey'

regrowingin.Forexample,inthelivertheyformchannelstodetoxifytheblood;

inthelungtheylineairsacsforgasexchange;

inmuscletheycorkscrewsothatmusclescancontractwithoutcuttingoffcirculation;

andinnervestheycoursealonglikepowerlines,keepingthosenervesalive.Wegetmostofthesebloodvesselswhenwe'

reactuallystillinthewomb,Andwhatthatmeansisthatasadults,bloodvesselsdon'

tnormallygrow.Exceptinafewspecialcircumstances:

Inwomen,bloodvesselsgroweverymonthtobuildtheliningoftheuterus;

duringpregnancy,theyformtheplacenta,whichconnectsmomandbaby.Andafterinjury,bloodvesselsactuallyhavetogrowunderthescabinordertohealawound.Andthisisactuallywhatitlookslike,hundredsofbloodvesselsallgrowingtowardthecenterofthewound.

Sothebodyhastheabilitytoregulatetheamountofbloodvesselsthatarepresentatanygiventime.Itdoesthisthroughanelaborateandelegantsystemofchecksandbalances,stimulatorsandinhibitorsofangiogenesis,suchthat,whenweneedabriefburstofbloodvessels,thebodycandothisbyreleasingstimulators,proteinscalledangiogenicfactorsthatactasnaturalfertilizerandstimulatenewbloodvesselstosprout.Andwhenthoseexcessvesselsarenolongerneeded,thebodyprunesthembacktobaselineusingnaturallyoccurringinhibitorsofangiogenesis.Nowthereareothersituationswherewestartbeneaththebaselineandweneedtogrowmorebloodvesselsjusttogetbacktonormallevels--forexample,afteraninjury--andabodycandothattoo,butonlytothatnormallevel,thatsetpoint.

Butwhatwenowknowisthatforanumberofdiseases,therearedefectsinthesystemwherethebodycan'

tprunebackextrabloodvesselsorcan'

tgrowenoughnewonesintherightplaceattherighttime.Andinthesesituations,angiogenesisisoutofbalance.Andwhenangiogenesisisoutofbalance,amyriadofdiseasesresult.Forexample,insufficientangiogenesis--notenoughbloodvessels--leadstowoundsthatdon'

theal,heartattacks,legswithoutcirculation,deathfromstroke,nervedamage.Andontheotherend,excessiveangiogenesis--toomanybloodvessels--drivesdisease,andweseethisincancer,blindness,arthritis,obesity,Alzheimer'

sdisease.Intotal,therearemorethan70majordiseasesaffectingmorethanabillionpeopleworldwide,thatalllookonthesurfacetobedifferentfromoneanother,butallactuallyshareabnormalangiogenesisastheircommondenominator.Andthisrealizationisallowingustoreconceptualizethewaythatweactuallyapproachthesediseasesbycontrollingangiogenesis.

NowI'

mgoingtofocusoncancerbecauseangiogenesisisahallmarkofcancer,everytypeofcancer.Soherewego.Thisisatumor:

dark,gray,ominousmassgrowinginsideabrain.Andunderthemicroscope,youcanseehundredsofthesebrownstainingbloodvessels,capillariesthatarefeedingcancercells,bringingoxygenandnutrients.Butcancersdon'

tstartoutlikethis.And,infact,cancersdon'

tstartoutwithabloodsupply.Theystartoutassmall,microscopicnestsofcellsthatcanonlygrowtoonehalfacubicmillimeterinsize;

that'

sthetipofaballpointpen.Thentheycan'

tgetanylargerbecausetheydon'

thaveabloodsupply,sotheydon'

thaveenoughoxygenornutrients.

Infact,we'

reprobablyformingthesemicroscopiccancersallthetimeinourbody.Autopsystudiesfrompeoplewhodiedincaraccidentshaveshownthatabout40percentofwomenbetweentheagesof40and50actuallyhavemicroscopiccancersintheirbreasts,about50percentofmenintheir50sand60shavemicroscopicprostatecancers,andvirtually100percentofus,bythetimewereachour70s,willhavemicroscopiccancersgrowinginourthyroid.Yet,withoutabloodsupply,mostofthesecancerswillneverbecomedangerous.Dr.JudahFolkman,whowasmymentorandwhowasthepioneeroftheangiogenesisfield,oncecalledthis"

cancerwithoutdisease."

Sothebody'

sabilitytobalanceangiogenesis,whenit'

sworki