Kick the Habit with Nature's Help

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Red clover (Trifolium pratense). A few years back I got a call from an entrepreneur looking for a source of red clover. He wanted literally tons to use as a major ingredient in a tobacco-free chewing tobacco product he planned to market, all tinned up just like the real thing.

I got this call around the time I learned why red clover has an age-old reputation as a cancer preventer. For tumors to grow, they need a blood supply. They send out biochemical signals that coax tile body into growing blood vessels right into them, a process called angiogenesis.

Several leading cancer researchers have been working on ways to stop these new blood vessels from forming, thereby starving tumors. It turns out one compound with an anti-angiogenic effect is genistein, a constituent of red clover.

So, I welcomed the call from the man seeking red clover. By replacing chewing tobacco with a non-tobacco substitute, he was working to prevent the mouth and tongue cancer chewing tobacco causes. And by replacing tobacco with red clover, he was unwittingly providing anti-angiogenic benefits as well.

I don't know what became of the man's tobacco-free red clover chaw, but I have a tin of red clover-based snuff. Aspiring ex-smokers can chew on fresh clover flowers (add them to salads) or other, more palatable herbs containing genistein, such as ground nuts, peanuts or soybeans. These munchies would help satisfy some of the oral needs smokers and ex-smokers seem to have. At the same time, the genistein in these snacks would be attacking any tumors that might be trying to get a start.

If you're having a hard time kicking the habit, you might want to develop another habit—drinking red clover tea daily. It may offer a measure of protection.

Carrot (Daucus carota). Back when I quit smoking, carrots helped me quite a bit. I used to drive to the office munching on a raw carrot or two instead of puffing on a cigarette.

At the time, I chose carrots because I liked them, but now we know that carotenoids, the chemical relatives of vitamin A that give carrots their orange color, also help prevent cancer—especially if the carotenoids come from carrots or other whole foods rather than from capsules. (Generally, if you isolate one beneficial chemical—take it out of context—you're missing out on a whole lot of other chemistry that can also help you.)

If cigarettes are cancer sticks, carrots are anticancer sticks. In fact, all fruits and vegetables are. The research is consistent and compelling. The more fruits and vegetables people eat, the less likely they are to develop any major cancer, including lung cancer. So even if you don't quit smoking, you should still be munching on carrots.

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