Source: insciences.org Author: Relatively recently, researchers have become keenly interested in exploring which food compounds are beneficial in treating and preventing serious diseases such as cancer and osteoporosis. Omer Kucuk, MD, is one of those researchers. Kucuk, a professor of hematology and medical oncology at Emory Winship Cancer Institute, studies specific food compounds and their effect on cancer prevention and treatment. Evidence indicates that some food compounds, such as soy isoflavones and curcumin, can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. To listen to Kucuk's own words about which food compounds affect cancer prevention and treatment, access Emory's new Sound Science podcast at http://whsc.emory.edu/soundscience/. Kucuk conducted the first clinical trials to show the benefits of soy and lycopene supplements in prostate cancer treatment. "In our preclinical studies we have observed that taking soy isoflavones during chemotherapy and radiation for advanced prostate cancer can improve the efficacy of the treatments," says Kucuk. "The compounds sensitize the cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiation while at the same time they protect the normal tissues from side effects." Most nutritional compounds used for therapy or disease prevention can be taken as part of a routine diet and have little if any side effects, Kucuk says. "People can get enough lycopene by eating tomato paste and tomato sauce, which is very rich in lycopene. So, if people ate a couple of ounces of tomato paste a day as part of a regular diet, they would eat enough to get all the benefits," he says. [...]