Foods Which Have Potential as Protection From Cancers
In the world, the Indian and Thai peoples have the lowest overall rates of cancer. Okinawa, as part of Japan also has a very low cancer rate, placing this island much lower than the Japanese people in terms of cancer occurrence.
To determine which foods these populations are using in common, I'm preparing these charts. There are many tropical fruits used by all of these people, some spices, and vegetables. I hope to find more information for Okinawa as data about them is more scarce. I have included in these lists the foods and spices which are common to only Thailand and India as well, as there may be real potential for cancer protection from them, even if the foods are not used in Okinawa, in view of the cancer rates of these two countries.
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Thailand | India | Okinawa |
| Banana | Musa X paradisiaca L. | Yes, popular here; about 20 varieties grown | Yes, common usage | Yes, commercially grown here |
| Carambola, or Starfruit | Averrhoa carambola | Yes, not a native but grown throughout the country | Yes | --- No Data --- |
| Cashew apple | Anacardium occidentale | Yes. Husk of the cashew nut, eaten fresh or juiced | Yes, cashew trees grown here since the 1600's | --- No Data --- |
| Citron | Citrus spp. | Yes, dark green fruit, peel often used for flavoring | Yes, lemon type widely used in India | --- No Data --- |
| Coconut | Cocos nucifera | Yes, both ripe and immature coconuts are used | Yes, used for coconut milk, in curries, and immature coconut liquid to treat hepatitis | Grows wild on the island, do they make use of it in their diets? |
| Custard apple | Annona squamosa L. | Yes, not Cherimoya variety grown here | Yes, cultivated thoughout the country | Different variety mentioned, Cherimoya grown here. |
| Dragon fruit | Hylocereus undatus | Yes. aka Pitahaya, Strawberry pear | Yes, use a lot of it | Yes, cultivated here |
| Durian | Durio zibethinus | Yes | Yes, grown to a limited extent in the south | --- No Data --- |
| Guava | Psidium guajava L. | Yes. Not native to Thailand, brought in in the 17th century. Popular as a snack fruit. | Yes, common usage | Yes, large producer of guava |
| Jackfruit | Artocarpus heterophyllus | Yes | Yes. Used in curries and preserves | Yes, commercially grown here |
| Jujube | Ziziphus mauritiana | Yes, usually eaten fresh, also processed for juice or dried | Yes, same variety as that used in Thailand. Different from the Chinese jujube which grows in colder climates | --- No Data --- |
| Langsat or Longkong | Lansium domesticum | Yes, fruit very popular, grows wild and is cultivated | Yes, in south India, and humid areas there | --- No Data --- |
| Longan | Dimocarpus longan | Yes, eaten fresh or cooked | Yes, either native plant to India, or introduced there in the 1700's | --- No Data --- |
| Mango | Mangifera indica | Use a 'Thai Mango', different variety, light colored skin, delicate flavor, a dozen kinds grown here | Yes, very important fruit in the diet | Yes, grown commercially here |
| Mangosteen | Garcinia spp. | Yes, variety grown here is Garcinia mangostana, eaten fresh | Yes, variety grown here is Garcinia indica, used fresh or dried, in curries, or commercially | --- No Data --- |
| Papaya | Carica papaya | Yes, year-round, widely used as a fresh fruit and in cooked dishes | Yes, much used, both ripe and unripe fruits | Yes, a major producer of papaya. They even eat the young fruits as a vegetable. |
| Passionfruit | Passiflora edulis | Yes, a newer crop introduced into Thailand | Yes, they favor a purple variety of passionfruit | Yes, they grow it commercially |
| Pineapple | Ananas comosus | Yes, two distinct varieties grown - extremely sweet, or a crunchy type | Yes | Yes, a major producer of these |
| Pomegranate | Punica granatum | Yes | Yes, used as a garnish and in chutneys | Grows here, is it used in the diet? |
| Pomelo or Pummelo | Citrus grandis Osb. | Yes, native to SE Asia | Yes, grown throughout region | --- No Data --- |
| Rambutan | Nephelium lappaceum | Yes, two varieties grown - cling and free. Used fresh or canned | Yes, limited plantings in India though | --- No Data --- |
| Tamarind | Tamarindus indica | Yes, one of two varieties used here | Yes, used as a condiment and in cookng | Yes |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Thailand | India | Okinawa |
| Basil | Ocimium spp. | Yes, several varieties used here. Holy basil, O.tenuiflorum; Sacred basil, O. sanctum, Sweet Thai basil and Lemon basil. | Yes, Ocimum basilicum, but used as a garnish and medicinally, not too much used in S. India | --- No Data --- |
| Coriander, Cilantro | Coriandrum sativum | Yes, whole plant is used, root, stem, leaves, seeds | Yes, leaf used extensively in Indian cooking | --- No Data --- |
| Curry Leaf | Murraya koenigii | Yes, cultivated in northern part of Thailand | Yes, used fresh or dried, many dishes, used for flavoring and usually removed from food before eating | --- No Data --- |
| Dill | Anethum graveolens | Yes, leaves eaten raw or used in soups or curries | Yes, leaves used fresh to flavor many S. Indian dishes | --- No Data --- |
| Lemon Grass | Cymbopogan citratus, C. flexuensus and C. nardus | Yes, one of the most used herbs here | Yes | --- No Data --- |
| Mint | Menthae haplocalycis | Yes, used as a flavoring or eaten raw | Yes, used as a flavoring or garnish for meat dishes, salads | --- No Data --- |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Thailand | India | Okinawa |
| Anise, Star | Illicium spp. | Yes, variety used is Illicium verum, cooking and medicinal uses | Yes, variety used is Illicium anisatum and Illicium verum. | Yes, variety used is Illicium anisatum |
| Cardamom | Elettaria cardamomum | Yes | Yes, they use both green and black cardamom, intrinsic to their spice mixtures | --- No Data --- |
| Cinnamon | Cinamomum zeylanicum | Yes, they use bark from various other trees for cinnamon too, one type comes from Cassia spp | Yes | --- No Data --- |
| Cloves | Syzgium aromaticum | Yes, used only in a curry paste here, and for chewing with betel nuts | Yes, used extensively in most Indian masala mixes | --- No Data --- |
| Coriander seed | Coriandrum sativum | Yes, used in almost every curry powder or spice mix in Thailand | Yes, used extensively in Indian cooking | --- No Data --- |
| Cumin | Cuminum cyminum | Yes, used in Thai curry pastes | Yes, used in curry and chili powders, rice dishes, masalas | --- No Data --- |
| Fenugreek | Trigonella foenum-graecum | Yes, used in curries | Yes, used extensively | --- No Data --- |
| Garlic | Allium sativum | Yes, many varieties grown here, used in almost all dishes | Yes, used extensively in cooking and also medicinally | ? |
| Gingerroot | Zingiber officinale | Yes, frequently used. They also use another variety, Languas galanga which is more lemony and peppery | Yes, very popular in cooking | Yes, used extensively |
| Nutmeg | Myristica fragrans | Yes, used in chili pastes and with boiled meats | Yes | --- No Data --- |
| Peppers, Chile | Capsicum spp. | Yes, many hot varieties used extensively in Thai cuisine | Yes, many varieties used in Indian cuisine | Yes, a local variety they call 'koregusu' used as a univeral condiment with most of their dishes |
| Peppercorn | Piper spp. | Yes, Piper nigrum used as black, green or white peppercorns | Yes, Piper nigrum used in spice mixes | Yes, variety used is Piper retrofractum |
| Sesame Seed | Sesamum indicum | Yes, used for flavoring and also for the oil in the seeds for cooking | Yes, used in cooking | Yes, they put it in one of their spice mixtures, 7 spice powder, put on everything they eat |
| Turmeric | Curcuma longa | Yes, used dried and ground, or fresh | Yes, used in almost every dish | Yes, a favorite spice, used in curries, soups, meat and fish dishes and added to oolong tea as a drink |
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Thailand | India | Okinawa |
| Pepper, Bell | Capsicum frutescens | Yes, light green and mild, they call it "bell chilli" | Yes | --- No Data --- |
| Eggplant | Solanum Melongena | Yes | Yes, also known here as 'brinjal' | --- No Data --- |
| Melon, Bitter | Momordica charantia | Yes, used in soups, curries, salads | Yes, also known as 'bitter gourd', used as a vegetable and medicinally | Yes, most popular vegetable here |
| Okra | Abelmoschus esculentus | Yes, deep fried, cooked in curries, even eaten raw | Yes | --- No Data --- |
| Potato, Sweet | Ipomoea batatas | Yes, has always been a minor crop, now growing more | Yes | Yes, used extensively for centuries. 2 varieties-light yellow inside/brown-purple skin(satsuma-imo) or purple inside/light brown skin (beni-imo) |
| Potatoes, Yam | Discorea genus | Yes, this species is not grown or available in the US, very large, different from what are called 'yams' in US. | Yes | --- No Data --- |
| Taro | Colocasia esculenta | Yes | Yes, this plant originated in India | Yes |
| Tomato | Lycopersicon esculentum | Yes, favorites are their original grape tomatoes, which are a cross between Roma and cherry tomatoes | Yes | Yes, and grown commercially there |
Are specific foods and spices missing from Western diets the key to prevention of cancers?
