WRITTEN BY Deborah Manos, DDS, MS, FAGD
Cancer is not simple to understand, diagnose, or treat. With so many different types, each with its own set of predisposing factors, it’s hard to pinpoint commonalities between growth rates and treatment options. What is common to all cancers, though, is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that adversely affect healthy tissues, function, and life. A logical focus for dealing with the threat of cancer, which now afflicts more than one in four people at some time in their lives, is to minimize the risks to try to prevent the disease.
To many in the medical profession, cancer prevention means early detection, more exams, X-rays, mammograms, and biopsies so that the prescribed surgery, drugs, and radiation can be applied. However, cancer prevention is much more than early detection - it means not creating the disease.
What causes cancer? Is it a virus, a genetic code, the effects of carcinogens on cellular growth, or a weakened immune system? Do psychological factors such as stress or poor attitude play a role? Does a poor diet initiate the disease? We don’t really know, but cancer seems to be linked to all these factors. Hereditary predisposition is definitely a factor, and those people are encouraged to seek early detection procedures.
Discussion of cancer risks and promoting factors could easily fill a book. Cancer is a multifactorial disease with influences from the environment, diet, physiology, society, emotions, psychology, and spirituality. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of cancer must deal with all of these aspects. My goal in this article is to address diet as it relates to cancer prevention.
Twenty years ago it was difficult to find any major institutions, doctors, or groups like the American Cancer Society admitting there was any connection between nutrition and cancer. Now the nutritional influence on the genesis of cancer is well accepted. Several breakthrough publications, such as the 1977 Senate Select Committee’s “Dietary Goals for the United States” and the 1982 report “Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer,” listed cancer as one of the major degenerative diseases linked to poor diet. In 1988, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published the Surgeon General’s report on nutrition and health, which discusses the relationship between nutrition and many degenerative diseases, including cancer. With this knowledge, people can do something about the threat of cancer.
So what does a cancer prevention diet look like? Well frankly, it’s quite a bit different than the average American diet. A cancer prevention diet usually involves a moderate to major change in the average person’s dietary habits. The following are now accepted steps in a cancer prevention diet.
1. Lower fat intake to about 20 percent of total calories. The average is 42 percent. Fifty grams of fat is a good goal. This represents 450 calories (9 cal/g., 9 x 50 = 450) of fat daily, or 20 percent of a 2,250 calorie diet. Most fats should come from the mono and polyunsaturated types, with a reduction of saturated fat intake, and little or no consumption of refined oils. One very beneficial oil for women that is high in omega 3 essential fatty acids is flaxseed oil, which has a reputation as a cancer fighter, especially against breast cancer. Lignans, which are phytonutrients, are found in the fibrous shell of the flaxseed. By binding with estrogen receptors, lignans help regulate estrogen levels by escorting excess estrogen from the body. A study conducted by the University of Toronto in 2002 found that flaxseed rivals the power of the /anticancer drug tamoxifen, without the adverse side effects.
2. Increase your dietary fiber to improve colon function, mainly by increasing complex carbohydrates in the form of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. A high-fiber diet improves intestinal transit time and binds carcinogens, thus reducing the body’s exposure to them. At least 200 epidemiological studies from around the world have found a link between a plant-rich diet and a lower risk of many types of cancers. Several studies found that women who ate few vegetables had a 25 percent higher incidence of breast cancer than those who consumed more fresh produce. The results of a large study conducted through the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota on the evidence of cancer risk related to fruit and vegetable consumption found that “10 to 70 percent of all cancers are attributable to diet.” The report stated: Consumption of carrots and green leafy vegetables is particularly associated with a lower risk of lung cancer. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, bok choy, cauliflower) and carrots are associated with a lower risk of colon cancer. Fruit appears to be strongly associated with a lower risk of head and neck cancers. Several fruits and vegetables, lettuce in particular, have been found to be consistently associated with a lower risk of stomach cancer. For pancreatic cancer, almost every case control study reported that consumption of one or more plant foods is associated with lower risk. Intake of vegetables and fruits in general, and of carrots in particular, is inversely associated with bladder cancer.
3 Include foods rich in vitamins A and C. Vitamin A may prevent cancer cell formation by inhibiting the binding of carcinogens to the cell wall. Vitamin C is one of the main antioxidant nutrients, protecting cell and mucous membranes and vascular linings from free radicals generated by carcinogens and other molecules. Vitamin C is abundant in citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables, and peppers.
4 Decrease alcohol consumption. A 1993 National Institutes of Health (NIH) study found that two alcoholic drinks per day could raise a woman’s estrogen levels enough to increase her risk of breast cancer by 40 to 85 percent over women who do not drink. In this study, 34 women had their blood levels checked mid-cycle, and were found to have 31.9 percent increase in estrogen over women who were not drinking.
5 Avoid charred, cured, or smoked foods. The nitrates these foods contain are proven carcinogens.
6 Avoid smoking. I don’t believe we need to elaborate on this one.
7 Avoid obesity. Staying lean will help reduce exposure to fat-soluble toxins, which are toxic substances that set up house within fat cells. Staying lean will also help reduce the risk of contracting estrogen-dependent cancers such as breast, colon, ovarian, and endometrial cancers, because fat produces estrogen.
According to Elson M. Haas, MD, author of Staying Healthy With Nutrition, the overall best foods for cancer prevention include organic white meats of poultry and fish, whole grains, vegetables, especially organically grown cruciferous ones, and fruits, especially citrus. The worst are high-fat, chemically treated foods or foods that are smoked, barbecued, or pickled. Dr. Haas also states that a primarily or exclusively vegetarian diet is generally helpful in preventing cancer. The popular macrobiotic diet (cooked grains and vegetables) and vegan diet (avoiding eggs and milk) showed reduced incidences of a variety of cancers including colon, breast, and prostate, but these must be watched for deficiency problems. The book The Cancer Prevention Diet, by Michio Kushi, discusses the macrobiotic diet in detail, and is very popular with people suffering from cancer or who want to prevent it.
In our fast-paced lives, it is easy to put off eating healthy because of lack of time. There is a wise saying that rings very true, especially for us today - if we can’t find time for health, we will have to find time for sickness. Eating healthy is a choice, your choice. My hope is that in order to help prevent cancer, you make the right nutritional choices.
References
1 Brooks J, et al. Flax seed, but not soy, significantly altered urinary estrogen metabolite excretion in healthy post-menopausal women. FADEB Journal 2002; 16:5:A1005.
4 Beling S. Power foods. New York: Harper Collins 1998.
5 Everyday carcinogens: stopping cancer before it starts. Proceedings from the March 1999 Workshop in Primary Cancer Prevention, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ontario. 6 Safe SH. Xenoestrogens and breast cancer. New England Journal of Medicine Oct. 30, 1997; 337:18. 7 Haas EM. Staying healthy with nutrition. Berkeley, Calif.: Celestial Arts Publishing 1992; 800-13. 8 Gittleman AL. Before the change. New York: Harper Collins 1998. 9 Enig M. Know your fats: the complete primer for understanding the nutrition of fats, oils, and cholesterol. Silver Springs, Md.: Bethesda Press 2000; 85. Deborah Manos, DDS, MS, FAGD Dr. Manos received her DDS from the University of Detroit Dental School in 1986 and her master’s degree in oral biology in 1992. She is currently taking graduate courses in holistic nutrition. She lives in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., with her husband and three children. You may contact her at [email protected].
