Alternative Cancer Treatment - Can Diet affect Cancer ?
Meng Y
No other sector of oncology is considered more controversial and complex than the relationship between cancer and one's diet. Everyone wants to believe that there is some miracle diet which can dramatically affect the likelihood of cancer, or better yet, a diet that can actually cure cancer once it has been contracted. But as of right now, there is no conclusive evidence of the effect diet can have on cancer.
All reputable sources are in agreement that no diet can cure cancer. There also is no evidence strong enough to support the idea that any diet in particular can prevent an individual from contracting it. However, there have been many studies conduct that strongly suggest that the occurrence, recurrence, and even one's survivability rate might be affected by the foods that they consume.
Though these studies are far from positive, they have been examined by many researchers at Cornell University. The researches have been able to correlate lower death rates and an increase in survivability rates when individuals take certain dietary measures.
The Nurses Health Study which examined 1,982 women who had already developed breast cancer. These women were followed for an average of 13 years. Of those women 1200 had breast cancers that had not yet metastasized (spreading of a primary tumor to other areas of the body thus producing a secondary tumor of the same type). If an individual's cancer has spread then typically their survival rates are known to be much lower.
Some individuals in the first group ate greater amounts of poultry and seafood, which contains protein and omega-3 fatty acids. These individuals had a much lower risk of death than the women in the second group who did not consume as much. In addition, it was discovered that women who ate a greater amount of hydrogenated oils had a much higher death rate.
Another study was carried out by the National Cancer Institute of more than 2,400 individuals. A subset, 975 women, who had contracted breast cancer consumed a low fat diet (33.3g per day) for five years. Another 1,462 consumed 51.3 g per day. The low fat group experienced a 42% reduction in recurrence.
The problem with many of these studies is that they are observing only associations, not causation. It is extremely unclear from the data which has been compiled what data is actually relevant. Do the dietary decisions of these women merely reflect the fact that women who focus on maintaining a healthy diet also tend to make healthier lifestyle choices overall? Or, are the foods these women consume actually helpful or harmful, and to what degree?
As with many studies involving fruits and vegetables, the answer is unclear. Apart from those which contain antioxidants, any beneficial effect is simply not known with confidence. In this case, however, the evidence is strong that foods high in antioxidants do help reduce the chances of contracting breast cancer.
Free radicals within one's blood stream are ionized atoms that are capable of harming cells. Antioxidants assist in ridding the body of these atoms. They combine with the free radicals causing them to be rendered harmless.
The studies on fat, however, are less clear. The leading theory says that since high estrogen levels are widely known to correlate with a greater risk of breast cancer and fat acts as an efficient storage of estrogen, then lowering fat therefore lowers the risk.
The flawed conclusion that is sometimes drawn however is the belief that eating fat makes you fat. But it isn't the consumption of fat that causes higher body fat, per se. Eating more calories than are used causes the body to store the excess in fat, leading to a higher body fat percentage. And, fat contains more calories per unit weight than other foods. The route is indirect.
Aside from the difficult to interpret or incomplete evidence, there is one thing that all experts mutually agree on: maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet are always smart decisions. Whether these decisions lower the risk of contracting breast cancer or not, for the 1 in 12 women who will contract breast cancer at some point in their life, being in the most optimal health aids in combating the disease before, during and after.
About the Author:
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