Nutritional Tips for Lowering your Cancer Risk
Everyone knows someone who has been through cancer. My mother was diagnosed with and died from stomach cancer 15 years ago. It was a devastating loss. Ever since, I’ve been passionate about researching cancer and the connection to nutrition.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute indicate that almost 50% of cancer deaths are due of risk factors that we can control, including smoking, drinking too much alcohol and eating a poor-quality diet. A new study from Spain of 54,446 people (Prev Med, Jan 17, 2018) shows that - Overweight women are 12 times more likely to develop cancer and five times more likely to suffer a heart attack than women of normal weight. Overweight men are two times more likely to develop cancer than those of normal weight. Overweight women who lost 12 pounds in their 40s, and did not put it back on, reduced their risk of developing cancer by 20%.
The American Association for Cancer Research reported that being overweight is linked to 25% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in the U.S. (Am Cancer Soc. Cancer Prevention & Early Detection: Facts & Figures 2017-2018). When adding in lack of exercise and a pro-inflammatory diet, that number increases to 33%. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported that being overweight increases risk for 17 different types of cancers: colon, rectum, esophagus, kidney, breast (women), endometrium, stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, ovary and thyroid, as well as fatal prostate cancer and breast cancer in men, meningioma, multiple myeloma and B-cell lymphoma (N Engl J Med, Aug 25, 2016;375:794-798). Being overweight is associated with almost five million cancer deaths each year.
Rumors are always circulating that certain foods can cure cancer - take the Budwig Diet for example. The truth is no single food is going to cure cancer and what you need to eat is a variety of potentially cancer-fighting foods to reduce your risk. And most of these foods are plants.
Eat a MOSTLY plant-based diet
The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends that at least two-thirds of your plate be filled with foods that come from plants, such as vegetables, fruit, pulses and whole grains. The remaining portion can include foods that come from animals such as fish, poultry, meat, eggs and dairy products. Plant-based diets may help prevent cancer for several reasons. For one, plant-based foods contain fiber, which is needed for a healthy digestive system and promotes a healthy gut microbiota, a key part of your immune system
Vegetables, fruit and other plants also contain phytochemicals, compounds which protect your cells from damage that can progress to cancer. Think of it just like your investment portfolio... with phytochemicals you want to diversify for the best results. Eat a minimum of 2½ cups of vegetables and fruit every day in a variety of colors and you’ll be on your way to reducing your cancer risk
There has been some public concern that soy may increase the risk of hormone-related cancers. Soybeans contain isoflavones, compounds that are similar to the hormone estrogen but much weaker. Research suggests however that these weaker estrogens actually do not increase cancer risk and may in fact reduce the risk of prostate, breast and gastrointestinal cancers. My advice for soy is the same as my advice for all foods: Choose whole foods that are minimally processed. Go for soybeans (edamame) or tofu rather than mock meats made out of heavily processed soy and often filled with preservatives.
Limit processed and red meats
Red meat contains compounds that can damage intestinal lining and may increase cancer risk. But it comes down to the quality of the meat and how much of it you eat. The debate about whether or not to eat meat is ongoing but among those who do choose to eat meat, there’s another layer of controversy: Is it really better for you and for the environment to eat grass-fed meat, rather than conventionally raised grain-fed meat? The answer is an unequivocal yes.
What Is different between Conventional (Grain-fed) Meat and Grass-fed Meat?
Most conventional meat comes from animals fed corn and soy and other items that may not be specified. In some cases, farmers feed conventional cattle items like secondhand candy as a cheap way to fatten them up before they enter the food supply.
As for grass-fed meat, the fatty acid composition and antioxidant content of beef is much better than grain-fed meat. Grass-fed beef is higher in vitamin A, E, and cancer-fighting antioxidants such as glutathione since its grass-fed diet encourages the creation of those nutrients. Also, its been shown to enhance healthy fats like conjugated linoleic acid isomers (which may help reduce body weight and high blood pressure) and omega-3 fatty acids. Most Americans are deficient in omega-3s, which help combat anxiety, inflammation and a host of other ailments.
Most grain-fed cattle are given antibiotics. In 2016, when testing samples of ground meat from conventionally raised cattle, Consumer Reports found that 18 percent of samples of conventional beef were contaminated with dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
How much to Eat?
Eating more than 18 ounces of beef, pork and lamb a week is associated with a higher risk of colon cancer, so keep your amounts below that. To help you visualize this... three to four ounces of meat is the size of a deck of cards, so you can have that portion five times a week. If you want a larger portion, have red meat less often. My anti-inflammatory diet includes only one to two servings a week of lean meats and skinless poultry.
Processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs or deli meats should be avoided. These foods are thought to be cancer-causing due to chemicals in that develop during the salting, curing or other methods involved in producing these commercial products. When eaten regularly, these can increase your risk of stomach and colon cancers. If you enjoy processed meats, have them only on special occasions.
Watch your alcohol intake
Wine - especially red wine - contains a phytochemical called resveratrol that may boost heart health. But drinking any type of alcohol, in large amounts, is linked to higher cancer risk. If you do drink, limit yourself to two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women. And take a look at how generous your pour is. A standard drink is 1½ ounces of spirits, five ounces of wine or 12 ounces of regular beer. When an occasion includes alcohol, follow the first drink with a non-alcoholic, low-calorie beverage like sparkling water instead of moving directly to another cocktail, beer, or glass of wine.
TAKE SELECTED SUPPLEMENTS & botanicals
The use of supplements and botanicals in medicine and particularly in cancer care is based on the synergistic hypothesis - that combinations of well-selected active constituents from one or more supplements and botanical species will together have a synergistic anti-cancer effect. Some ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) combination therapies have been shown to improve the response rates to chemotherapy in people with various cancers such as pancreatic and colon cancer. Botanicals are used in integrative oncology in several ways: to prevent cancer and metastasis in high-risk patients, to manage side effects of conventional cancer therapy, as adjuvants to improve efficacy and safety of chemotherapy agents, and as immunomodulators to prevent cancer relapse after treatment.
Read more about Supplements and Botanicals
Get lean
Excess body fat, especially around the midsection, appears to increase the risk of about a dozen different types of cancer. You might think of fat as an inert substance, but it’s an organ that affects hormone levels and releases substances that can increase inflammation and cell division, creating an ideal environment for cancer to develop. That’s why getting to a healthy weight (and doing it in a way that gives you all of the potential cancer-fighting nutrients you need - see the anti-inflammatory diet) is one of the most important things you can do to lower your cancer risk. For those with cancer, research has suggested that losing weight can reduce the risk of recurrence. For more on tips for losing weight, see this article.
You don’t have to be perfect with your diet. Even if you are, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll be cancer-free forever. Eating as healthfully as possible reduces your cancer risk, and occasional indulgences minimize stress and are part of socializing with the people you love. Reducing stress and regular exercise should also be part of your cancer-fighting strategy.