Cancer & Nutrition
Much of the information in this article was excerpted from the book Nutrition by the Numbers by Christopher Ramsden, M.D. I strongly recommend this book if you want a clear understanding of the nutritional impact of foods on the disease process.
The term Cancer refers to a group of diseases characterized by unrestrained cell growth and replication. Like all complex diseases, both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors determine which individuals will develop cancer. However, environmental and lifestyle factors are believed to play the dominant role, accounting for 75-90% of all cancer cases.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence for the leading role of environment are migration studies of individuals from areas of low incidence of cancer to areas of higher risk. Importantly, the earlier the age of migration and longer duration of residence in the U.S., the higher the risk of prostate, breast, colorectal and several other cancers.
Some dietary components promote, and others inhibit, the molecular mechanisms that transform a previously healthy cell into a malignant tumor.
Oxidative stress*, inflammation, and fat accumulation, three molecular processes play a pivotal role in the development of cancer through direct or indirect stimulation of mutagenesis, cellular proliferation and angiogenesis, tissue invasion and metastasis.
By optimizing the antioxidant network, habitual consumption of a variety of antioxidant rich foods and beverages limits oxidative stress induced mutations. Prevention of oxidative stress induced mutations helps explain the association between high intake of antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables and reduced risk of several cancers.
High Antioxidant Rich Foods
Blueberry (wild) Blueberry (cultivated) Eggplant
Cranberry blackberry olive (green)
Artichoke raspberry beet
Black plum Asparagus red cabbage
Olive (black) strawberry spinach
Any food or beverage when reduced to its most fundamental level, is simple a unique combination of molecules. These bioactive molecules regulate high leverage metabolic processes including:
· Inflammation
· Blood clotting
· Cholesterol metabolism
· Fat accumulation
· Sugar and insulin metabolism
· Antioxidant function
· Cell growth and replication
By regulating these crucial metabolic pathways, dietary molecules ultimately determine the overall impact of any given food on health and disease. Therefore, two foods that look and taste similar, but have different molecular content, can have profoundly different health effects.
The human diet has remained relatively stable over thousands of years of human evolution. Modern humans are genetically adapted to the diets of our ancestors which shaped our genetic makeup. In essence the human body expects to be nourished by certain molecules within genetically determined ranges. 1
However modern U.S. dietary intake scarcely resembles that of our ancestors. Approximately 150- 200 years ago the Industrial Revolution heralded the onset in food processing, crop manipulation and intensive animal rearing practices, which boosted the speed and quantity of food production. These practices radically altered the qualitive and quantitative balance of nutrition in our food supply. This is in addition to the environmental toxins (mercury and pcbs) and hydrogenation of vegetable oils which has introduced novel toxins such as trans fatty acids into our food supply.
The “standard American diet” (SAD) promotes excessive inflammation, blood clotting, and fat accumulation, distorts blood insulin and cholesterol metabolism, and favors oxidative stress and cancer.
Here is a quick exercise for you, go to your kitchen and pick a food product that has a nutritional label on the side of the package. On the label you will see the following categories: Total fats, Cholesterol, Sodium, Total Carbohydrates and Proteins.
Do you know which of the Totals Fats are good for you?
Should you be avoiding Dietary Cholesterols?
How much total sugar are you getting from Carbohydrates?
Sodium is salt; how much salt is in the food product? How much do you need daily?
Are there good proteins and bad proteins?
Total Fats are composed of saturated fats, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids.
Saturated Fats are concentrated in whole fat dairy products, grain feed beef and poultry, and palm, palm kernel and coconut oils. Excessive consumption has adverse effects on cholesterol metabolism, insulin regulation, and blood clotting which helps explain the association between saturated fats consumption and cardiovascular disease.2
Monosaturated Fatty Acids are found in olive oil, whole olives, avocados, wild animal meats, bone marrow and many nuts, especially macadamias, almonds, and cashews. Historically our diets where predominately monosaturated fatty acids.
Monosaturated Fatty Acids are widely recognized as beneficial for health however modern animal rearing practices (grain fed animals) along with a nutritional orientation favoring grains has profoundly shifted consumption of Monosaturated Fatty Acids replacing them with saturated fats.
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids are divided into two principal types: Omega-6 and Omega-3 which serve vital yet opposed effects in the human body. In general Omega-6 promotes and Omega 3 inhibits inflammation, blood clotting and cell growth and replication. 3
Unfortunately the modern U.S. food supply provides massive amounts of Omega-6 and minimal Omega-3, a situation strongly linked to the current disease epidemics (cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, cancers, arthritis and Alzheimer’s) in the U.S.
For instance wild caught salmon have high levels of Omega-3 oils, which are extremely beneficial. Farm raised salmon are devoid of Omega-3 and instead have high levels of Omega-6 which directly converts to Omega-6 arachidonic acid (ArA). Accumulating evidence suggest that excessive ArA consumption play key roles in the development and progression of many epidemic U.S. diseases. 4
Trans fats are not good for you, Crisco was the first trans fatty acid in the ‘50’s. Trans fats are made to extend the shelf life of an oil and are used in fried foods, processed, baked or bakery foods and sweets.
The FDA allows food manufactures to report 0 gram of trans fats if the serving size has less than 500mg of trans fats. Manufactures are able to circumvent this requirement by adjusting the serving size.
You have to look at the product ingredient list to see if the product contains trans fatty acids, if you see a listing for partially hydrogenated oils, this is a trans fatty acids.
Evidence has accumulated that trans fatty acid consumption promotes cholesterol and insulin dysregulation, and contributes to excessive inflammation and blood clotting, alters function of cell membranes, and may disrupt normal neurotransmitter turnover and neuronal function. 5
Cholesterol is composed entirely of animal products: eggs, red meat, poultry and fish are the major sources. Dietary cholesterol has only a minor effect on blood cholesterol levels. By comparison, trans fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, and non fiber carbohydrates play a major role in the regulation of blood cholesterol. 6
Carbohydrates are composed of starches, sugars and fibers both soluble and insoluble Advances in nutritional biochemistry have demonstrated that starches, although more complex than sugars, are quickly digested and absorbed as sugars. Metabolically speaking pure starches are sugar equivalents.
When you look at the total carbohydrate heading it is broken down into dietary fiber and sugars. Excluding the dietary fibers from the total carbohydrates gives you the total amount of sugars you are getting from the combined sugar and starches. Starches are complex sugars which are quickly broken down in the mouth and gut into simple sugars.
Excessive consumption of pure starches, like sugar reduces HDL or “good cholesterol” raises triglycerides, promotes inflammation and oxidative stress and favors insulin resistance and weight gain. 7
Proteins are derived from poultry, red meats, dairy, eggs, fish, shellfish, nuts and beans. From proteins amino acids are derived, which are the building blocks of life. Proteins’ are essential for life.
In the late 1970s, studies suggested a link between animal protein and cardiovascular disease and limiting protein intake was advocated in the U.S. However modern American protein sources have radically different fat concentrations than those consumed throughout human history. More recent studies suggest that saturated fats rather than the animal protein itself are primarily responsible for the association with cardiovascular disease. 8
Bottom Line: If you are dealing with any disease process including Cancer, you want to be actively monitoring and modifying your food intake to accomplish the following goals:
· reducing hidden sugars
· reducing sodium
· avoiding saturated fats
· avoiding trans fatty acids
· eating foods rich in mono and poly unsaturated fats
· eating antioxidant rich foods
· eating carbohydrates with high dietary fiber
· eating no farm raised beef, poultry, fish, only wild caught or range fed.
*A condition of increased oxidant production in animal cells characterized by the release of free radicals and resulting in cellular degeneration.
References
1-8 Ramsden, C. E., Nutrition by the Numbers, 2007, Applied Nutritional Biochemistry, Atlanta, GA