Diet and cancer

[Guest guest]

Bre <bk_dizzy2 wrote:

Mostlyjokes_Medicineforthespirit From: "Bre" Sun, 18 Jul 2004 09:53:58 -0000[Mostlyjokes_Medicineforthespirit] For Survivors of Cancer, All Calories Are Not EqualAfter her third battle with cancer, Diana Dyer decided she neededsomething more than surgery and chemotherapy to keep the disease atbay. During treatment, she ate whatever she could tolerate to get thecalories her body needed. But afterward, her goal was to use diet tominimize the risk of recurrence.She searched the scientific literature for guidance and developed aplan based, she recognized, on "very little clinical science" but onthe best science available.She increased her exercise; reduced her alcohol intake; avoidedsaturated fats in animal foods and the trans and hydrogenated fats inprocessed

foods; switched to olive and canola oils; gave up red meatsand poultry but ate more soy foods, fatty fish and eggs, rich inomega-3 fatty acids; doubled her fiber intake through whole grains,legumes and nine or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables;replaced diet sodas with tomato and orange juice, and green tea; stuckto low-fat dairy products; and added nuts and flax seeds to her diet.She describes her plan, including what to do when eating out, in abook, "A Dietitian's Cancer Story" (Swan Press, $15.95), and offerstwo weeks of menus and recipes on her Web site, www.cancerrd.com. Partof the sales of the book benefit the American Institute for CancerResearch. The book can be ordered through the institute at (800) 843-8114.Also helpful on the subject is the American Cancer Society'spublication "Nutrition for the Person With Cancer: A Guide forPatients and Families," available by calling (800) ACS-2345.Will Ms.

Dyer's approach help keep her free of cancer? So far she hasbeen healthy. And the diet will lower her risk of heart disease.A diagnosis of cancer is a wake-up call for many people. Hoping tomaximize their chances of survival, however, many patients turn tostrange diets, supplements and herbal remedies with little or noscientific evidence to establish their worth. Some may be harmful.To help health care providers and their patients make the best choicesbased on the best available evidence, three years ago the AmericanCancer Society published in the journal CA a guide on nutrition duringand after cancer treatment. It was designed to help the more than 1.2million people who each year receive cancer diagnoses and the morethan nine million Americans who have thus far survived cancer. Thearticle is online (caonline.amcancersoc .org) or can be found in theMay/June 2001 issue.In addition to the nutritional advantages gained

from the suggesteddietary measures, making improvements in living habits has importantpsychological benefits by helping patients regain a sense of controlover their lives.During TreatmentCurrent approaches to cancer treatment - surgery, radiation andchemotherapy - may not only change a person's nutritional needs butalso interfere with the ability to consume, digest, absorb andassimilate food. In most cases, cancer treatment increases a person'scaloric needs while making it more challenging to meet them.Small, frequent meals and snacks and foods that are easy to chew,swallow, digest and absorb - and that are appealing - are recommended,even if they are high in calories or fat. This is not a time to try tolose weight or worry about how healthful foods might be. Meeting one'scaloric needs is the primary goal; during treatment, it is oftenhelpful to add beverages like Ensure or Boost as temporary aids.Cancer

patients are also urged to engage in light, regular physicalactivity to counter fatigue; to stimulate appetite and digestion; toprevent constipation; to maintain energy and muscle mass; to providerelaxation; and to reduce stress.But the cancer society's experts warn against consuming high levels ofcertain supplements that may do more harm than good. Folic acid, forexample, can interfere with the action of some chemotherapeutic drugs,like methotrexate, that act as folic acid antagonists. And high dosesof antioxidants, like vitamins C and E, which patients sometimes takein hope of protecting normal cells, may reduce the effectiveness oftherapies that work by causing oxidative damage to cancer cells.The experts recommend as a prudent approach during treatment "not toexceed the upper limits of the Dietary Reference Intakes for vitaminsupplements and to avoid other nutritional supplements that containantioxidant

compounds."Cancer treatment often suppresses immune responses, and so it is alsoimportant to pay particular attention to food safety. Do not eat rawfish or undercooked meats and poultry or drink unpasteurized juices;rinse all fruits and vegetables; and protect foods eaten uncooked fromthe drippings or utensils used on raw meats, poultry and seafood.Once active treatment ends, the goal is to rebuild muscle strength andcorrect problems like anemia that may have been caused by treatment.Again, this is not a time to diet; the emphasis should be on eatinghealthful foods.Although daily exercise may not prevent recurrence or slow theprogression of cancer, the experts note that it can "reduce anxietyand depression, improve mood, improve self-esteem and reduce symptomsof fatigue, nausea, pain and diarrhea."Eating for Good HealthThe cancer society experts say, "There is no evidence to supportfasting as a

healthy practice during cancer treatment or beyond."Vegetarian diets and macrobiotic diets based on whole grains, fruitsand vegetables, beans, fermented soy products, nuts, seeds and teas"can be consistent with a healthy diet" as long as consumers arecareful to take in enough calories and essential nutrients.But the experts found "no data to support the claim that a macrobioticdiet reduces cancer incidence or recurrence" any more than the lessrestricted regimen the society recommends, which includes animalprotein foods in moderation.Although a one-a-day type of multivitamin-mineral supplement can helpcompensate for nutrient shortfalls, the experts advise against dosesabove the recommended intake for any nutrient. "There is no evidencethat any nutritional supplement can reproduce the apparent benefits ofa diet high in vegetables and fruits," the experts say.Alcohol is best avoided or consumed in moderation - at

most a drink aday for women, two for men - since it is associated with an increasedrisk of breast, lung and digestive cancers. Purple grape juice helpsprotect against heart disease. Teas are all right for cancersurvivors, as long as they are made from plants that are ordinarilyused for foods or beverages. Caffeine is all right, too; it has nolink to cancer.The jury is still out on the benefits and risks of estrogen-rich soyfoods for survivors of breast and prostate cancers, though they arenot believed to be hazardous when consumed in moderation, say, at onemeal a day. But breast cancer survivors should avoid supplements ofsoy concentrates and isoflavones.High-fat diets, in general, are not advisable for cancer survivors, orfor anyone. In place of animal-derived fats and polyunsaturates, someexperts recommend monounsaturates like olive and canola oils and thefats in avocados, nuts and fish, which have been associated

withprotection against cancer and heart disease. Foods high in sugars mayhave no adverse effect on cancer, but they have limited nutrient valueand often supplant more healthful foods.As Ms. Dyer discovered, until there is evidence to the contrary,eating lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains rich inpotentially protective fiber and phytochemicals should be the goal forall cancer survivors. In fact, for everyone.