Subject: Jane Plant Dairy and Breast Cancer

[Guest guest]

Jane Plant Dairy and Breast Cancer

 

 

 

Rense.com

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Jane Plant Interview On

Dairy Causing Breast Cancer

By ABCNEWS.com

http://more.abcnews.go.com

2-3-01

 

 

 

Cutting your consumption of milk, ice cream and cheese can help your

waistline and one scientist says it could also help in the fight

against breast cancer.

 

" Drink milk-- it will prevent osteoporosis. " Women have heard that

line for years. But scientist Jane Plant, author of Your Life in

Your Hands, says you should put your glass down.

 

Plant has faced breast cancer five times since 1987. Today her body

is cancer-free and she attributes her recovery to a strict dairy-

free diet.

 

Plant claims there's a link between Western diets with high dairy

consumption and high rates of breast cancer, though there is no

medical proof of this. She joined us in a live chat following her

appearance on Good Morning America.

 

A transcript appears below:

 

Moderator at 12:00pm ET

We're joined by Jane Plant, a scientist and author of Your Life in

Your Hands, a book chronicling her battle with breast cancer and her

belief that a dairy-free diet saved her life.

 

Despite having no family history of breast cancer, Jane had five

recurrences of the disease. On her fifth diagnosis, given just three

months to live, she turned to her training as a scientist and

decided to cut dairy out of her diet. Seven years later, she is

cancer-free. Jane, thanks for joining us.

 

How did you arrive at the conclusion that the dairy products in your

diet might be affecting your health?

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:03pm ET

Well, I had worked a lot in China on links between the environment

and human health-- for example, the relationship between selenium

deficiency and heart disease-- and the Chinese had given me, at that

time, an atlas of cancer mortality in their country.

 

Suddenly, when I was given a diagnosis of three months to live, I

remembered that the atlas showed an incredibly low rate of breast

cancer in China, and I tried to think what was behind that

difference between the incidence-- China and the West.

 

I wondered whether it was the low fat diet, but I'd had a low fat

diet. I knew of the theory that the soya was protective, but I'd

been having a lot of soya. And, suddenly, I remembered that all the

Chinese people I knew wouldn't touch dairy products, because they

often lack the enzyme needed to digest it. So I thought that that

was worth a try.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:04pm ET

Martha Waters asks: " Did you give up calcium supplements as well as

dairy products? "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:05pm ET

I don't take any calcium supplements, because the diet that I follow

has lots of healthy sources of calcium in it. For example, certain

vegetables are very rich in calcium and, indeed, some fruits are,

too. Also, spreads such as tahini, which is a sesame spread, are

very rich in calcium. So I have lived on a dairy-free diet now for

seven and a half years, and I have no signs of osteoporosis. I have

long, strong nails, and my health is better than it ever was. I

believe that " calcium equals dairy " is a myth.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:05pm ET

Tracey Newhall wonders: " What, specifically, is in dairy foods that

contributes to the growth of cancer? "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:08pm ET

Dairy products contain certain hormones, for example, estrogen and

prolactin, which are contained in dairy milk, and oxytocin,

 

and, in addition, they contain growth factors. These growth factors

are designed to keep young cattle developing once they're out of the

mother's womb and they can eat grass.

 

One of these growth factors, called IGF-1, has been strongly

implicated in both breast and prostate cancer by many researchers,

and I've given the references to that research in the book. Also,

milk can contain concentrations of artificial chemicals which the

body cannot distinguish from hormones such as estrogen and these are

thought to disrupt the body's hormone system.

 

So dairy contains hormones, growth factors, and these stranger

estrogens, all implicated in breast cancer.

 

-------------------------------

 

Chris from pm1.ezlink.com at 12:08pm ET

Does it make a difference if the dairy product is organic? Is

organic dairy OK to consume?

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:09pm ET

No, I don't think it is. It might be marginally safer, but not

fundamentally. I only ate organic dairy products before I gave it

all up.

 

-------------------------------

 

Georgina Nash, RN from proxy.aol.com at 12:09pm ET

Jane, are you familiar with Dr. John McDougal and the " McDougal

Plan " ? His books have concrete evidence that dairy products are

directly linked to breast cancer, and many other cancers!

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:10pm ET

That's very interesting, and I'd be very pleased to look at that,

but, no, I'm not familiar with his work.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:11pm ET

Neal writes: " I am a scientist working on cancer. Your theory

linking milk and breast cancer is quite interesting. Milk [cow or

goat] has been a regular staple of most people's diets for thousands

of years. Yet, there has been absolutely no evidence over the

millennia that milk and dairy products cause anything more than a

lactose reaction. How do you rule out everything else in your life

as the culprit (environmental carcinogens, mutations of cancer

regulating genes, etc)? "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:13pm ET

I think there are two types of carcinogens: those that cause cancer,

and those that promote it. I believe that dairy promotes cancer,

because of the substances in it. The statistics on breast cancer in

countries like Thailand, Japan, China, and Korea, which never

adopted a dairy diet, contrast very markedly with statistics in the

West, where, as you say, people adopted the dairy diet from about

eight thousand years ago.

 

Studies between different populations, migrations studies, show that

when Chinese people emigrate and live on a Western diet, their

likelihood of developing these cancers increases. Studies done on

breast cancer cultures are consistent with dairy products causing

both breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.

 

I've given all the references in my book, including one by three

doctors from Princeton University in which they reviewed the

findings of 135 research papers, and reached conclusions almost

identical to those I've written about.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:14pm ET

A question from Michael Manchester: " Dr. Frank Oski, pediatrician,

former director of the Children's Center at John Hopkin's University

and prolific author and lecturer wrote the book Don't Drink Your

Milk in 1983, in which he questioned the presumed nutritional

benefits of dairy products.

 

Yet Dr. Oski also died of prostate cancer. Having not read this

book, can you comment as to whether cancer issues are raised in it,

and how it would be that an opponent of dairy would die of cancer.

Would dairy contribute to breast cancer in a way that it wouldn't

influence prostate cancer? "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:15pm ET

I haven't read his book. I think dairy is associated with prostate

cancer, but one of the problems with dairy is that it is hidden in

other foods, and you don't always know when you're consuming dairy

products.

 

Meat can also contain levels of chemicals like IGF-1 and so I've

described in the book how to cook meat safely to cut down the risk

of IGF-1 and other hormones from meat getting into your diet.

 

-------------------------------

 

mary pf. from ncn.com at 12:15pm ET

Could goat's milk [and derivative products] be any safer?

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:16pm ET

I don't know. But I decided to cut out all dairy products, because I

just don't think they're necessary, and I don't want to take any

risks.

 

-------------------------------

 

Kay Sanders at 12:16pm ET

I am allergic to milk and milk products. I am a breast cancer

survivor since 1985. Do you think stress or diet has the bigger

impact on cancer patients?

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:20pm ET

I think it's diet, mainly, but, as I said, some other animal

products have levels of IGF-1 in them, and it's important to check

that you're not inadvertently consuming dairy. Sometimes you think

you're buying a spread that has olive oil and it contains

significant quantities of dairy. In the U.K., many prescription

drugs are in a lactose matrix, and whey from milk can be the basis

of many commercial soups, so people may be unaware that they're

actually having dairy products.

 

I would also like to add that the diet isn't just simply " cut out

dairy. " There are several food factors discussed in it. The book

recommends changing from dairy to soya, provides information on

which fruits and vegetables are protective against breast cancer,

gives advice on getting your fat profile right, and it tells you

which drinks are best to drink, and how to deal with recycled water

that can contain hormones.

 

So it isn't just as simple as cutting out dairy foods; it's a whole

integrated program for tackling breast and prostate cancer.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:20pm ET

Maria Aebi writes: " I am a one-year survivor or breast cancer.

Previously, cheese played heavily in my diet. I wondered about its

effect, but on the other hand, have you researched countries like

Switzerland, for example, whose consumption of cheese per capita is

high? "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:21pm ET

Yes, and their breast cancer rates are very high. Most countries

that follow a Western diet have very high rates of breast cancer,

but the East coast of the USA. is actually the highest I've found.

 

-------------------------------

 

Gary from algx.iadfw.net at 12:21pm ET

Do you find the highest incidence of breast cancer in those

countries consuming greater amounts of dairy products such as the

Netherlands, or does the U.S. lead in this disease?

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:22pm ET

As far as I can see, the U.S. leads in these diseases, and the U.S.

has one of the highest consumptions of dairy products in the world.

According to the U.S. statistical department, about 40 percent of

the American diet can be made of dairy products. Think of all the

dips, ice creams, yogurts, milk, cheese, spreads, and all the hidden

dairy ingredients and you can see how this is possible.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:23pm ET

Leslyn writes: " How can one eliminate dairy products from their diet

and not risk osteoporosis? "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:24pm ET

This comes up many times, but calcium is available in lots of other

foods, especially vegetables and some fruits, and there are many

other rich sources, such as tahini. I've been totally dairy-free for

seven and a half years, I take no calcium supplements. I follow the

diet in my book, and I've got very good bone density, very long,

strong, fingernails, and no health problems. I have never felt

better in my life!

 

-------------------------------

 

Fred Falkson from dialup.mindspring.com at 12:24pm ET

Countries like China, Korea, and Thailand also have less red meat

and animal fat consumption than the U.S. Do you think this is a

factor in the cancer rates?

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:26pm ET

Yes, I think it could be, because they have a much higher proportion

of their calories from vegetable sources, particularly vegetables

and fruits, and that could be an important factor.

 

The book isn't simply cut out dairy; it's a whole integrated

lifestyle program designed to eliminate everything that's been

implicated in causing breast cancer and increasing everything that

has been shown to be protective against breast cancer.

 

In the case of China, they have meat cut into tiny little portions,

and cooked through very thoroughly. They don't tend to eat big slabs

of meat, as we do in the West.

 

-------------------------------

 

Julie from proxy.aol.com at 12:31pm ET

Do you avoid other food items such as gluten (wheat products)?

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:31pm ET

I don't avoid wheat products. I've explained why not in the book. I

don't think it's a factor in breast cancer.

 

-------------------------------

 

Marilyn from proxy.aol.com at 12:32pm ET

I was wondering of you had Type A or Type O blood? Because,

according to the work of Dr. Peter D'Adamo, dairy is basically bad

for those blood types.

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:33pm ET

I have type AB blood, and I'm aware of the idea that dairy can be

eaten by only one blood group, but I'm not sure whether the breast

cancer statistics are such that it relates to blood type.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:34pm ET

Chris asks: " What kind of medical therapies did you use in the way

of chemotherapy and radiation? Do you agree with conventional

medicine along with alternative medicine? "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:35pm ET

Yes, I agree-- it is essential to have your conventional medical

treatment, and the diet and lifestyle book I've put together is

aimed at complementing traditional medicine, not replacing it.

 

In my own case, I had a radical mastectomy, three further

operations, thirty five radiotherapy treatments to the chest wall, I

had my ovaries irradiated to induce menopause, and the cancer just

kept coming back.

 

I was into my chemotherapy treatment, which was having no measurable

effect on the tumor in my neck, when I decided to try to live like a

Chinese person, and it was at that point that my cancer started to

go. It disappeared in five weeks.

 

I had helped 63 other women by the time I wrote the book. They

followed my diet, which is no dairy, but as I said, it's more

complicated than that.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:36pm ET

Carol Rowzie asks: " How do we get the food industry to understand

the damage that over-consumption of dairy products does to our

bodies? Dairy products are in almost all pre-packaged foods and in

most fresh prepared recipes. We need to be " over-whelmed " with good

alternatives, i.e., soy/other plant based foods.

 

Given the power of the dairy industry (lobbying, relationship with

medical community, etc.), how do we re-educate the public to this

very serious issue? Speaking from personal experience, this is a

great drain of resources on our health care system and personal

lives. "

 

-------------------------------

 

Jane Plant at 12:37pm ET

Well, I've tried to do it by publishing my book and by publicizing

the issue as, indeed, have other people. Ultimately, the main weapon

we have is our buying power.

 

If we just stop buying products with dairy in them, and replace them

with healthy alternatives, people will start moving out of an

industry if nobody wants to buy the products.

 

I would like to say, I didn't set out to damage the dairy industry,

and I would hope they could find some alternative ways to make their

products.

 

-------------------------------

 

Moderator at 12:39pm ET

Jane, thanks for your time today. Jane Plant is the author of a new

book, Your Life in Your Hands.

 

 

 

 

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All rights reserved.

 

*****************************

 

http://www.litopia.com/jplant/

Breast Cancer Understanding & Prevention (BCUP)

 

BCUP is the foundation established by Professor Jane Plant CBE to

promote more widespread understanding of the insights into the

causes of breast cancer as first described in her book " Your Life In

Your Hands " , published in Britain by Virgin Publishing Ltd. BCUP is

currently in the process of acquiring charitable status in the UK.

 

Professor Jane Plant is one of Britain's most distinguished female

scientists. She has won many scientific honors, and last year was

presented with British science's highest award -- the Lord Kilgerran

Prize.

 

 

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