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Cancer is more complicated than many other diseases. Heart disease, for example, is a single
disease that affects the heart. Cancer manifests itself as different diseases, attacking different
organs and having different risk factors. But to the benefit of health professionals, many of
cancer’s risk factors share a common thread—diet.
According to the American Cancer Society, about one-third of the 500,000 cancer deaths each year
are due to dietary factors. Studies also indicate that a diet high in fruits and vegetables helps
lower the risk of all cancers.
Despite this, many people ignore diet’s role in cancer prevention. Writing in the Nutrition
Action Newsletter (December 1998), John Potter, Head of Cancer Prevention and Research at the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, stated, “The role of diet in preventing cancer goes
back to the 1970’s but nothing has stuck. People think cancer is not preventable at all, so
why try diet?”
The answer, according to the American Cancer Society, is that a healthy diet does decrease the
risk of cancer. They advocate following general nutrition guidelines as the simplest way to lower
the risk and death rate of cancer.
However, most people do not think about making dietary changes until there’s a crisis. Registered nurse Nina Luce is a breast cancer survivor of ten years. She eats lots of fruits, vegetables and low-fat foods, drinks plenty of fluids, and exercises regularly. Luce encourages people to adopt a healthy lifestyle because “having breast cancer was like going into battle and everything you do matters! When I eat right, exercise and drink water, I just feel better.”
Unfortunately, no diet or food can cure cancer or stop its recurrence. Nor is there evidence that
dietary supplements, vitamins or mineral pills cure cancer or keep it from returning.
However, a strong correlation exists between eating certain foods (specifically fruits, vegetables
and whole grains) and preventing the onset of cancer. This information can be put to good use in
planning a healthy—and prevention-minded—diet.
Lowering the Risk
Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in this country. The obvious—to quit smoking—is the single best way to decrease the risk of lung cancer, but diet can help. Less alcohol consumption and lower amounts of dietary fat, specifically saturated fat, can lower the risk. (Remember, saturated fat comes from animal products like meat and cheese.) Although there’s not enough information about other dietary risk factors for lung cancer, it’s always safe to follow good nutrition guidelines.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in men. A lower intake of animal
products, specifically saturated fat and red meat, can help reduce the risk of its occurrence. A
report in the Journal of National Cancer Research (1998) confirmed that men who eat plenty of
grains and nuts are the least likely to die from prostate cancer. Also, having more cereals, nuts
and oils has a protective anti-cancer effect.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. It is also the number one killer of women ages 35 to 54. In the body, when too much estrogen reaches the receptors in the breast, the risk of cancerous growth rises. Food can actually change the composition of the breast and make breasts more resistant to cancer. Products high in soy (soy nuts, soybeans, tofu and soy milk) and flaxseed have been known to block estrogen receptors in the breast. Healthier fats (omega-3 found in fish oil and monounsaturated found in olive oil), cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower) and foods high in fiber (beans and high fiber cereals) are all associated with blocking estrogen and decreasing breast-cancer risk.
Colon cancer is the second leading cancer death in the U.S. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1998) found that a high fiber diet did not appear to lower the risk of colon cancer. However, it’s not a bad idea to eat a high fiber diet since fiber is believed to reduce cancer risk by flushing waste from the body. Overall, a diet high in fiber, low in sugar and including several servings of low-fat dairy products appears to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Even though a healthy diet cannot guarantee a cancer-free life, it doesn’t hurt to take some
precautions and cut the risks. Make positive lifestyle changes while you can and avoid unnecessary
cancer risks.
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