Cancer has hit close to home
personally, and has affected nearly every household in America. Cancer is the
uncontrollable growth and spread of abnormal cells in an area of the body that
may affect all genders and ethnicities. Noted as the second leading cause of
death, in 2013 there were 584, 881 deaths due to cancer.
Research has been conducted to
determine correlations between cancer risk and controllable lifestyle factors,
such as diet. It has been estimated that 35% of deaths caused by cancer could
potentially be prevented simply by dietary changes. If this estimation is
accurate, it would mean that in 2013 an estimated 204,708 deaths could possibly
have been prevented. That’s 200,000 families that did not have to suffer from the loss of a loved one.
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Diets are very complex, including a
wide variety of ingredients and therefore there are multiple dietary
recommendations to lower cancer risk. These recommendations include a low
calorie diet while not becoming underweight, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables,
grains and pulses. They also recommend a low amount of red meat in the diet, no
processed meats and a very limited salt intake. On the liquid side of the diet,
it is recommended to refrain from alcoholic drinks and sugary drinks. Lastly,
60 minutes of moderate or 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity is
recommended daily.
The recommendation to restrict
caloric intake is directly related to reducing incidence of obesity. Excess
body fat can lead to multiple problems with how the human body obtains energy
from consumed food. This includes changes in sex hormones, alterations to
immune system functioning and alterations to insulin, which regulates the
amount of sugar in the blood system. Obesity obviously can lead to a number of
health complications one being type II diabetes. Obesity is also directly
linked to pancreatic cancer and breast cancer.
Trans
fatty acid is fat that is industrially created to make a more liquid fat become
solid. Trans fatty acids are primarily found in processed foods. This fat is
directly linked to increased risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastric
adenocarcinoma and colorectal adenomas. The elimination of these highly processed
foods containing trans fat is highly recommended.
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The
recommendation to reduce red meat consumption and to eliminate consumption of
processed meats is due to the nitroso compounds found in the meat.
Understanding exactly what the nitroso compounds is not of importance, but they
are found in meat and are considered carcinogenic. Carcinogenic means that they
can directly cause cancer. Another component of red meat that is a carcinogenic
is iron. Red meat is linked to colorectal, stomach and pancreatic cancer.
Increasing
plant food consumption is important specifically for the high fiber content.
Fiber is directly linked to reducing colorectal cancer. This is because it
induces cell death, therefore killing cells once they should no longer be
growing and decreasing chance of tumor growth. Another reason is that it clears
the intestinal tract and aids the intestinal mucosa in removing waste. Fiber is
also linked to reducing breast cancer and colorectal cancer.
Vitamins
and minerals are also seen to decrease risk of cancer. Carotenoids, folate,
vitamin C, D, E and B6 all aid cells to not become altered and not grow
uncontrollably to create these tumors. Vitamins and minerals also aid the body
in maintaining proper hormone levels. Supplementation of vitamins and minerals
is not currently recommended in cancer prevention. This finding surprised me.
It is stated that beta-carotene supplementation can stop the natural cell death
that is supposed to occur and therefore can lead to a tumor. Folic acid
supplementation did not decrease incidence of colorectal cancer. So while these
vitamins and minerals can decrease the risk of cancer, when supplemented and
concentrations are too high they can actually harm the body.
A complete modification to ones diet is not necessarily easy. In this case the benefits outweigh the pleasure of eating what you like. I would rather cut out a steak every now and then if it means I could be preventing cancer. The diet recommended is fairly similar to the Mediterranean diet, high in vegetables and fruits while low in red meats and salt. This diet change seems to be one of the easiest ways we can act to try to prevent ourselves from having such a horrible disease.
Nichols,
Hanna. "The Top 10 Leading Causes of Death in the US." Medical News
Today. MediLexicon International, 21 Sept. 2014. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.
Norat,
Teresa, Scoccianti, C., Boutron-Ruault, M.C., Anderson, A., Berrino, F.,
Cecchini, M., Espina, C., Key, T., Leitzmann, M., Powers, H., Wiseman, M.,
Romiue, I. (2015). European Code against Cancer 4th Edition: Diet
and Cancer. The International Journal of
Cancer Epidemiology, Detection, and Prevention, 39S pages S56-S66.
One's diet is important in so many different ways. The benefits of changing one's diet in a positive way are astounding, but I completely agree that this is just not an easy task for so many people. Also, adding exercise can be difficult for people who have children and live busy lives, but that shouldnt be an excuse. The importance of a person's diet is often overlooked by so many.
ReplyDeleteI liked the incorporation of your personal take on this matter at the end, especially when you summed up your article in this short phrase: "diet recommended high in vegetables and fruits while low in red meats and salt." Although other factors play a role in a well-balanced diet such as one's access to food, this statement made altering one's diet seem doable and simple. It was crazy to learn that about 35% of deaths were caused by cancer linked to diet. It was also shocking to learn that vitamins and minerals supplemented in the body can cause harm.
ReplyDeleteI am huge fan of disease prevention over disease treatment. Preventing a disease is so much cheaper and also better for one's health. I am not sure why our society cares so much about disease treatment and cares so little about disease prevention. Preventing diseases can be so simple, but many people don't try it. I would much rather try to eat a healthier diet and reduce my risk of getting cancer or some other disease. I feel many people would agree with me, yet people will still eat an unhealthy diet.
ReplyDeleteCancer is a terrifying disease that effects so many of us. With all the different types of cancer we need to worry about on a daily basis, why wouldn't everyone make lifestyle changes to decrease their chances of developing some forms of cancer? I know that these lifestyle changes aren't as simple as we'd like them to be, but they are far easier than battling cancer.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. I believe the public isn't completely aware that all of this research is out there, but you can google "cancer fighting foods" and 1000's of images and recommendations pop up. Another prevalent issue is that these foods may be more expensive and that cuts off availability for some individuals.
DeleteI never considered the possibility that cost could prevent people from eating healthy foods. Now that I think about it, fresh fruits and vegetables can cost more especially when they aren't locally in season.
DeleteIt is amazing and astonishing to think that following these diets, which I tend to follow anyways, can help lessen your chances of having cancer. Have studies been extensively conducted to support this research? I think the end results would be interesting to review.
ReplyDeleteI have seen a lot of supporting research and as I replied to Shawna, when you google cancer fighting foods there are thousands of images. On the other hand there can be multiple variables during the research of the impacts of these foods like if the patient is being medically treated along with eating these "cancer-fighting" foods. There is always more research that should be conducted to verify it but I personally believe there is enough out there that people should begin following the diet recommendations.
DeleteIt is so sad that living with the wrong diet for multiple years can lead to disease such as cancer. I have relatives who died from cancer and I will never know, their diets might have been a contributing factor. I feel like we should really concentrate on what we eat nowadays. Not only do we have to watch out what we eat from the natural sources of foods, we now also have too keep an eye on the chemicals that are being added by the various companies in order to make things taste better. It makes me angry how many companies sell straight garbage to people because they know they will get their money. In our day and age it is very hard to have a healthy diet, especially for the ones who are less fortunate and cannot afford proper foods.
ReplyDeleteIt really drives me insane that people do not take their diet more seriously. I think the issue lies in that eating gives people instant satisfaction, while the consequences of your diet choices will take longer to affect you. I also think that the youth use their age as an excuse to eat poorly. I think diet is a major key in any type of disease prevention. What you do now will determine what happens to you in the future! I understand that changing the way you eat may not be easy, but I can assure you that making dietary changes will be easier than undergoing treatment for any disease, especially cancer.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me that majority of people fail to look at their diet being linked to cancer. I realize that there are several factors that contribute to getting cancer. However, if the public was informed better that the diet they are consuming can possibly aid in their death, then they may change their diet. There are so many kinds of super foods out there can help prevent cancer. You are what you eat I think, if your willing to put junk in your body then be prepared for what comes with it. If you can pronoun the chemical that's on the food label, then that might be a give away that maybe it wasn't naturally meant to go in the human body.
ReplyDeleteI found this blog to very good for me because, after writing my research paper on an anti-angiogenic diet and how it can help prevent cancer, it further proved much of what I found as well. A diet high in vegetables and fruits seems to be the right choice to help prevent cancer as well as a diet low in red meats, while chicken and fish seem to be better choices for an animal protein source.
ReplyDeleteAs I had mentioned in previous blog responses, diet is the key issue behind many diseases that we think are always genetic in nature. While genetics does play role, we need to refocus our efforts in the medical field towards diet. This post clearly shows that diet is the issue. Notifying the public is the biggest part of this and it seems challenging to do so because of all the research that is out there. But steps should be taken in the right direction in order to make people more aware.
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