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Cancer |
In cancer, certain cells begin to divide and reproduce unchecked. Two main factors contribute: one is a genetic change which causes some cells to divide endlessly; the other is a cell environment which facilitates this endless division.
By "cell environment," we are referring to the molecules and tissues that surround the cancer cell inside the body, not to the "environment" outside your body.
Every day, we eat, breathe, or are exposed to various stimuli that can mutate (change the genes of) cells. These mutagens include radiation from X-rays, the environment, or the sun; toxic chemicals from smoke, cleaning agents, food, water, pollution, or any other stimulus that damages cells or DNA.
One theory states that any process which drastically increases the rate of cell division is likely to increase the probability of getting cancer. When cells divide more rapidly than usual, there is an increased chance that one of the cells will reproduce wrong and mutate into a cancerous cell. This is why repeated sunburns, chronic diseases, long-term exposure to low doses of radiation, etc. might cause cancer.
All diseases (particularly infectious diseases) force cells to reproduce and also release potent agents to attack the invading bacteria. These foreign invaders, or the body's own attacking agents, may cause some cells to mutate into abnormal cancer cells. Thus, patients with Crohn's disease, Ulcerative Colitis, or Cystic Fibrosis may be more susceptible to intestinal cancers.
Most foods contain a huge number of chemicals, many of which are potential mutagens. These substances could cause gastrointestinal cancer or, if absorbed, cancers in other organs. The liver and kidney are particularly susceptible to cancer: the liver processes and seeks to destroy toxic chemicals, and the kidney filters and excretes them. Some organs, like the brain, have a biological barrier that many toxic chemicals cannot penetrate. These organs are less susceptible to chemical damage, but their cancers are more difficult to treat with drugs.
Every day, thousands of chemical reactions in our bodies keep us alive. Chemical reactions allow us to process facts and emotions; to eat, digest, and use food; and to run away from predators, or to press buttons on the remote control. These chemical reactions often produce free radicals, chemical byproducts that can cause changes in genes. However, when we alter our chemical structure or temperature with foreign substances, we increase the probability that undesirable substances or unusual free radicals are produced. These substances can alter genes and membranes and thereby contribute to cancer. The number of chemical reactions increases when the body temperature increases, thereby producing more free radicals. These free radicals can cause changes in genes.
Usually, the free radicals are simply used up in other chemical reactions and cause us no harm. However, when we alter our chemical structure or temperature with foreign substances, we increase the probability or producing undesirable substances or unusual free radicals that can contribute to cancer. For example, taking drugs to increase metabolic rate in order to lose weight can cause unusual cancers, because increasing body temperature increases the number of chemical reactions, thus producing more free radicals.
Overeating (that is, eating too many calories) also increases our metabolism and therefore our production of free radicals. People who eat more food burn more food. Overeating also provides extra nutrients for cancer cells to grow. These are some of the reason why being slim and eating few calories protects us against cancer. Of course, if you become overweight, you are less likely to die of cancer because you will die first of cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, eating too many calories and too much total fat, particularly saturated fat, has been found to be associated with an increased incidence of cancer. In contrast, eating few calories prevents cancer, because it lowers the metabolic rate (and may also deprive cancer cells of nutrients).
To shield against excessive radicals, many foods (particularly fruits and vegetables) contain a huge number of antioxidants in a natural balance. We do not know the optimal balance of each antioxidant, so supplementation by vitamin pills may be counterproductive. We may be eating the wrong mixture or the wrong amount of some antioxidants, making life more miserable for the body. Eating natural foods, especially many vegetables and fruits, appears to be the best way to protect ourselves.
Cancer cells reproduce rapidly and need plenty of nutrients; they require the growth of new blood vessels. Many factors allow cancer cells to continue dividing, the most important of which is an ineffective immune system that fails to contain and destroy cancer cells in the early stages of the disease (when there are few of them).
Nutrition researchers agree on several basic
principles for cancer prevention:
Eat less. Animals who overeat are more
prone to cancer and live shorter lives. Being thin, active, and eating little
food usually prolongs life and prevents cancer. Also, minimize alcohol
consumption.
Avoid processed meats and saturated fat.
This includes: salt-cured, smoked, or nitrite-cured foods like bacon, sausage,
ham, charcoal grilled meats, and foods with fat cooked at high temperatures (as
in broiling or frying).
Eat natural foods. These foods are
high in fiber, vitamins A, C, beta-carotene, selenium, and vitamin E.
Vegetables provide an excellent source of such nutrients. However, eating
vitamin and mineral supplements alone may be counterproductive, because
you can cause a vitamin or mineral imbalance. Moreover, natural foods have
hundreds of natural chemicals which current research suggests have protective
effects against cancer. These chemicals are not found in vitamin or mineral
supplements. Again, the goal is balance: eating natural foods and
using supplements only to correct deficiencies identified with biochemical
tests.
Eat more antioxidants if you eat more
essential fats. Most Americans, because of inappropriate diets, have
insufficient levels of EFAs in their bodies and need to eat more of them.
However, EFAs are highly susceptible to oxidation and may produce excessive
free radicals. Thus, you must eat antioxidants with foods when you consume more
essential fats. The best approach is to eat foods naturally rich in EFs and
antioxidants, such as vegetable oils, seeds, fish, poultry, and eggs. However,
avoid too many antioxidants from dietary supplements.
The same diet works for heart disease and cancer
Studies of different populations have shown that many people with cancer have very low cholesterol. For a while, scientists did not know whether the cancer reduced cholesterol or if low cholesterol induced cancer. Fortunately, recent studies have found that lowering cholesterol prevents cancer.
Another area of concern has been the effect of fat on cancer. Most studies have found that eating too much fat is associated with a higher likelihood of developing cancer. Some studies suggested that foods high in SFAs are associated with cancer, and that eating large amounts of PUFAs may help cancer cells to grow. However, no one has shown that moderate amounts of PUFAs, such as those indicated here, lead to cancer. In some cases, diets high in PUFAs can help kill cancer cells.
Moreover, recent reviews of previous data have shown that the culprit in cancer is not natural fat, but calories and processed fat. Historically, populations that ate too many calories ate too much fat and vice versa. However, with the advent of highly processed foods low in fat, it is now possible to eat a low-fat, high-calorie diet. This type of diet is likely to cause (not prevent) cancer.
There is now general agreement that the same foods that prevent heart disease prevent cancer, leading to healthier and longer lives. These diets emphasize consumption of natural foods high in complex carbohydrates and essential fats, and elimination of processed foods.
We all die eventually. If we succeed in preventing death from cardiovascular disease, then we are most likely to die from an infection, an accident, or cancer. Our objective is not to eliminate death, which is impossible, but to live a longer and more fulfilling life by preventing premature death and unnecessary debilitating illness.
Deficiencies of essential fats alter cells and may
facilitate the transformation of healthy to malignant cells.
EFA deficiencies can drastically change the balance of hormone production and the function of your organs. Breast and prostate tissues are particularly sensitive to abnormalities of essential fats. The breasts need essential fats to produce healthy milk and to remain healthy. The prostate produces sperm, which contain essential fats. A deficiency or imbalance of essential fats alters the function of these organs and may lead to compensatory overproduction of different types of cells. Thus, patients at risk for prostate or breast cancer should maintain an optimal balance of EFs.
The most common problem is an overall deficiency of both w3 and w6 fatty acids, with a greater deficiency of w3s (which often inhibit abnormal cell growth). However, correcting problems is tricky.
Alternative treatment approaches you may consider
Eating very few calories may starve the cancer cells. Eating very little food but balanced meals may help the body fight cancer by starving cancer cells while keeping the immune system nourished. This diet can also make cancer cells more susceptible to attack by radiation or drugs.
Many people with cancer lose their appetites. We do not know why this happens, but we do know the results. Eating a bad diet leads to deterioration of the immune system, reducing the ability of the body to fight cancer cells. Therefore, many scientists encourage cancer patients to eat balanced meals regardless of appetite.
A vegetarian diet may deprive cancer cells of nutrients they need to grow. I wrote a paper explaining why some types of cancer growth may slow when the patient eats a low calorie, nutritionally balanced vegetarian diet. I suggested that patients who want to treat their cancer should eat few calories, and avoid all animal foods. (Siguel E. Cancerostatic Effect of Vegetarian Diets. Nutrition and Cancer, 4:285-289, 1983.)
Cancer cells reproduce very quickly and need ingredients to make membranes. The EFA derivatives like arachidonic acid (found in animal foods) are critical for membrane formation. Many cancer cells that cannot make enough EFA derivatives get them from other parts of the body or from the diet. By eliminating animal fats that contain EFA derivatives, some cancer cells may grow more slowly.
Notice how this treatment is precisely the opposite of the treatment for heart disease, diabetes, intestinal disease, and alcoholism, where you want to help your body form more cell membranes, and allow cells to reproduce faster and work better. In cancer, we must make a difficult choice: to feed the body and the cancer cells, or to starve the body hoping that the cancer cells will become weaker and more susceptible to treatment with drugs and radiation.
Since I published my paper on diets to treat cancer, I have received numerous communications from patients and physicians who told me that they followed my suggestions with good results. I now propose that, as part of comprehensive treatment, every cancer patient be evaluated for fatty acid abnormalities. Improving the balance of essential fats is critical to optimize the defense mechanisms of the body. With the proper balance of essential fats, the body produces the right eicosanoids (hormones that help kill cancer cells) and a vast number of killer cells that attack and destroy cancer cells.
Some patients have a very poor balance of essential fats because of years of bad eating. Patients who have been eating high processed fat diets, eating very low fat diets, or smoking are likely to have low body levels of the essential fats. Because cancer often advances rapidly, there is no time for years of trial and error to correct abnormal balances of the essential fats. The fatty acid profile EFA-SRä provides the clues to optimize nutrition therapy to quickly improve the balance of the essential fats.
Recent research suggests that eating more very long chain w3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA may inhibit the ability of the cancer cells to reproduce. EPA and DHA are found in fish oils. However, researchers use a purified form of these fatty acids, available directly from manufacturers, kept refrigerated or frozen and under nitrogen. Regular consumers buy fish oil capsules at drugstores and supermarkets, capsules which may be old because they spent a long time in transit from the factory, and which are frequently stored at room temperature.
A new type of EPA and DHA is now available from algae and other unusual sources. In addition, there are now better ways to preserve these PUFAs using microcapsules and special powders. Ask your physician whether it would be helpful for you to take some of these PUFA supplements. If you do, be sure to be tested periodically to determine that these supplements are getting into your blood in the proper form and are not getting oxidized or changed to a useless and perhaps toxic form.
Portions of this section have been excerpted from the book "EFAs in Health and Disease" (how to order, table of contents, references, notes, excerpts).
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© 1998 Edward Siguel.
All rights reserved © 1999 Edward Siguel.
All rights reserved © 2000 Edward Siguel. All rights reserved |
modified
1/15/00 |