Diet
& Nutrition
as Cancer Medicine
by
W. John Diamond, M.D.
and W. Lee Cowden, M.D.
with
Burton Goldberg
Diet
and nutrition are at the core of cancer
etiology and its successful treatment. The
leading nutritional problem in the United
States today is "overconsumptive
undernutrition," or the eating of too
many empty-calorie foods, says Jeffrey Bland,
Ph.D., a biochemist and nutrition expert.
Studies have concluded that almost two-thirds
of an average American's diet is made up of
fats and refined sugars, and thus have low or
no micronutrient density. Consequently, the
remaining one-third of the average diet is
counted on for 100% of the essential nutrients
needed to maintain health. This contributes to
nutrient deficiencies that can rob the body of
its natural resistance to disease and promote
premature aging while weakening overall
physiological performance.
Nutritional
Rating of Americans
A
new Healthy Eating Index study of 4,000
Americans, conducted by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, reveals that 88% of the
population does not get good grades for proper
nutrition. More than 80% eat too much
saturated fat and too little fruits,
vegetables, and fiber-rich grains. The worst
eaters are aged 15 - 39. Overall, the American
diet achieves only 63% of what the USDA
considers good nutrition.
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture found that a
significant percentage of the population
receives under 70% of the Recommended Daily
Allowance (RDA) for vitamins A, C, and
B-complex, and the essential minerals calcium,
magnesium, and iron.1
A separate study found that most diets contain
less than 80% of the RDA for calcium,
magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese,
and that the people most at nutritional risk
are young children and women from adolescence
to old age.
While
a cumulative lack of essential nutrients can
contribute to illness, including cancer, the
correct fortification with these nutrients can
start reversing chronic conditions. However,
it is important to appreciate that nutrients
work together and act according to various
biochemical relationships.
Vitamins
and minerals help regulate the conversion of
food to energy in the body, explains Dr.
Bland. As such, they can be separated into two
general categories: energy nutrients, which
are principally involved in the conversion of
food to energy; and protector nutrients, which
help defend against damaging toxins derived
from drugs, alcohol, radiation, environmental
pollutants, or the body's own enzyme
processes. "The B-complex vitamins and
magnesium are examples of energy nutrients
because they activate specific metabolic
facilitators called enzymes, which control
digestion and the absorption and use of
proteins, fats, and carbohydrates."
In
the process of converting food to energy, free
radicals are produced that can damage the body
and set the stage for degenerative diseases,
including cancer, arthritis, heart disease,
and premature aging. Protector nutrients such
as vitamin E, beta carotene, vitamin C, and
the minerals zinc, copper, manganese, and
selenium, play a critical role in preventing
or delaying these degenerative processes.
Vitamins
and minerals "drive" the biochemical
and electrical circuitry of the body. The
body's functioning is therefore profoundly
affected by how nutrients either work together
or against each other. Nutrients taken
simultaneously can inhibit each other. Iron,
for example, is best absorbed when taken
separately from pancreatic enzymes and should
also not be taken with vitamin E. There are
also nutrients that enhance the effects of
other nutrients. For example, vitamin C taken
with iron facilitates the maximum absorption
of the iron. Similarly, clinical studies have
shown a relationship between low intakes of
beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C and
higher incidences of cancer.2
In
addition to disease control, specific
nutrients can help people cope with specific
lifestyle, environmental, and
emotional/psychological factors. For example,
when recovering from cancer surgery, a person
may need higher levels of zinc;3
individuals who are exposed to smog or other
pollutants require higher levels of the
protector nutrients such as selenium, vitamin
E, and vitamin C;4
and anyone under heavy emotional or physical
stress, typical of the cancer experience, will
need higher intakes of all the B vitamins.5
Benefits
of a Whole-Foods, Mainly Vegetarian Diet
In
light of this knowledge of nutrition and its
specificity, there are two primary ways to
gain the needed nutrients: through a carefully
constructed diet or through an equally
specific nutrient supplementation program.
A
whole-foods diet promotes health by decreasing
fat and sugar intake and by increasing the
consumption of fiber and nutrients,
particularly the numerous antioxidants and
other phytochemicals (phyto means plant) that
have been identified as beneficial anticancer
nutrients. Fiber is found in plant foods, such
as brown rice, broccoli, oatmeal, or almonds,
but not in animal products like meat, cheese,
milk, eggs, and butter. Fiber is the transport
system of the digestive tract,
"sweeping" food wastes out of the
body before they have a chance to form
potentially cancer-causing chemicals. These
toxic chemicals can cause colon cancer or pass
through the gastrointestinal membrane into the
bloodstream and damage other cells.
A
vegetable-based, whole-foods diet is typically
much lower in fat. On a percentage-of-calories
basis, most vegetables contain less than 10%
fat and most grains contain 16%-20% fat; by
comparison, whole milk and cheese contain 74%
fat; a rib roast is 75% fat; eggs are 64% fat;
a skinned, baked chicken breast still has 38%
fat. A low-fat, whole foods diet also means
fewer calories: studies have shown that a diet
containing fewer calories is associated with
reduced DNA damage, thus lowering cancer risks
and increasing longevity.6
Plant
foods are richer sources of micronutrients
than their animal counterparts. Compare wheat
germ to round steak: ounce for ounce, wheat
germ contains twice the vitamin B2, vitamin K,
potassium, iron, and copper; three times the
vitamin B6, molybdenum, and selenium; 15 times
as much magnesium; and over 20 times the
vitamin B1, folate, and inositol. The steak
contains only three micronutrients in greater
amounts: vitamin B 12, chromium, and zinc.
Eating
more nutrient-dense plant foods tends to
decrease one's desire to consume processed
sugars; lower sugar consumption decreases
overall calorie intake. At the same time, the
extra nutrients increase protection against
cancer. A cup of broccoli, for example,
provides 70 mg of vitamin C, more than any
other vegetable except green peppers; vitamin
C blocks the formation of cancer initiators
and may keep cancer cells from growing into
deadly tumors. Broccoli contains more fiber
and calcium on a per gram basis than most
vegetables, which may account for its
protective effects against colon cancer. It is
also a rich source of folate, a B vitamin that
seems to protect against cervical cancer, and
of beta carotene, the plant pigment that helps
fight lung cancer. In a study of the diets of
1,200 people over 66 years old, those who
consumed the most green vegetables had a
significantly lower cancer risk than those who
ate the least; people who ate broccoli less
than once a week had increased their risk of
developing cancer by 20%.7
There
are compelling reasons for adopting a more
plant-based diet. First, important antioxidant
nutrients, including vitamin C, beta carotene,
vitamin E, and many cancer-fighting substances
known as phytochemicals, are found in fruits,
vegetables, and grains. These antioxidant
nutrients are considered the best protection
against cancer. As mentioned above, the
high-fiber content of plant foods helps keep
the digestive tract clean by absorbing and
eliminating many potentially dangerous toxins.
 This
article is excerpted from the Alternative
Medicine Guide's Cancer
Diagnosis - What to do next, by W.
John Diamond, M.D. and W. Lee Cowden, M.D. ?
2000. Reprinted with permission of the
publisher, AlternativeMedicine.com. Visit
their website at www.alternativemedicine.com.
For
more info or to order this book.
Another
article by these authors:
Emotions &
Their Role in Cancer
and Causes of
Cancer
About The
Author
W. John Diamond, M.D.,
a board certified pathologist, has extensive training in alternative
medicine, including in medical acupuncture, classical homeopathy, and
neural therapy. He is currently the medical director of the Triad
Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, associate and alternative medicine
consultant to the Bakersfield Family Medicine Center and Heritage
Physician Network in Bakersfield, California, medical director of
Botanical Laboratories, and director of the Associated Complementary
Medicine Research Group, both in Ferndale, Washington. W.
Lee Cowden, M.D. is board
certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and clinical
nutrition. Dr. Cowden is accomplished in applied kinesiology,
electrodermal screening, homeopathy, reflexology, acupuncture,
acupressure, biofeedback, and color, sound, neural, magnetic,
electromagnetic, and detoxification therapies. Dr. Cowden now conducts
clinical research and teaches alternative medicine at the Conservative
Medicine Institute in Richardson, Texas.
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