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 Whether you’re
recovering from a workout or battling cancer, food can be the medicine you
need.
That 60’s standby “You are what you eat” is more than just a good rule to
live by on a daily basis. Once you’re injured, hurt or sick, it becomes
absolutely critical. With every passing year, the healing powers of
certain foods and the role nutrition can play in recovery becomes
increasingly apparent to physicians and nutritionists. The verdict is now
indisputable: food can be potent medicine for everything from cancer to
muscle fatigue.
The first step in revamping your diet is to have your medical condition
accurately diagnosed. The next step is to understand the link between your
own nutritional habits and your medical condition. With that knowledge in
hand and under the guidance of a physician or nutritionist, you can begin
to change your dietary habits.
NUTRITIONAL THERAPIES FOR CANCER
As Michael Lerner points out in his encyclopedic Choices of Healing, much
of the information on nutrition and cancer is confusing, if not
contradictory. Part of that confusion probably stems from the number of
different dietary approaches relating to the prevention and treatment of
cancer. Governmental and medical agencies, experimental and clinical
researchers, and nontraditional cancer therapists each have promoted
different programs to keep the development or further spread of cancer at
bay. With advice coming from all sides, what’s a guy to do?
Most experts agree that dietary changes may help to prevent cancer.
Traditional medical and governmental agencies such as the National Cancer
Institute and the American Cancer Society have, in fact, endorsed a diet
that is low in fat (under 30 percent of total calories;) high in fiber (20
to 30 grams per day;) contains large amounts of fruits, vegetables and
cereals; and doesn’t include salt-cured meats, smoked foods and excessive
alcohol.
The agencies make no such broad recommendations for people who have
cancer, but organizations such as the American Cancer Society are finally
beginning to look at the nutritional aspects of cancer therapy.
CALORIC RESTRICTION
Preliminary research, for instance, suggests that people suffering from
hormonal cancers, such as those of the prostate and testes in men (breast
and ovaries in women,) may benefit from a reduced caloric intake. These
types of cancers are most often found in people who are overweight. Some
researchers believe that caloric reduction may impede the development of
new tumors and slow the growth of existing cancer cells because these
cells are more sensitive to food deprivation.
FIBER
All fiber is not equal. Although a high fiber diet is an almost universal
recommendation for the prevention of colon cancer, animal studies done
over the past two decades suggest that certain types of fiber actually
enhance tumor development in rats. These include pectin, corn bran,
Metamucil (an over-the-counter fiber supplement,) undergraded carrageen
and alfa fiber. So, if you have cancer and are trying to increase your
fiber to maximize healing, get your fiber from vegetables (cellulose) and
wheat bran, both of which have been found in those same experiments to
help inhibit cancer’s spread.
THE ANTIOXIDANTS
The best sources of Vitamin C are citrus, tomatoes and potatoes, although
most other fruits and vegetables also have high levels of this important
vitamin. Raw foods generally have higher levels of vitamin C, but cooked
fruits and vegetables are still valuable. A recent Harvard University
study concluded that men who ate four to seven servings of tomato-based
foods (such as spaghetti and pizza) per week were 20 percent less likely
to develop prostate cancer.
Beta-carotene, Vitamin E and the mineral selenium are also important
antioxidants. As a group, these compounds work to curtail the activities
of free radicals.
Vitamin E serves as a powerful antioxidant in the blood, where it acts as
a scavenger of free radicals that attempt to enter the cell’s membrane.
Several recent laboratory studies have demonstrated a positive link
between high levels of vitamin E and diminished cancer. Some studies
suggest that vitamin E may be one of one of the important anti-cancer
agents. Selenium is a mineral found is such foods as whole wheat, brown
rice, tuna and asparagus. Selenium works best in synergy with vitamin E,
so be sure to take these two supplements in tandem. |