EXCLUSIVE: The foods YOU can eat to prevent cancer, reveals Oncology dietitian

Oncology dietitian Tara Whyand has revealed all about the link between cancer and diet

THIS week we learnt red meat can give you cancer from the World Health Organisation, but is your diet linked to illness?

 

Cancer is a scary word and a diagnosis of the disease can be intimidating and daunting - but what can we do to prevent or lower our chances of getting it? 

Tara Whyand, an oncology dietitian, has explained to NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com there is a link between diet and the chances of getting cancer. 

 

Did you know turmeric can help act against bowel, breast and pancreatic cancer? NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com asks the questions YOU want to know the answer to. 

Which nutrients have been shown to have a role in cancer prevention?

Curcumin, a compound inside turmeric may act in bowel, breast, pancreatic and liver tissue

Tara Whyand, oncology dietitian

There are a vast number of laboratory studies showing nutrients and botanical supplements acting against the cancer process. What is harder to distinguish is what helps to lower cancer risk when studying a person’s diet as a whole. 

Different body tissues have different relationships with nutrients and foods we eat, for example vitamin D is linked to bowel and breast health but not so much prostate health.

Higher lycopene levels are related to lower breast and prostate cancers.  Selenium is related to pancreatic health. Green tea may help bowel, pancreatic, prostate and liver health.

Curcumin, a compound inside turmeric may act in bowel, breast, pancreatic and liver tissue, whereas vitamin E and thiamine are especially useful in damaged livers. A low intake of zinc is related to increased breast cancer risk.

 

It's thought green tea may help act against certain cancers

How do they do this? Some vitamins, minerals and botanical extracts can directly block cancer pathways and protect against DNA damage using antioxidant properties.

Vitamin D is a little different, possessing hormone action, and can normalize cells, decrease cancer cell growth, stimulate abnormal cell death and reduce blood vessels forming around tumours. Botanical extracts, such as curcumin and green tea reduce inflammation, which is sometimes the starting point for cancer.

Which should we be taking every day? A normal varied, mainly plant based diet, including at least 5 fruit and vegetables a day from a rainbow of colours will provide enough vitamins and minerals to keep some people healthy.

It will not treat vitamin and mineral deficiencies however, or provide high doses of curcumin, pomegranate, or green tea, so called ‘nutraceuticals’, unless you make a conscious effort to include these in large amounts every day.

People can therefore take appropriate supplements if they need to treat a proven deficiency or have a condition that is very likely to benefit from a botanical extract.

 

Some vitamins, minerals and botanical extracts can directly block cancer pathways

Top tips for avoiding cancer? 

• If you know you have an increased risk of cancer from being overweight or having a poor diet and lifestyle then it is advisable to prevent deficiencies related to specific cancers. How you choose to do this, with or without supplements is up to you.
• If you have a condition in one of your organs e.g. diabetes, pancreatitis, polyps, hepatitis you must attend all appointments and comply with medication, diet and lifestyle advice given to reduce your risk.
• Keep a healthy weight (BMI between 18.5-24.9kg/m2) and exercise everyday if possible.
• Include at least 5 different coloured fruit and vegetables in your diet every day and cook with turmeric daily. Choose black tea or green tea over alcohol!    

  

Turmeric and green tea are amongst the list of good foods to eat

Is it different for men and woman? And how?
Men and women have different requirements for vitamins and minerals depending on age, and if you meet these requirements it reduces the chance of deficiency.  

For cancer risk factors which include deficiency of a vitamin or mineral, meeting the requirements may reduce cancer risk. There are no official requirements for intakes of green tea or curcumin as our bodies do not need them to live, but they contain dietary compounds which can be seen as an added bonus for health.

Men have a prostate gland which obviously women do not, so things like pomegranate may not benefit women in the same way to men, although still remain beneficial to all round health as one of their 5 a day.

Are there specific foods we should avoid?Avoid smoked, salted and cured meat and fish as they are likely to raise the risk of some cancers, especially those in direct contact with the gastrointestinal system

Is cutting out dairy likely to affect our chance of cancer? And what about calcium?
In terms of cancer risk, dairy foods and calcium have shown both protective and harmful effects. Overall the proven health benefits of dairy foods outweigh the unproven harms.

Calcium is an important nutrient for bone and dental health, with dairy foods being the major source of dietary calcium.  Dairy foods such as milk, yoghurt and cheese are also good sources of calcium, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B12, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin and zinc.

The evidence suggests that milk probably protects against colorectal cancer. There is limited suggestive evidence that milk and dairy foods increase the risk of prostate cancer, and cheese (or fat in cheese) increases the risk of colorectal cancer.

There appears to be no significant association between the consumption of dairy products and the risk of breast cancer. Calcium supplements probably protect against colorectal cancer, however diets high in calcium have been linked with a probable increase in the risk of prostate cancer. Eating a diet moderate in dairy produce i.e. 3 portions a day should supply safe levels of calcium and other vital nutrients without increasing prostate cancer risk in men. There is still insufficient evidence to recommend the general use of calcium supplements for cancer prevention.

Check your level of risk with the new barometer hosted on dietandcancer.co.uk.