
{"id":6212,"date":"2009-06-15T06:30:11","date_gmt":"2009-06-15T14:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=6212"},"modified":"2009-06-15T06:30:11","modified_gmt":"2009-06-15T14:30:11","slug":"exploring-the-connection-between-cancer-and-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2009\/06\/15\/exploring-the-connection-between-cancer-and-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the connection between cancer and diet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Margot C. Lester<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Contributing Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The headlines are hardly helpful these days: <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Papaya is Tasty Way to Fight Cancer and Poor Digestion\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eggs, bad? Multi-grain bread, good?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fava Beans: Great for Hormone Replacement With Anti-Cancer Potential\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nEvery time you turn a page, it seems there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another study touting or decrying a relationship between certain foods and cancer \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and sometimes they contradict each other. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a cancer-conscious eater to do? <\/p>\n<p>The short answer is: Cozy up to some produce. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s estimated that at least one third of all cancers in the U.S. could be prevented by making changes in diet and lifestyle,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Aimee Shea, outpatient oncology dietitian at the N.C. Cancer Hospital on the UNC campus. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153From a nutrition standpoint, really the most important thing people can do is eat more plant food like fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Shea suggests shooting for at least five servings per day \u00e2\u20ac\u201c minimum \u00e2\u20ac\u201c of fruits and vegetables. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Make sure you have a fruit and\/or veggie at every meal and try to use them as snacks as well,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she counsels. <\/p>\n<p><strong>A weighty matter<\/strong><br \/>\nPlant foods are preferred in part because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re relatively low in calories, which can help achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Managing your waistline may help reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. In fact, Marci Kramish Campbell, a professor in the department of nutrition at the UNC School of Public Health, suggests one dietary way to lower your odds of getting cancer is to cut calories by 100 to 200 per day to avoid weight gain. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The strongest evidence is that obesity is a risk factor for a number of cancers, like colon cancer,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Campbell explains. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And weight gain in women, which is common after menopause, is a risk factor for breast cancer.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Plant foods also are jam packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all of which are believed (though not yet proven) to regulate cell cycles, keep cancer cells from turning into tumors and help the body defend itself against cancer cells and other intruders. <\/p>\n<p>When we try to isolate specific vitamins or compounds in foods and see if those are protective, the studies mostly do not show a protective effect,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Campbell says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For example, epidemiological studies indicate that people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of certain cancers; but then if you do a study supplementing with beta-carotene, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see a change in risk. In fact, some supplement studies show an increased cancer risk. In general then, eating less calorically dense foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, less red meat and more low-fat dairy is probably a healthy pattern for general cancer and chronic-disease prevention.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p><strong>Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get fresh<\/strong><br \/>\nAll this means you need to spend more time hanging out in the produce department or at your local farmers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 market. And while most fruits and vegetables are available year round these days, eating with the seasons (noshing on what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s currently growing locally) often gives your body just what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s craving during each period of the year. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great idea to eat with the season,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Shea says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better for the environment and probably cheaper.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Here are some in-season foods that may help reduce cancer risk. You can find most of them at your local farmers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 market:<\/p>\n<p>Leafy greens: spinach, collards, arugula<br \/>\nFresh berries: strawberries; blackberries are on the way<br \/>\nCrucifers: broccoli, cauliflower, pac choi<br \/>\nBeans: sugar snaps, fava <\/p>\n<p>If you want to slap some protein on the grill, pick up some white meat; or if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really hankering for beef, seek out the leanest cuts available.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conventional or organic? <\/strong><br \/>\nWhile it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that plant foods are preferable, the jury\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still out on whether you should only buy organic. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Organically grown foods are better for the planet, but we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any evidence that they are cancer preventing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Campbell asserts. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It makes sense to avoid a lot of pesticides, but organic foods can also be very expensive.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>If money\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no object, looking for the organic label is never a bad idea, Shea notes. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153However, since most people can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford this 100 percent of the time, I emphasize that it is more beneficial to eat the fruits and veggies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c whether conventional or organic \u00e2\u20ac\u201c than to skip them and choose a cupcake instead,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she continues.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And just because something doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have an organic label, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bad for you. Oftentimes, small, local farmers are unable to afford an organic label, but they basically practice organic farming methods.\u00c2\u00a0This is one more reason to check out the farmers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 markets, where you can get to know the farmers and find out how food is prepared.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Margot C. Lester Contributing Writer The headlines are hardly helpful these days: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Papaya is Tasty Way to Fight Cancer and Poor Digestion\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eggs, bad? Multi-grain bread, good?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fava Beans: Great for Hormone Replacement With Anti-Cancer Potential\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellany"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6213,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6212\/revisions\/6213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}