Diet and Cancer

Not too long ago, within living memory of those now consider aged, cancer did occur, but at nowhere near the rate seen today. The last few generations have seen such an explosion in diagnoses of cancer that people describe it as a cancer epidemic, even though cancer is not contagious. For many of those who have lost a loved one to cancer, their greatest fear is contracting some form of cancer themselves and they live a life of dread between doctors’ visits.

Worldwide, billions are spent annually on cancer research. Researchers look for causes, triggers, clusters, and commonality. They test drugs, foods and other methods to reduce or remove tumor growth.

Those who lack medical knowledge talk hopefully of a ‘cure for cancer’, as if one day there will be either a surgical procedure or a pharmaceutical product that will magically stop and reverse all the different types of cancer. Many people have overcome cancer; they usually speak of being in remission, rather than cured; hopefully the remission will last the rest of their lives.

Diet and Cancer

Researchers crunch the data to discover a common theme or cause for the exponential increase in cancer incidence. They are finding that in step, in time is the change of diet in those societies where cancer is increasing. In so-called advanced societies, over the last eighty years or so, diets have changed dramatically.

What is also entering public consciousness is that the increasing incidence of cancer may also be related to these changes in diet. This does not necessarily mean that diet is the cause of cancer, as the likelihood of contracting cancer may be greatly influenced by genetics and environmental causes. However, most non-accident maladies have components of both breeding (genetic pre-disposition) and feeding (environmental and dietary influences).

Where once a big health risk was malnutrition or starvation, today it is more likely mal-nutrition – overconsumption of poor dietary choices causing a raft of lifestyle diseases.

A normal diet of rationed servings of mainly vegetables and meat (complex carbs, protein and meat-derived fat) with plain water as the main or only drink has morphed into a normal diet of very large servings of an incredible variety of pre-cooked and processed foods.

Today, every day, in addition to eating some highly processed meat and maybe some vegetables, often containing taste enhancers such as sauces, crumbing, etc. (simple carbs and modified vegetable fats) most people also consume desserts (simple carbs), snacks (simple carbs) with soft drink (more simple carbs) as their main fluid source.

Dietary Links to Lifestyle Diseases

There are indisputable parallels in the dietary changes and the health problems in western societies. Obesity, type two diabetes and cancer appear more commonly to be linked not only to one another, but to diet. Data studies prove that increased cancer incidence is linked to obesity. If type two diabetes is confirmed the incidence is even higher.

Observations of indigenous societies and those who have maintained traditional diets show no noticeable increase in markers for these diseases. Where western influences have changed the diets of others, their disease rates have exploded within a single generation. There is an incredibly strong correlation between diet and the incidence of cancer, as well as diabetes and obesity.

The Future and You

Relevant studies are ongoing, but research costs money and the big money is to be made in the production, sale and promotion of foods that are based on taste and therefore repeat sales rather than health. Cancer is a disease where prevention is thousands of time better than a cure, as anyone who has dealt with cancer can affirm.

Even if the weight of non-dietary factors is against you, you have the power to massively reduce your likelihood of succumbing to cancer by taking positive control over the food you eat. Anyone who is concerned about avoiding cancer should take steps to largely eliminate simple sugar foods and highly processed foods from their diet. There are plenty of healthy unrefined choices available as replacements.