Does Diet Affect Cancer?

acid-base imbalance alcohol anti-cancer foods anti-inflammatory diet antioxidants cancer cancer-fighting foods chronic inflammation diet glucose hormonal imbalance hyperglycemia hypoxia immune system insulin insulin resistance ketogenic diet lifestyle changes melatonin processed foods stress vitamin a vitamin c vitamin d Sep 14, 2024

In 2024, it’s estimated that approximately 2 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. It’s also expected that over 600,000 individuals will die from this disease, making it one of the leading causes of death for Americans.^1,2

Cancer doesn’t just affect physical health. It also presents considerable mental, emotional, and social challenges for both patients and their caregivers.³

Conventional cancer treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. But these procedures wreak havoc on the whole body.^4,5,6,7

The good news is, our understanding of cancer has vastly improved. Now there are a lot more options for fighting the disease in more natural ways.

Every cancer patient is different. So, the best approach will incorporate various angles, with the goal of meeting the patient’s unique needs without harming their body or immune system. Among the most important strategies for fighting cancer are changes in lifestyle, especially diet, as we’ll tackle in this article^8,9:

What is cancer?
What causes cancer?
The role of sugar and insulin in cancer
Cancer-fighting foods
Cancer-causing foods to avoid

For starters, let’s describe what cancer is, and how and where it happens.

What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease in which some of your cells grow and multiply in an uncontrolled way.¹⁰

Normally, your cells increase in size and number through a process known as cell division. When your cells get old or damaged, they die and are replaced by new cells.¹⁰

At times though, this mechanism breaks down — abnormal or impaired cells grow and multiply even if they ordinarily wouldn’t. These cells can form lumps of tissue called tumors, which are only sometimes cancerous.¹⁰

Non-cancerous or benign tumors don’t spread into tissues nearby. In contrast, cancerous or malignant tumors can invade adjacent tissues. Their presence also sometimes leads to the creation of new tumors in other parts of the body; this process is called metastasis.¹⁰

Cancer can occur anywhere in the body. Detection and survival rate are linked, and they vary widely with the location of the cancer. For example, you can typically spot melanoma, a cancer of the skin, with the naked eye in its early stages. Because it’s so easily detected, the five-year survival rate for stage-1 melanoma is 99 percent. In contrast, early-stage pancreatic cancer doesn’t show up on standard imaging tests. This is why a lot of people who have this type of cancer don’t get a diagnosis until the cancer has already spread to other organs. At this point, called stage 4, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 1 percent.^10,11,12,13

What causes cancer?

At the genetic level, cancer results from changes in the genes that control how your cells grow and divide. These changes can be the result of several factors.¹⁰

You may be born with certain gene variants that are more often associated with developing certain types of cancer. The best-known example is the BRCA genes, named for their association with breast cancer. At the same time, environmental factors including lifestyle and toxic exposures may affect how your genes are expressed — possibly leading to the disease.^10,14,15

From a metabolic perspective, cancer involves disturbances in the way your cells produce energy.¹⁶

Chronic inflammation, acid-base imbalance, immune dysfunction, poor gut health, hormonal disruptions, and vitamin deficiencies all contribute to cancer by disrupting your cells’ ability to function normally.¹⁷

Your cells’ ability to produce energy may also be impaired by hypoxia (a lack of oxygen), or if their electrical circuitry becomes damaged. Cancer can be thought of as your cells’ attempt to adapt to such an inhospitable environment.¹⁷

In addition to genetic and metabolic factors, your lifestyle can make you more prone to cancer. Chronic stress, emotional trauma, inadequate physical activity, abnormal sleep patterns, and toxin exposure all increase your risk of the disease. So does poor nutrition.¹⁸

The role of sugar and insulin in cancer

In general, cancer cells thrive on sugar. This affinity shows up in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging scans, where a sugar (glucose) molecule tracer accumulates in cancer cells because of their high rate of glucose metabolism.⁸

Sugar from the foods you eat goes to your bloodstream, triggering your pancreas to secrete insulin. This hormone helps your cells take up sugar for energy use and storage. But if your cells become resistant to insulin, your blood sugar and insulin levels will be chronically high.¹⁹

One of the differences between cancer cells and normal cells is that cancer cells don’t become insulin resistant. So, the scenario in which both your blood sugar and insulin levels are high is the perfect environment for cancer cells to grow and multiply.²⁰

It’s also vital to note that insulin is a growth factor — that is, it can stimulate the production of cells and reduce their death. This means that persistently high insulin levels further increase the odds of abnormal cell growth and thus, cancer development.²⁰

Cancer-fighting foods

Many of the top contributors to cancer — including high blood sugar and elevated insulin, chronic inflammation, weak immunity, hormone issues, and toxin exposure — are linked to an unhealthy diet. Thus, “letting food be thy medicine” figures prominently in a holistic approach to beating the disease.¹⁸

Reducing sugar intake tops most cancer patients’ “fight cancer“ checklist. For patients who aren’t too thin and frail, this can be done through a ketogenic diet — one that's very low in sugar and high in good fats (like olive oil and coconut oil), with a moderate amount of protein and lots of low-carb vegetables. Normal, healthy cells thrive on these foods, while cancer cells don’t.⁸

Thousands of studies have shown that certain plants and herbs have anticancer properties. For instance, broccoli sprouts are rich in sulforaphane. This substance protects against genetic changes that lead to cancer. Sulforaphane inhibits tumor growth, stimulates cancer cell death, reduces inflammation, and neutralizes toxins too.^18,21

Blueberries contain pterostilbene (PTS), which has been found to induce the death of cancer cells. PTS has also shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.^18,22

Medicinal mushrooms such as shiitake, maitake, and reishi, contain various compounds that not only kill cancer cells, but also boost the immune system. Naturally occurring substances in garlic and turmeric have shown the same benefits.^18,23,24

As for supplements, large doses of Vitamins C, D, and A can help. Cancer patients are often deficient in these antioxidant and anti-inflammatory vitamins.¹⁷

Melatonin has shown promise as a cancer-protective agent as well. This hormone — which helps with the timing of your 24-hour internal clock and with sleep — has been found to prevent tumor development and promote cancer cell death. In addition, melatonin boosts your immune system by increasing the number and activity of cancer-fighting immune cells.^17,25

Cancer-causing foods to avoid

Eating the right foods and taking supplements isn’t enough to beat cancer though. It’s equally important to minimize your intake of cancer-promoting foods.

Foods high in refined carbs and sugar, such as white bread, pasta, pastries, and sugary drinks, cause spikes in your blood sugar levels. Regularly eating lots of these foods can lead to insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, raising your cancer risk. What’s more, cancer cells feed on the sugar from these foods, which directly helps them grow and multiply.^17,20,26

Processed foods — which include packaged snacks, smoked or cured meats, frozen meals, and fast food — are unhealthy, and not only because they contain lots of sugar and unhealthy fats. These foods also abound with chemicals that prolong their shelf life and attempt to improve their appearance and taste. The problem is, these additives are toxic to the body too. They can damage your DNA, disrupt your hormones, and cause chronic inflammation, making you more prone to cancer. In particular, nitrites and nitrates (in processed meats), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), potassium bromate (a flour additive), and heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (found in meats cooked at high temperatures) have all been linked to cancer.^26,27

Alcoholic drinks should be avoided as well. Your body breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde. This substance damages your DNA and prevents your cells from fixing the damage, thus promoting the growth of cancer cells. Plus, alcohol can disrupt your hormone levels and make you absorb fewer nutrients like Vitamins A, C, and D. Finally, alcoholic beverages can weaken the immune system by disrupting the production of proteins that target and kill potentially cancerous cells.^26,28

Conclusion

When it comes to fighting cancer, one size doesn’t fit all. It’s crucial to address every cancer patient’s unique needs so as not to compromise their overall health, immunity, and quality of life.

One major contributor to cancer is lifestyle which, fortunately, you can control.

You can take steps to reduce your stress levels, heal emotional trauma, increase your physical activity, improve your sleep, and minimize your exposure to toxins. And of course, you can choose to eat foods that help fight cancer and avoid those that cause or aggravate it.

Choosing the right foods for your cancer journey can be tricky. That’s why we're here to help you put together a personalized diet plan that addresses your unique health needs.

Find out more about how to Maximize Your Performance by Optimizing Your Diet here.

References

Does Diet Affect Cancer?

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