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Does anyone want to join me on some dietary changes for 2005


Lisa O

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm really glad that there is an open discussion of this topic on the forum.

Purely anecdotal--but my mother (and her doctors who were sceptical at first--to put it mildly!--but now "off the record" tell her to keep it up) swears that the only reason she is still alive is that she swore off all refined sugar and high sugar foods. She is appalled that these are the very food that cancer patients are practially force-fed by many of their doctors (and lie in enticing baskets in waiting rooms).

Whether there is any substance to her claim or not--medical evidence does seem to agree (today, at any rate) that a high sugar (refined/prcocessed foods) diet is bad for one in many a way... Dr. Perricone even argues that it causes pre-mature aging and wrinkles, for the vain among us (like me :)).

Historically, people simply did not have the access to high sugar foods the way we all do now. What was impossible for them to comsume SEEMS imposible for us NOT to consume! As the ancient Greeks were fond of saying, "All things in moderation" (except the Spartans, of course!!!).

I have more research on this subject; will try to find time to dig it out and post it.

All the best,

Melinda

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Your remark that ----”Historically, people simply did not have the access to high sugar foods the way we all do now. What was impossible for them to comsume SEEMS imposible for us NOT to consume! As the ancient Greeks were fond of saying, "All things in moderation" “ is one of the reasons I choose to believe “that a high sugar (refined/prcocessed foods) diet is bad for one in many a way” To further this thought, statistically folks who eat a natural diet tend to do better than those who don’t. What types of natural foods will always be argued but starting with leaving processed foods out of the diet would be a reasonable thought. Statistically indigenous peoples don’t have the problems that the western diet peoples have. The problem is that “foods” are like gasoline, society is based on a way marketing moves the commerce and if it was good enough for *** its good enough for me.

Personally I believe that food will be key to prevention but it will take a while, first Dr. Perricone has to be thrown to the lions.

Bo

Someone made a comment awhile back, to the effect, that we are all shooting for the same result but go about it in a different way. I butcher that every time I try and say that thought, it was a concise phrase, does anyone remember it.

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  • 6 months later...

If you are NED does the sugar thing still apply. I mean if there is no evidence of disease does that not mean there are no cancer cells. So why avoid sugar because of fear of feeding cancer cells? Does NED mean the cancer cells are dormant and just waiting for something (like sugar) to kick them into action?

Carol

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Well, to sort of answer your question, I searched out an article that I read last year. It primarily talks about breast cancer, but seems to encompass ALL cancers and how nutrition comes into play.

(To clarify -- when they talk about a "high-carb" diet -- they are talking about REFINED carbs -- white flour/white bread -- not WHOLE GRAINS)

The most pertinant paragraph in the article is below:

Scientists think carbs may increase cancer risk by rapidly raising sugar in the blood, which prompts a surge of insulin to be secreted. This causes cells to divide and leads to higher levels of estrogen in the blood, both of which can encourage cancer.

Eating lots of carbs may raise cancer riskBy: MARILYNN MARCHIONE (Fri, Aug/06/2004)

High-carb diets may increase more than just waistlines. New research suggests they might raise the risk of breast cancer. Women in Mexico who ate a lot of carbohydrates were more than twice as likely to get breast cancer than those who ate less starch and sugar, scientists found.

The study is hardly the last word on the subject, but it is one of the few to examine how the popular but controversial low-carb diet craze might affect the odds of getting cancer, as opposed to its effects on cholesterol and heart disease.

The new findings also don't mean that it is safe or healthful to eat lots of meat, cheese or fats, as many people who go on low-carb diets do, experts say.

"There are many concerns with eating diets high in animal fat," said Dr. Walter Willett, chief of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "If people do want to cut back on carbohydrates, it's really important to do it in a way that emphasizes healthy fats, like salads with salad dressings."

Willett worked on the study with doctors at Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health of Mexico, and the American Institute for Cancer Research. Results were published Friday in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Fats, fiber and specific foods have long been studied for their effects on various types of cancer, but few firm links have emerged. Being overweight is known to raise risk, but the new study took that into account and still found greater risk from high carbohydrate consumption.

Scientists think carbs may increase cancer risk by rapidly raising sugar in the blood, which prompts a surge of insulin to be secreted. This causes cells to divide and leads to higher levels of estrogen in the blood, both of which can encourage cancer.

A study earlier this year suggested that high-carb diets modestly raised the risk of colon cancer. Little research has been done on their effect on breast cancer, and results have been mixed. One study last year found greater risk among young women who ate a lot of sweets, especially sodas and desserts.

For this study, researchers enrolled 475 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and a comparison group of 1,391 healthy women in Mexico City who were matched for age, weight, childbirth trends and other factors that affect the odds of getting the disease.

Women filled out a lengthy food questionnaire developed by Willett and widely used in nutrition studies, and were divided into four categories based on how much of their total calories came from carbohydrates.

Those in the top category - who got 62 percent or more of their calories from carbs - were 2.22 times more likely to have breast cancer than those in the lowest category, whose carb intake was 52 percent or less of their diet.

"The findings do raise concern about the possible adverse effects of eating lots of carbohydrates," especially for people who have diabetes, insulin resistance or are overweight, Willett said.

"It adds to the information that diet's important" with respect to cancer risk, said John Milner, the National Cancer Institute's chief of nutrition.

How applicable the results are to American women is debatable. Carbohydrates make up half of the typical American diet - less than what most of the women in this study consumed.

"The main carbohydrates these women ate were corn-derived, including tortillas, and soft drinks and bread," said Dr. Eduardo Lazcano-Ponce, one of the Mexican physicians who did the study.

Corn isn't fortified with folate and other nutrients as are many grains, cereals and other sources of carbohydrates eaten in the United States, and those nutrients might help prevent cancer, noted Sandra Schlicker, executive director of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition.

Breast cancer rates in the United States are among the highest in the world. Nearly 132 cases are diagnosed for every 100,000 women. In Mexico, incidence is rising and is currently estimated at 38 cases per 100,000 women. But Willett cautioned that those rates are not adjusted for age differences and that the U.S. population is considerably older than Mexico's and therefore more at risk of cancer.

In the study, women who ate a lot of insoluble fiber - found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables - had somewhat less risk of breast cancer. Fiber can modulate the absorption of carbohydrates.

"It leads me to believe that healthier carb sources, or at least diets containing fiber, would be less strongly associated with breast cancer," said Marji McCullough, a senior epidemiologist and nutrition expert at the American Cancer Society.

Experts say more research is needed through a study that, instead of relying on women's memories about what they ate, asks them to keep food diaries and then follows them for years afterward to see which ones develop cancer.

Finding dietary links to breast cancer is important because diet is one of the few risk factors a woman can easily modify.

"This study alone isn't enough for people to make changes in their diet, but it's a cautionary sign," Willett said.

The Institute of Medicine recommends that carbohydrates constitute 45 percent to 65 percent of calories, and that no more than 20 percent should come from added sugars, said Schlicker, who served on the panel that drafted the advice. New dietary guidelines are due to be released next year.

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