Cancer Myths and Facts
Precision Wellness
Empowering Firstline Treatment | "Formerly known as Beacon Premier Wellness"
Cancer is defined as a disease in which some of the body’s cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body [1]. There are a lot of myths about cancer as cancer becomes more common nowadays and the word spreads from mouth to mouth, viral in social media or shared by those self claimed non-certified nutritionists or dietitians. So, we will discuss some of the myths in this article and hope to provide clearer insights for you!
1. ‘Acidic’ Diets cause cancer or ‘Alkaline’ Diets prevent cancer.
People normally hear about alkaline diets for cancer patients, including water, natural food and supplementation. Alkaline diet are the foods and drinks that are in the alkaline category with pH 7-14. It is true that you can be more healthy as you include more fruits and vegetables which are high in antioxidants and phytonutrients. However, our body works well to maintain its pH level, without affecting much by diet [2]. This is due to the extra acid or alkaline will simply peed out in the urine with the help from the kidney to maintain its pH [3]. So, it is nearly impossible to change the environment of the cells to create a less-acidic environment in the body [2]. Moreover, cancer cells cannot live in an overly alkaline environment and similar goes to our body cells too. Our body's normal blood pH should be between 7.35 to 7.45, thus if too acidic and alkaline, it could be a sign of health problems and could be life threatening [2]. There is no study showing the relationship between alkaline diet and cancer [4].
2. Sugar feeds cancer cells
Sugar can refer to a range of molecules such as simple sugars found in plants, glucose and fructose [3]. Carbohydrate sources such as rice, bread and noodle will break down into glucose by our digestive system to be absorbed by our body and used as energy when our body tissue needs it. Therefore, all of our cells, no matter cancerous or not, use glucose, fructose and other simple sugars for energy. Because cancer cells are usually fast growing compared with other healthy cells, therefore they will require high demand for this. Therefore, we should limit the intake of added sugar but not the natural presence of carbohydrates in food such as rice, bread and noodles. Limiting sugar makes sense when excessive sugar intake leads to obesity and higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer [5]. ?
3. Red meat causes cancer?
Yes, there is evidence that red meat consumption, especially processed red meat such as pork, beef, lamb and veal, leads to higher risk of cancer [6]. Processed red meat such as ham, sausages, frankfurters, bacon or salami undergo the process of curing, salting, smoking or use of chemical additives and preservatives to increase the shelf life or taste of the meat. Processed meat also contains more nitrites or nitrates than unprocessed meat [7].? It is added to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum and other food-spoiling bacteria [8]. The nitrites or nitrites have the potential to convert to nitrosamines that have carcinogenic effects [9].
According to the Cancer Council Australia recommendation, try to avoid taking excessive amounts, by limiting it to not more than 65-100g for cooked red meat per week [10]. Try to avoid burning or charring the meat as animal sources will produce substances called heterocyclic amines at high temperatures and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons when they are grilled or barbecued. It may pose a cancer risk. So, it is better not to blacken or overcook the animal sources. Tip for cooking is to marinate them first to help avoid it from charring [6].? To replace red meat, you can incorporate fish, chicken or vegetarian protein such as soy, tofu and tempeh into daily meals.
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4. Do soy products cause cancer?
No, the soy products contain isoflavones which is related to lower risk of prostate carcinogenesis which means that they will help reduce the risk of prostate cancer [11]. Soy products also help in lowering the risk of breast cancer. This is due to isoflavones possessing cancer-preventive properties by lengthening the menstrual cycle, changing the metabolism of estrogen from cancerous substances and showing anti-proliferative properties in vivo. In addition, isoflavones behave as weak estrogens which contrast with the fact saying isoflavones as an estrogen-like chemical which lead to increased risk of breast cancer. Meanwhile, isoflavones function to regulate the effects of estrogen in our body. Therefore, when estrogen is inadequate, isoflavones will carry out the functions of estrogen, while it will help to block the estrogen receptors to which estrogen binds when estrogen is excessive. So, the estrogen antagonistic activity in isoflavones helps in suppressing cancer occurrence in prostate and breast. It also suppresses the function of DNA polymerase II, tyrosine protein kinase and mitogen-activated kinase enzyme, in inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis [12]. Examples of soy products included tofu, tempeh, miso and soy milk.
5. Is flaxseed good for cancer prevention?
Yes, flaxseed consumption showed beneficial effects by reducing colorectal cancer risk or occurrence [13]. It is a functional food that has the nutrient with antioxidant and /or antitumorigenic functions), including omega-3 fatty acids, lignan, α-linolenic acid (LA) or fibers which help in preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease [14]. α-Linolenic acid also has anti-inflammatory activity [15] and antiproliferative effects in animal models of premenopausal (high estrogen) breast cancer [16]. Increased fiber intake is also related to the reduce risk of breast cancer [17] and a large intervention trial showed that high fiber diets lower the risk of breast cancer recurrence [18], might be by affecting hormone metabolism and elimination [18,19]. There are several uses of flaxseed in our food preparation. You can add it into baking by replacing flour or margarine or butter with addition of flaxseed. Besides, you can add it into a yogurt or smoothie by mixing them together with fruits. You can also add flaxseed when having salad and it can be added into overnight oats, oatmeal and fruit parfaits. Last but not least, you can add ground flaxseed into your homemade granola.?
????????? In conclusion, there are lots of myths that are not reliable and practiced by the community. So, make sure you understand each mechanism to support the myth before believing in it.
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