Balanced Diet and Cancer Recovery: Insights from a Leading Nutritionist

2024-02-15 19:17:00

Research is now relatively clear on this point: thanks to a balanced diet, people with cancer can serve their bodies well in recovery. In addition to symptoms caused by the disease, side effects of the therapy can also be alleviated. And even if there is currently no “diet once morest cancer” in a therapeutic sense, a wholesome diet can help improve general health and quality of life.

Dr. explains which foods should be on the menu of a cancer patient and which foods may be responsible for cancer. Klaus-Alexander Müller, senior physician and specialist in surgery as well as nutritionist at the Kulmbach Clinic.

What myths still surround cancer and nutrition, contrary to all scientific knowledge?

Klaus Alexander Müller: A glass of red wine a day protects once morest cancer, green tea reduces the risk of cancer, turmeric prevents cancer, coffee consumption can promote cancer and potatoes and tomatoes are carcinogenic. These are just a few examples of scientifically outdated myths that still persist in our minds when it comes to cancer and nutrition. Numerous facts that were previously considered certain have actually been refuted by the findings of modern research.

It now seems undisputed in research that “wrong” nutrition can trigger or at least promote cancer. Where are the pitfalls? Is one reason the ever-increasing processing of our food?

A distinction must be made between foods that are classified as carcinogenic on their own and an unhealthy diet as a whole. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer categorized red meat (beef, pork, lamb, goat) as “probably carcinogenic” and processed meat, as well as smoking, as “carcinogenic.” Processed meat is defined as meat that has been modified through salting, curing, smoking or other processes to influence the taste or shelf life. These primarily include sausage, ham and bacon. It has also been proven that alcohol influences the development of cancer and poses a significant health risk for the development of other diseases. But, as in so many other contexts, in the examples mentioned it is always the dose that makes the poison and corresponding recommendations for consumption quantities have been formulated.

In contrast, there is evidence that there is a connection between an unhealthy diet containing highly processed and industrially produced foods and an increased risk of cancer. These contain critical ingredients in often high quantities such as sugar, salt, polysaturated fatty acids, preservatives, emulsifiers, colors and flavors. However, the current study situation does not yet provide definitive evidence on this, but long-term studies will certainly show a causal connection.

Terms like carrageenan and acrylamide (formed when you heat ready-made fries) are mentioned once more and once more when it comes to possible triggers for cancer through our diet. Would information on the packaging of such products be appropriate from a medical perspective? Which substances would you ban completely?

Any warnings that indicate a health risk are fundamentally desirable, but in my opinion cannot be implemented in the broad food sector. The question is: where do you start and where do you end? Should the steak on the menu in the restaurant have a warning regarding a possible cancer risk? In my opinion, consistent education of the population is the better approach and bans are always difficult to enforce. By the way, if it were within my power, I would ban all foods that the world’s tropical rainforests are sacrificed to produce.

If certain foods can cause cancer, can others also “cure” cancer?

Unfortunately no. According to the current state of science and research, there is currently no food that can cure cancer. Even special diets, with their promises of healing, cannot stand up to the tests of effectiveness.

A common consequence of cancer is malnutrition and a loss of fat and muscle mass, the so-called “tumor cachexia”. How can this be influenced?

First you have to understand the connections. Cancer itself and through chronic inflammatory processes leads to the body being wasted and thus to an unwanted loss of fat and muscle mass. In addition, patients often feel less hungry or have difficulty absorbing food if they have diseases of the digestive tract. There are also side effects from operations or chemotherapy. Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, taste disorders or inflammation of the oral mucosa – to name just a few. Ideally, in addition to the actual cancer therapy, patients also receive individual nutritional treatment in order to compensate for the resulting deficits as best as possible.

Nutrition doesn’t work without the gut. Now a new study has shown that cases of colon cancer are rising particularly sharply among teenagers and young adults. Can you confirm this from your everyday clinical practice? If yes, where do you see the causes?

In fact, according to current studies, there is an increasing number of colon cancer cases in people under 50 in industrialized nations worldwide. What is remarkable is the particularly large increase in young adults between the ages of 20 and 29. Fortunately, we cannot confirm a corresponding trend in the treatment of our patients at the Kulmbach Clinic at the moment. The causes of this development are still the subject of current research, but changing eating habits are certainly seen as a risk factor. In addition, there are numerous molecular subtypes in colorectal cancer and it is suspected that certain types of these subtypes may play a role at younger ages.

A survey says obesity might soon overtake smoking as the leading cause of cancer. Are fat people inherently more susceptible to cancer?

In most cases, obesity is a result of an unhealthy, high-calorie diet and lack of exercise. The constant release of insulin through foods rich in sugar or carbohydrates plays a key role because this leads to the storage of depot fat. However, fatty tissue not only serves as an energy store, but also produces hormones that increasingly become imbalanced and can thus activate growth-promoting processes. Chronic inflammatory processes in the fatty tissue itself and a high insulin level also lead to a constant cell proliferation and, together with the above-mentioned aspects, can contribute to the development of cancer in obesity.

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