FSB Author Article
Diet and Cancer
By James E. Dowd, M.D. and Diane Stafford,
Authors of The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition
How does your diet affect your likelihood of getting cancer? We know for sure that your entire diet is important -- and that if you eliminate the "toxic" parts and ramp up the good parts, you'll reduce your risk of cancer. Large population studies repeatedly show that diets high in processed meat, salt, and saturated fat and low in vegetables, fruits, and fiber increase the risk of developing cancer, especially bowel cancer.
But when you separate individual components such as fiber or fat, you see no cancer/food relationship. For example, in 2000 the New England Journal of Medicine reported a study that found no effect from increasing cereal fiber on the recurrence of colorectal adenomas. Similar studies on fat intake and breast cancer in the Women's Health Initiative Study didn't show a relationship, either.
The problem is that all these variables taken together create other variables, adding up to a complex matrix of influencing factors. In the case of colon cancer, some of these additional variables are the bacteria that feed off your diet. If you change the recipe, you change the bacteria. But how many of the ingredients have to change before the bugs change? Are some ingredients more important than others? Do different combinations of ingredients favor completely different bacteria? With more than five hundred different species of bugs in your gut, the possibilities approach infinity.
The bacteria in your intestine provide additional nutrients from metabolism of food. They protect you from harmful bacteria by suppressing their growth. And they stimulate the growth and development of your organ systems, the most important of which is your immune system.
It's not easy to study the effects of diet on intestinal bacteria and then translate this into effects on specific diseases. We need more research to gain a fuller understanding of this relationship. Until then, it's clear that when you change your diet, you change the bacteria in your body, and that alters your risk for disease. The Vitamin D Cure is your easy recipe for healthy bacteria and for a healthy physical relationship with bacteria.
The Vitamin D Cure eating plan can be a helpful partner in your quest for health, or it can be a barrier. Give yourself a green light to lots of vegetables -- the more, the better. They have the highest concentrations of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals of any foods available today, minus the substances associated with cancer development, and they generate body-friendly bacteria. As a bonus, these foods contain almost no calories.
You can truthfully look at the Vitamin D Cure as the ultimate cancer-fighting agent. If you have cancer in your genetic code -- as most of us do -- take the reins and eat in a way that staves off cancer development.
The welcome facts are in. The right food is everywhere. All it takes is your own tweaking of your everyday diet. You don't have to overhaul everything you eat. Shoot for a 90 percent rate of doing the right stuff and you'll make a world of difference in your health and your body's propensity to develop cancer.
Lowering Your Risk
The recommendations in the Vitamin D Cure are estimated to lower your risk of most cancers by 50 percent. The science to support this is strongest for breast, colon, and prostate cancer. New information suggests that vitamin D may also lower your risk of skin cancer. Dietary changes are most effective at lowering the risk of bowel cancer.
The above is an excerpt from the book The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition by James E. Dowd, M.D. and Diane Stafford. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.Copyright © 2012 James E. Dowd, M.D. and Diane Stafford, authors of The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition
Authors Bios
James E. Dowd, M.D., co-author of The Vitamin D Cure,
Revised Edition, is an Associate Clinical Professor of
Medicine at Michigan State University and the founder and director
of both the Arthritis Institute of Michigan and the Michigan
Arthritis Research Center.
Diane Stafford, co-author of The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition, has published more than twelve books, including Migraines For Dummies and No More Panic Attacks.
For more information please visit http://www.drjamesdowd.com and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter