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Cancer
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Preventing Cancer Through Proper Diet
Cancer is expected to surpass heart disease as the number-one cause of
death in the U.S.
Worldwide, cancer strikes ten million people a year. Experts estimate
that 30 to 40 percent of those cancers could be prevented by healthier
diets and exercise. Eating more fruits and vegetables alone could
eliminate 20 percent.
Here's an interview with John D. Potter of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center in Seattle regarding cancer prevention:
Q: Is cancer more preventable by diet than most people think?
A: Yes. The National Cancer Institute has made a whole stack of public
statements going all the way back to the 1970s about the role of diet
in preventing cancer, but they haven't stuck. I think the reason is
that people think cancer is not preventable at all, so why try diet?
But that is beginning to change.
Do fruits and vegetables have much impact against breast cancer risk?
A: No. There are two things going on here. One is the likelihood that the relationship is true and another is the strength of the relationship. Although we think the relationship between vegetables and breast cancer is real, the impact isn't huge.
There isn't a lot about diet, weight, etc., that has a big impact on breast cancer. I'm sure we're missing something, but we haven't yet worked out what is going on. There's no question that gaining weight after menopause raises the risk. And we know that hormones and reproduction are really important because women who start puberty early or go through menopause late have a higher risk, and women who bear children at a young age have a lower risk. Rapid growth in childhood and adolescence also raise the risk.
Related topics to be discussed on the next chapter are:
breast cancer
lung cancer
prostate cancer
skin cancer
colon cancer
ovarian cancer
cancer symptoms
cancer research
cervical cancer
testicular cancer
pancreatic cancer
cancer treatment
liver cancer
bladder cancer
bone cancer
thyroid cancer
brain cancer
stomach cancer |
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