Cancer and Nutrition
We spoke to Louisa Bourlet, a Registered Nutrition and Community Health Development Officer at Enfield Council to shed some light on the anxiety-inducing misinformation that exists around cancer and nutrition.
I hope to shed some light on the myths versus the facts! No single food or diet can prevent, cure, or kill cancer. It is your overall lifestyle that is important.
Around 40% of diagnosed cancers are preventable. This does not mean that you can reduce your risk of diagnosis down to 0% through lifestyle and diet but what it does mean is that there are factors within your control that can help to reduce your risk.
A healthy lifestyle generally consists of lots of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, adequate protein and fibre intake, small amounts of high salt, sugar and saturated fat foods, limiting alcohol consumption and not smoking.
Of course, healthy lifestyle changes are not always easy to make and can be harder to maintain. However, making one small, manageable change is the best place to start.
This is especially true after cancer treatment. Your treatment can leave you with several side effects and changes to your body, or you may be adjusting to your new normal.
Some changes can include a loss of appetite, weight loss, weight gain, trouble swallowing and your ability to prepare and cook food. Changes in nutrition (with advice from your doctor) can mitigate these side effects but not cure them completely.
Below I bust some common myths on specific foods and dietary patterns that claim to cause or cure cancer.
Sugar
Myth: Cutting out sugar from your diet will stop cancer cells from growing and will starve them.
Fact: All of our cells need sugar (glucose), it gives us energy and is the preferred energy source of the brain. There is no evidence of sugar being directly linked to cancer cells developing.
Soya
Myth: Isoflavones, also known as phytoestrogens (‘phyto’ means plant) are found in soy products and have a similar structure to oestrogen. Oestrogen can simulate some cancers and soya and foods containing soya can do the same thing.
Fact: Evidence suggests that it is safe to eat food containing soya and they can actually provide a good source of fibre and protein in plant-based diets.
Alkaline Diet
Myth: An acidic diet feeds cancer cells whereas an alkaline diet is beneficial for good health, and consuming acidic food will disrupt pH of your blood.
Fact: The blood’s pH is, naturally, very tightly regulated and does not change with the food that we eat. There is no evidence to suggest that an alkaline diet can kill cancer cells.