Food has a very powerful effect in your body. Diet and nutrition alter your internal terrain and influences genes1-3.
The nutrition in foods affects cancer both directly and indirectly. Some foods kill cancer cells and others promote cancer cell growth. Your body has powerful mechanisms to transform your genes for or against cancer cells, as well as your entire internal environment.
“Diet affects cancer both directly and indirectly. Nutrients directly impact the mechanisms by which cancer cells grow and spread. They indirectly help control the cancer by changing the surrounding biochemical conditions that either encourage or discourage the progression of malignant disease.”
-Keith Block MD
“Phytonutrients from fruits, vegetables, and legumes have been shown to inhibit oncogenes (tumor promoting genes like HER-2/neu, ras, Bcl-2, fos and jun). Oncogenes direct the course of events in cancer from cancer proliferation to angiogenesis (the recruitment of new blood vessels required for cancer progression) to invasion. Other phytonutrients have been shown to increase the expression of tumor suppressor genes (like p53, PTEN and Bax) that inhibit tumor growth or promote the death of cancer cells.”
-Jeanne Wallace, PhD, CNC
Many times daily, you have the opportunity to eat cancer fighting foods to support your quality of life and survival.
“Three times a day, day after day, we are eating foods that can influence your genes and help us fight cancer…”
-David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD
Nutrition and cancer is one of the most important areas of integrative cancer care. Educate yourself about foods and cancer as a priority. Eating cancer fighting foods can strongly influence your health and healing. Create a cancer diet for your own life with nutrition against cancer to support your optimal wellness.
10 Top Tips for Nutrition and Cancer
1. Learn that foods impact your entire body. Louis Pasteur said, “The germ is nothing, the terrain is everything.” The terrain refers to the internal environment influencing health. His statement represents a significant change in thinking for the father of the theory that germs (small organisms in the body) cause disease. Food is medicine for your entire physical body. Eat a cancer diet with nutrition against cancer.
2. Eat cancer fighting foods that promote wellness. Many studies indicate that cancer fighting foods support survival and quality of life. Since most people eat at least three times daily, food choices have a strong and constant impact on the body. Nutrition against cancer is an absolute. Proper nutrition can also increase the efficacy and diminish the toxicity of conventional treatments.
3. Avoid specific foods associated with cancer. Many foods and ingredients are harmful to health and contribute to cancer risk, cancer development, and cancer growth. Learn about foods to avoid in support of your health.
4. There is not a one size fits all cancer diet. Each person is unique and therefore variability exists between optimal diets. Focus on identifying a person-centered cancer fighting foods tailored to you as an individual and designed for your unique constitution.
5. Eat organic as much as possible. Many foods today are burdened with pesticides and other chemicals. Some of these chemicals have been associated with cancer. Pay now or pay more later. Choosing organic foods is a worthwhile investment in your life and especially for the top foods with pesticides.
6. Do not expect your conventional cancer care team to educate you about foods and cancer. Conventional cancer care providers may have some knowledge in this area and understand the powerful relationship between nutrition against cancer. Or they might refer you to a nutrition expert. However, mainstream medical training provides very little education if any about the relationship between foods and health and certainly foods and cancer. Most likely, you need to seek information about diet and cancer from other sources.
7. Consult with an expert. Consider consulting with an oncologist, medical doctor, naturopath, nutritionist, or other trained health care professional with expertise in the relationship between nutrition against cancer. A highly educated provider can guide you about specific cancer fighting foods, general nutritional information, and quantities depending upon your condition. All cancer patients need help in learning what to eat and what not to eat. Some cancer patients need help in adding or losing weight due to conditions such as cancer cachexia, being overweight, or obese. An expert can also help you cultivate your individualized cancer diet.
8. Read books about diet, foods, nutrition and cancer. You can learn a lot through reading. Also know that you will inevitably encounter some contradictory recommendations about diets, including cancer fighting foods. Educate yourself with several quality books listed in Cancer Fighting Foods, consider consulting with a trained professional about a cancer diet with cancer fighting foods, and tune into your body to what feels right.
9. Understand that food influences your whole person. Food strongly impacts the entire physical body comprised of body, mind, spirit, social, and environmental health. This means that your diet intensely influences your mind-body connection, spiritual vitality, social connections, and a clean and green environment. Healthy foods positively support your whole person wellness. Unhealthy foods provide negative consequences. The reality is that if you eat junk food, the junk extends to your entire body and life.
10. Know and maintain that dietary and nutritional changes are well worth the effort. Due to the amount of time people spend eating, as well as their emotional connections with food, adhering to ongoing dietary guidelines might be perceived as difficult. Make changes step by step. After some clearing out of the old, and building of the new, you will feel invigorated by a healthier diet. If you feel overwhelmed, know the severity of the challenge in eating healthier is consistent with the reward. Once you start feeling the benefits of new food habits, you will never look back. Think outside your box. Be curious. Dare yourself into new delights.
Nutrition and Cancer Educational Information
Cancer Fighting Foods
Food is medicine when you know what to eat and what not to eat. Learn top cancer fighting foods.
Foods to Avoid
Some foods and ingredients contribute to cancer risk and development. Read this must know information.
Why Organic Foods?
Did you know that pesticides used on foods present a significant health risk? Learn why and how organic foods are cleaner for your body. Explore other options such as avoiding the non-organic top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables.
Clean Water
The human body requires water for health and life. Clean water supports all of your inner workings. Learn about dirty water and the importance of filters.
Juicing
Do you need more juice? Learn about the health benefits of juicing and how healthy organic fresh juices support your health.
Raw Foods
The consumption of raw foods provides important benefits. Learn the specifics for your wellness.
Food Allergy Elimination and Reintroduction
A food allergy involves an unhealthy response to food in the body. Read more about this process and strategies for improvements.
