Diet, Cancer, and the Subsequent Backlash

if we knew exactly what causes cancer, would we not have an efficient, affordable cure? and wouldn't we all be doing a better job at avoiding it?? seems to me that the study is not complete... sooner or later a study will come out to "prove" that it is the very water we drink everyday, from faucets, from bottles, that causes cancer. what then?

I say that since we do not know the cause of cancer the best way to avoid it is to do what you know is healthy. I mean is it really a suprise that red meat and sausage are corrilated to higher rates? Things like veggies have been linked to lower rates of cancer with high fiber foods leading to lower rates of colon cancer. I honestly don't find any of this suprising. By eating healthy you avoid many more things than cancer and the benefits are countless.

Personally I think one of the reasons for cancer is that we are living longer than we ever have before, allowing for more room for error in the reproduction of cells. Yes food may play a role in preventing these errors but as far as I am concerned it can only get you so far. There are far more things that we are exposed to on a daily basis that may cause cancer. For example, cavemen ate red meat. They killed it for food but they didn't sanitize the cutting board at the butcher shop every night. Granted, we have more knowledge now than ever before. A caveman probably wouldn't know that he had cancer. It would have just been a natural cause of death. which I hate to point out, is true today as well. As far as we know it could be unavoidable, something to control the population and a natural part of life.

Meat consumption is also associated with affluence.

Poor, primarily vegetarian countries don't usually have cancer problems, but life expectancy is substantially less...so they may just be dying of something else before they ever get cancer.

First off, we ALL have cancer. Cancer is not the disease. Neither are viruses, bacteria or yeasts. We have all these things in our body already. When they go out of control, that's a symptom only. The true disease is that conditions were created which destroyed the balance that kept them in check.

Bacteria and yeasts typically keep each other in check, waging a tiny chemical warfare against one another. When an external effect occurs, this balance can be disrupted. For instance, too much sugar causes yeast in the colon to go out of control (candida infection). Or getting dehydrated causes bad breath (bacteria overgrowth) and possibly acne.

But if you want to see real quick how bacteria and yeasts need a balance, go have a few beers or wine. A non-distilled alcohol has products of yeast fermentation that will kill off bacteria in the gut. Typically enough die that you will have loose stools the next morning.

With viruses, their only check and balance is the immune system. An immune system challenged by too many other stressors will be compromised enough to allow the viruses to multiply. These stressors can be physical; such as damage to cells from injury, chronic conditions of inflammation or toxins such as smog. Or the stress could be psychological. Either way, the immune system can't destroy the viruses quick enough and an infection begins.

Many cancers begin this same way, as many cancers are the result of viruses. Anything that manipulates the genetic component of your cells can cause a cancer. And this is just how viruses work. They transform your cells into factories to produce more viruses. But if they screw up, then the cell is only partially compromised. It might still be able to replicate, creating another screwed up cell (a cancer cell). And if these cancer cells are not seen by the body as a threat, or the immune system is too beat down to do anything about it, they might be allowed to spread out of control.

Other cancers are not the result of viruses. There are many other ways for the cell's genetic data to be altered, or mutated, such as radiation. This radiation might be from a barrel of glowing green slime, with a biohazard symbol on it. Or it might just come from the sun! The radiation might also be emitted by cellphones or microwave ovens, high-tension power lines or radon gas.

Many more cancers are caused by hormonal imbalances. This is something of which we're only just becoming more aware. Hormones typically cause a portion of the body either to work or grow. And an excess or hormones can cause that body part to grow so haphazardly that some cancerous cells are produced in the replications. Sometimes this can happen when exogenous hormones are administered by a well-meaning medical professional, such as in hormone replacement therapy, which can cause breast cancer in women or prostate cancer in men.

Other times, our hormones are skewed due to sleep patterns, but these don't typically affect cancers. Our other behaviors do, though, such as the spraying of chemicals which are similar to estrogens (xenoestrogens) or the eating of foods which are similar to estrogens (phytoestrogens). This can include household cleaners and soybeans, both of which can cause cancers influenced by the sex hormones.

Another way to imbibe dangerous estrogens is in the consumption of commercial beef within the United States, where it is legal for growers to inject their cattle with synthetic estrogens, in order to induce a testosterone backlash in the animal which causes an increase in muscle growth. Those synthetic estrogens are then in our food supply. And another way that estrogens get into our food supply is from treated water, as women urinate excess estrogens from birth control pills (another probable carcinogen when taken directly).

Other than phytoestrogens, any food that can lead to chronic inflammation weakens the body's immune response to numerous diseases, including cancer. This would include any food that is unbalanced in favor of omega 6 vs. omega 3 fats, eaten to excess, without eating foods balanced to omega 3 fats to compensate. In other words, an imbalanced diet! This is compounded again, in the United States only, by the fact that our cattle are fed corn and soy rather than grass in the final stage of growth, when most fat is stored.

Our diet can also lead to viruses and cancers when it is deficient in anti-oxidant vitamins, A, C and E, or the mineral selenium. Again, a balanced diet is crucial in fighting off cancers. There is also the possibility that we should consume a low-grade cytotoxin, called laetrile, which is found in many seeds worldwide. When something is found all over the world, in myriad sources, it is typically essential. Those properties unique to only one or two different herbs are more likely a novelty, and not something which we evolved to consume.

Basically, watch out for anything the doctor gives you and eat a balanced diet. Soak in the sun only when your shadow is taller than you, and avoid other sources of radiation. Don't huff household cleaners, even by accident. Then as Spock says, you may "Live long and prosper".

A lot of cancers are caused by genes that code for growth factors getting mutated, making the cells unable to self regulate. The mutations can come from anything, but IMHO, the best way to prevent cancer is to eat a diet that is very high in antioxidants. Antioxidants act as sort of an internal protection for your DNA and help to shield it from all the mutagens out there. Eating antioxidants and trying to limit your risks (ie, stay a healthy weight, don't smoke, don't eat a lot of cured/smoked meats, etc.) will probably do a lot to prevent cancer.

Heh, this is probably the first good thing I've heard about being short...

power to the short people and vegans!

Looking at any extreme diet as the answer is not the way to go. Moderation is key in preventing any type of disease and sadly moderation/balance is the hardest thing to achieve.