Recommendations for Cancer Prevention

[Jinzang]

The World Cancer Research Fund has issued a set of recommendations for reducing the risk of cancer. The full document is in the attached pdf. The top recommendations are:

1. Avoid obesity
2. Be physically active
3. Eat a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans
4. Limit consumption of fast foods and other processed foods
5. Limit consumption of red and processed meat
6. Limit consumption of sugar sweetened drinks
7. Limit alcohol consumption

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

Coincidentally enough, Guided_by_Voices is also issuing an anti-cancer list. This is what I can come up with off the top of my head..

• Avoid chronically elevated insulin
• Ensure your metabolism is slanted toward fat-burning rather than sugar burning
• Get sensible sun exposure to promote Vitamin D and other skin metabolites
• Eat within an 8 hour window
• Avoid foods that are likely to promote inflammation such as vegetable oils, foods cooked at high heat, grains, especially whole grains (with the possible exception of white rice) or foods to which you may have a sensitivity
• Avoid industrial, non-paleo foods
• If at high risk of cancer, do extended fasts of several days (possibly a week per Dr. Seyfried’s recommendation)
• Consider metformin/aspirin
• Avoid chronic exposure to known aggressive carcinogens (e.g. diesel exhaust, smoked meats, smoking, sunburn, etc.)
• Research/Consider low-dose rapamycin
• Eliminate organ fat
• Maintain healthy vitamin and mineral status
• Ensure healthy sleep and minimize excessive stress levels
• Avoid elevated iron levels
• Eat some vegetables and fruits if you tolerate them well, but do not assume they will protect you from violating the other items on this list
• Consider herbs/substance that may be anti-cancer such as curcumin, astragalus, niacin, etc.
• If you are at high risk of recurrence, research ketogenic therapies and Dr. Seyfried's anti-cancer "stack"
• Above all, keep an open mind, continue to study and learn, and do not rely on mainstream health advice

 

[Jinzang]

There are plenty of contending opinions on what is the best way to prevent or treat cancer. I only suggest that whatever opinion you hold, that you should also be aware of the consensus opinion on the subject and the evidence that backs it. Then if you reject that consensus you will at least know what it is and why it is held. The pdf I attached provides the consensus of current nutritional thinking.

Low carb advocates often say that whole grains cause inflammation. As far as I can tell, this is not correct. Here is an article by Precision Nutrition on the subject. Precision Nutrion is a company that sells nutrition programs and is not aligned with any particular philosophy.

A huge contingent in the grain-hating world claim these plants contribute to low-level inflammation, an ongoing immune response in which your body attacks its own tissue, causing cell damage. They use a few studies to prove their point.

One study had people add 19 grams of wheat bran — the equivalent of about three cups of bran flakes — to their daily intake. Three months later, the subjects had slightly increased levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol, a possible marker of increased inflammation. Cue the grains-cause-inflammation rumors.

The problem? By the end of the experiment, 44 of the 67 subjects had dropped out! This makes the final data sketchy at best.

What's more, several large epidemiological studies have actually linked whole grain intake to lower levels of inflammation. Of course, these are just links. You need controlled trials to prove any causal relationship.

Overall, controlled trials are neutral or supporting of the epidemiological studies here, finding that whole grains either have no effect on inflammation or indeed result in a decrease. Not one single controlled trial has shown that grains increase inflammation.

There's an idea in the fitness industry that inflammation is the root of all health problems, and, therefore, that all health problems can be traced back to the diet and your gut. This is a false premise.

Yes, food sensitivities may cause inflammation and, eventually, after a long cascade of events, may lead to disease elsewhere in the body. But the more likely scenario in most cases is that inflammation is a result of disease, and that it exacerbates other conditions or disease states that have already been set into motion.

There are lots of research papers on all of this. And lots of inflammatory markers we can now test.

No one — I repeat, no one — is really sure what it all means.

But inflammation probably does not cause most diseases, even those with an inflammatory component.

 

[Vince]

Coincidentally enough, Guided_by_Voices is also issuing an anti-cancer list. This is what I can come up with off the top of my head..

• Avoid chronically elevated insulin
• Ensure your metabolism is slanted toward fat-burning rather than sugar burning
• Get sensible sun exposure to promote Vitamin D and other skin metabolites
• Eat within an 8 hour window
• Avoid foods that are likely to promote inflammation such as vegetable oils, foods cooked at high heat, grains, especially whole grains (with the possible exception of white rice) or foods to which you may have a sensitivity
• Avoid industrial, non-paleo foods
• If at high risk of cancer, do extended fasts of several days (possibly a week per Dr. Seyfried's recommendation)
• Consider metformin/aspirin
• Avoid chronic exposure to known aggressive carcinogens (e.g. diesel exhaust, smoked meats, smoking, sunburn, etc.)
• Research/Consider low-dose rapamycin
• Eliminate organ fat
• Maintain healthy vitamin and mineral status
• Ensure healthy sleep and minimize excessive stress levels
• Avoid elevated iron levels
• Eat some vegetables and fruits if you tolerate them well, but do not assume they will protect you from violating the other items on this list
• Consider herbs/substance that may be anti-cancer such as curcumin, astragalus, niacin, etc.
• If you are at high risk of recurrence, research ketogenic therapies and Dr. Seyfried's anti-cancer "stack"
• Above all, keep an open mind, continue to study and learn, and do not rely on mainstream health advice

I believe in your list.

 

[Saul]

There are plenty of contending opinions on what is the best way to prevent or treat cancer. I only suggest that whatever opinion you hold, that you should also be aware of the consensus opinion on the subject and the evidence that backs it. Then if you reject that consensus you will at least know what it is and why it is held. The pdf I attached provides the consensus of current nutritional thinking.

Low carb advocates often say that whole grains cause inflammation. As far as I can tell, this is not correct. Here is an article by Precision Nutrition on the subject. Precision Nutrion is a company that sells nutrition programs and is not aligned with any particular philosophy.

Thank you for posting.