Animal Protein

There is conclusive evidence that regular consumption of red meat like pork, lamb and beef, can cause cancer. Red meat is high in animal protein. Studies have established a link between high protein diets and higher rates of cancer. Dr T. Colin Campbell, a professor at Cornell University and senior science adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research, says there is “a strong correlation between dietary protein intake and cancer of the breast, prostate, pancreas and colon.” It has been proven that men who regularly ate red meat had nearly three times more risk of advanced prostate cancer than their plant food-loving counterparts. Experts think that this is because excess dietary protein clogs cells and forcefully changes the pH of body fluids to disease-producing levels. Eventually, the overburdened cells become toxic.

Scientists from the University of California, San Diego have another theory. They believe that eating red meat introduces a dangerous molecule - a type of sugar called N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) - into the body’s tissues. This molecule is not found in humans and as it is considered an invader, it sparks an immune response. The scientists think that gradual accumulation of this molecule in the body and the constant presence of antibodies against it may cause chronic diseases like cancer in later life.

Protein-rich diets also tend to leach calcium from the bones. This not only causes osteoporosis in later life but also is detrimental to those with bone cancer, which depletes calcium reserves in the body.

Fatty Foods

Fats are actually an essntial part of our diet. They Provide energy and act as importatn building blocks for cell membranes, hormones and other molecules. Saturated fats can be synthesized in the human body and therefore, they are not a necessary part of our diet. However, our diet must contain certain unsaturated fats because these cannot be synthesized by the body and are critical for specific bodily functions.

Some studies have linked higher dietary fat intake, especially saturated fat, with higher risk for cancer. Saturated fat is found in abundance in red meat and meat products like tallow and lard, dairy products like whole milk, butter and cheese, eggs and coconut milk.

A liking for such foods puts women at risk for breast cancer. One study that assessed women who ate a lont of red meat and full-fat dairy products found that those with the highest intake of such foods had 33% more risk for invasive breast cancer.

Saturated fat could also be linked with colon cancer. Scientists believe that when the body breaks down cholesterol from fatty foods, it produces bile acids that when further metabolized, generate a highly toxic substance called lithocholic acid (LCA). While other toxins circulate to the liver to be filtered, LCA remains in the gut. It is not known exactly how LCA causes cancer in humans but it has been proven to cause cancer in mice and in found in large concentrations in colon cancer patients.

Researchers Believe that high-fat diets could also bring about cancer because they are usually low in antioxidant and fiber-rich plant foods.

Preserved Meat

If your tummy growls for a sausage and bacon breakfast, remember this. A study coordinated by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer suggests that high consumption of preserved meat like hot dog, salami, bacon and cured ham can increase risk of bowel cancer by 50%.

That’s not all. Pickled, salted, cured and smoked foods that are especially popular in China could be the reason why almost half of all stomach cancer fatalities are Chinese. 35% of stomach cancer cases worldwide occur in China.

Certain communities depend on preserved food because preservatives like nitrate and/or nitrite imprede the growth of bacteria and prolong the quality of meat without refrigeration. Nitrite in itself is not highly toxic. But it may react with other substances in meat to form nitrosamine, a carcinogen.

Obesity

As more and more people begin to lead couch potato lifestyles, obesity has now become a global epidemic. Of one billion overweight people around the globe, 300 million are obese. The WHO blames 60% annual deaths on obesity.

Obesity is measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is the ration of weight (kilograms) to height (meters) squared. A BMI of 18.5 and over is considered healthy while touching 25 borders on overweight and 30 is considered obese. Researchers have suggested lowering the BMI for obesity from 30 to about 27.5 and for overweight from 25 to about 23 for Asians, who, though smaller in frame than most Caucasians, have high body fat percentages.

An increasing waistline increases risk for almost a dozen types of cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that at least 165 of all cancer deaths are linked to excess weight. How fat cells trigger cancer is not fully understood, but it is thought that fat’s ability to raise insulin and protein levels may in turn lead to the uncontrollable growth of certain cells. The worst culprits are said to be fat cells that build up in the abdomen.

Obesity-linked cancer risk is terrifyingly high. Obese postmenopausal women have 50% more risk for breast cancer than normal-weight women. An overweight woman has twice the risk of getting endometrial cancer compared to a normal-weight woman, which increases to 3.5 to 5-fold if she is obese. An obese person is 50% more likely to develp colorectal cancer and three times more likely to get kidney cancer and a type of esophageal cancer than his or her leaner friends.

A Dietary Investment

Financial advisors never tire of repeating his oft-heard mantra - start saving early and get a huge payoff when you are older. The same could be said about our diet. For example, researchers have long suspected that what a woman eats in her 20s, 30s and 40s could lower her breast cancer risk in midlife. They think that prolonged exposure to hormones like estrogen and progesterone levels in the body increases breaset cancer risk. Eating healthy low-fat, high-fiber meals may actually lower these hormone levels.

Cancer is not only a result of what we eat, but also what we do not eat. Nutritional deficiencies brought about by hurried and unbalanced meals can drastically undermine the immune system. Many studies have shown that plant food is of particular value in the battle against cancer. The Singapore Chinese Health Study, a landmark, 10-year study of over 60,000 Chinese Singaporeans showed that eating green, leafy and cruciferous vegetables like kai lan, chye sim, broccoli and cauliflower may reduce risk of colon cancer and yellowish-orange fruits like papaya and tangerine may reduce risk of lung cancer.

Perhaps if we think of eating as an investment for the future in addition to fulfilling hunger, we may be able to give ourselves a longer, healtier life.