Cancer and Diet…Is There A Link?

I know what you’re thinking…why does this crazy woman keep giving me bad news about food and disease? Here’s the deal…there is a strong correlation between how you eat and the state of wellness (or lack thereof) in your body. I hope to inspire a little motivation in you to at least be mindful about the food you eat and the environment you put yourself in.

I came across a couple of things this week that were of interest to me and I hope they are to you too.

This article bears out what I talked about in an earlier post regarding the link between breast cancer and cheese consumption. Because of the hormones that are concentrated in cheese, consumers of large amounts of cheese are at higher risk of developing breast cancer…so much so that a group of doctors who call themselves the Committee For Responsible Medicine are recommending that a cancer warning label be placed on all dairy cheese being sold.

In this video, the link between cancer, specifically breast cancer, and alcohol consumption is pretty strong. A single sip of alcohol can expose you to a carcinogenic substance called acetaldehyde which is formed when the bacteria in the mouth mixes with alcohol. Pretty scary, right?

And then, in this podcast Dr. Neal Barnard calls out the “pinking” of products for breast cancer awareness that are far from healthy…think pink buckets of KFC and pink martinis. I wrote about the pink-washing that happens in our country in October in this blogpost a few days ago.

So what do all these things have in common? Well, as the title of this post says, there may very well be a link between what you put in your mouth and your risk for cancer as well as other diseases. According to this article, nutrition and lifestyle have a huge impact on your risk for developing cancer and how you might recover if you do develop cancer.

Sugar and refined carbs that quickly convert to sugar in your body, have long been implicated in increasing the risk for several types of cancer like stomach, breast and colorectal.

Processed meat like hot dogs, ham, cold cuts, and everyone’s favorite…bacon, have been implicated in causing colorectal cancer.

Overcooking foods and foods cooked at high temperatures like those on a barbecue grill, in a frying pan or under a broiler, can produce carcinogenic compounds. This is more likely to happen with foods high in animal fat and protein, like steak, but can also include certain dairy products, eggs and seeds or nuts.

It’s been found that high consumption of dairy products may contribute to prostate cancer. This could be because of the hormones found in dairy products that have been linked to prostate cancer.

More and more the evidence supports eating a whole foods plant based diet to protect yourself from developing many types of cancer. This type of diet helps in the prevention of many other disease states as well like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and may even help stave off dementia and Alzheimers. And it makes you feel really well too.

As a health coach, I work with women who are facing serious health challenges like heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes or who have been diagnosed as having a precursor to a serious health issue such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar. I help them make food and lifestyle changes so they can get healthy, live longer and enjoy a fuller, happier, more energetic life. If you would like to have a free consultation about the health challenges you have and the improvements you would like to see in your health, click here to schedule a no strings attached call.