If the world could make one collective wish to end a specific disease, odds are most of us would vote for cancer. Even with the great strides that have been made over the last several decades, it’s not an easy disease to treat. But research into the spread of cancer may offer more hope for survival.
Cancer can originate anywhere. And it can spread anywhere. So if you could stop the spread, you’d be several steps ahead and greatly boost your chances of fighting cancer, right?
Well, the answer to whether your body can fight off cancer may be on the end of your fork, according to research at Washington State University that shows vegetarian foods are full of compounds that turn on cancer-fighting genes. Junk food, not so much.
More than 40 plant-based compounds can turn on your genes that slow the spread of cancer, according to lead researcher Gary Meadows, who says he’s encouraged by his findings because the spread of cancer is most often what makes the disease fatal. Moreover, says Meadows, diet, nutrients and plant-based chemicals appear to be opening many avenues of attack.
“We’re always looking for a magic bullet,” he says. “Well, there are lots of magic bullets out there in what we eat and associated with our lifestyle. We just need to take advantage of those. And they can work together.”
Meadows says his study reinforces two concepts.
For one, he has a greater appreciation of the role of natural compounds in helping our bodies slow or stop the spread of cancer. The number of studies connecting nutrients and metastasis suppressor genes suggests a need for more deliberate research into the genes.
“And many of these effects have not been followed up on,” he says. “There’s likely to be more compounds out there, more constituents that people haven’t even evaluated yet.”
Meadows also sees these studies playing an important role in the shift from preventing cancer to living with it and keeping it from spreading.
“We’ve kind of focused on the cancer for a long time,” he says. “More recently we’ve started to focus on the cancer in its environment. And the environment, your whole body as an environment, is really important in whether or not that cancer will spread.”
Much research has been done on the cancer-protective benefits of specific foods. Those rich in phytonutrients tend to top the list as the most protective. Those would be the foods, along with a diet generally heavy in fruits and vegetables, that you’d want to consume to limit your risk.
But as far as what to avoid — it’s really a no-brainer: Avoid the fatty junk foods.
According to researchers from Temple University, fatty foods increase a person’s risk for colon cancer, and the scientists believe they may be able to explain why.
Researchers compared the colon tissue of people with cancer to those without the disease. They found that the genes involved in breaking down carbohydrates and fats work differently in people with colon cancer.
In addition to a host of other potential health problems, fatty junk foods hold nothing positive for the fight against cancer in general.
“These foods are changing the methylation patterns on a person’s insulin genes so that they express differently, pumping out more insulin than the body requires,” said lead author Carmen Sapienza. “Insulin is only supposed to be expressed in your pancreas, so having this extra insulin is bad.”
Eating your vegetables, as your mom probably encouraged you to do, really is the best health advice.
