Other Factors Affecting Patient Outcome
What Should Cancer Patients Eat?
For a cancer patient who appreciates the importance of a properly planned diet, the task is daunting. The diversity of the population minimizes the likelihood of a universal diet; nonetheless, most diets are hyped as being nutritionally correct for everyone. This section explores dietary variables, conceding that many generalities exist, that is, eat organic when available and eat on schedule to avoid blood glucose swings. Select foods characterized by color and texture. Avoid synthetic and refined foods: white flour products and sugar as well as trans fats (those fats altered by overheating, hydrogenation, and refining). Avoiding well-done meats and exposure to heterocyclic amines (formed during high temperature cooking) eliminates another significant cancer source (Zheng et al. 1998).
Tumors are primarily obligate glucose metabolizers, meaning they require sugar for survival. Even though the brain normally uses high amounts of glucose, hepatomas (a tumor of the liver) and fibrosarcomas (a sarcoma that contains fibrous connective tissue) consume roughly as much glucose as the brain. Some Americans continuously satisfy cancer's appetite, ingesting as much as 295 pounds of sugar a year.
Nobel laureate Otto Warburg, Ph.D., discovered in 1955 that cancer cells use glucose for fuel. But glucose accomplishes another strategic maneuver that strongly favors the cancer: it immobilizes internal defenses, the actions of the immune system. A study involving 10 healthy human volunteers assessed fasting blood glucose levels and the phagocytic index of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell. Glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey, and orange juice all significantly decreased the capacity of neutrophils to engulf bacteria. A diet structured away from sugars deprives cancer of its energy and increases the reliability of the immune response.
Dr. Jeff Bland advises selecting foodstuffs low on the glycemic index to avoid gratifying the tumor's appetite. The glycemic index lists the relative speed at which different foods are digested and raise blood sugar levels. Each food is compared to the effect of the same amount of pure glucose on the body's blood sugar curve. Glucose itself has a glycemic index rating of 100. Foods that are broken down and raise blood glucose levels quickly have higher ratings. The closer to 100, the more the food resembles glucose. The lower the rating, the more gradually that food affects blood sugar levels.
Common foods have the following glycemic ratings: baked potatoes, 95; white bread, 95; mashed potatoes, 90; chocolate candy bar, 70; corn, 70; boiled potatoes, 70; bananas, 60; white pasta, 55; peas, 50; unsweetened fruit juice, 40; rye bread, 40; lentils, 30; soy, 15; green vegetables; and tomatoes, < 15.
Note: The glycemic index should not be relied upon without factoring in the glycemic load, which is the glycemic index of a food times its carbohydrate content in grams, a concept developed at Harvard School of Public Health in 1997. Carrots, for instance, have a high glycemic index, but a very low glycemic load. This means that carrots consumed in moderation usually do not present a problem. Refer to the Obesity protocol for complete information about the glycemic index load.
An admonition, based more on folk medicine than scientific certainty, to avoid the white foods (all sugar-containing foods, as well as rice, and white flour and flour-based products) appears to have validity when applied to the glycemic index. A diet structured principally around carbohydrates that promotes hyperglycemia (high blood sugar level) and hyperinsulinemia (high blood insulin level) provides an environment that feeds the fire of cancer. High blood insulin levels drive protein tyrosine kinase (leading to cell division) and high blood glucose metabolically feeds cancer cells. On the other hand, a diet centered on fiber-, vitamin-, and mineral-rich foods that cause no blood glucose rise or insulin rush is an excellent target for healthy eating.
The diseases such as obesity and diabetes mellitus (often characterized by hyperinsulinemia) are associated with an increased risk of endometrial, colorectal, and breast cancers. The mechanisms underlying insulin-mediated neoplasias appear to include enhanced DNA synthesis (with the resultant tumor cell growth), inhibited apoptosis, and an altered sex hormone milieu. The reduced insulin levels seen with physical activity, weight loss, and a high fiber diet may in fact account for the decreased cancer incidence observed in individuals who maintain normal glucose and insulin levels (Gupta et al. 2002). Comment: Reducing blood insulin levels may result in remarkable improvements in men with prostate disease, with a concurrent drop in PSA levels (Hsing et al 2001).
Unfortunately, glucose modulation is an under-utilized component of cancer treatment. Some aspects of traditional treatments actually contribute to higher blood levels of glucose. For example, consider hospital meals, often favoring sugar-based foodstuffs. In addition, if the patient is on an IV solution, the infusion is largely dextrose based, feeding the cancer and perpetuating its growth.
The American Cancer Society believes that 30% of all cancer is due to inadequate consumption of vegetables and fruits. About 91% of Americans fail to achieve target recommendations, that is, 5 vegetable servings a day or 2-3 pounds a week. Asians who consume from 15-20 servings of fruits and vegetables a day have a much lower incidence of some cancers.
Vegetables of the cruciferous family isolate the anticarcinogenic constituents of Brassica plants. Glucosinolates (appearing in cruciferous vegetables) can inhibit, retard, or even reverse experimental multistage carcinogenesis (Fimognari et al. 2002). As enzymatic processes hydrolyze glucosinolates, isothiocyanates are released, including sulphoraphane. Sulphoraphane wields a strong arm against cancer, promoting apoptosis, inducing Phase II detoxification enzymes, increasing p53 and participating in the regulatory mechanisms of the cell's growth cycle. Necrosis (localized death of diseased tissues) is typically observed after prolonged exposure to elevated doses of sulphoraphane.
For the past several years, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have urged the inclusion of broccoli sprouts in the diet. According to Dr. Paul Talalay, broccoli sprouts have 20-50 times more anticancer sulphoraphanes than grown vegetables (Fahey et al. 1997). Eating a few tablespoons of sprouts daily can supply the same amount of chemoprotection as 1-2 pounds of broccoli eaten weekly (Talalay 1997).
Broccoli sprouts contain a chemical that kills H. pylori, even in antibiotic-resistant conditions. The release of anticarcinogenic chemicals from Brassica vegetables is a sequential process that occurs as the plant tissue is broken down. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a product of cruciferous metabolism, is referred to as a secondary metabolite, meaning it is not found in a preformed state in the vegetables. Rather, I3C is formed after myrosinase (an enzyme inherent to the plant) is exposed to a phytochemical in the vegetable (glucobrassicin), a glucosinolate that subsequently delivers indole-3-carbinol. This occurs only when vegetable cells are crushed or eaten, a process known as enzymatic hydrolysis. I3C, thus formed, is then broken down in the presence of stomach brocacid to various byproducts including diindolylmethane (DIM), another powerful defense against cancer (Lukaczer 2001). It appears highly possible that the breakdown products of I3C may be delivering as much protection as I3C itself (Katchamart et al. 2001; Lukaczer 2001; Lord et al. 2002).
An undesirable effect is the conversion of estrone to a carcinogenic material called 16-alpha hydroxyestrone that damages DNA and inhibits apoptosis. The ratio of 2-hydroxyestrone to 16-hydroxyestrone indicates a woman's risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer. Levels of 2-hydroxyestrone are typically higher in women who do not get cancer; 16-hydroxyestrone is higher in women with cancer. When breast cancer cells are treated with I3C (in vitro) 90% of cells undergo growth inhibition, whether the cells are estrogen positive or negative (Galland 2000).
Broccoli (500 grams for 12 days) increased the average 2-alpha-hydroxyestrone:16- alpha-hydroxyestrone ratio (Kall et al. 1997). Hence, consuming vegetables rich in indole-3-carbinol gives hope that as 2-hydroxyestrone increases, cancers will be decreased in both men and women. The ability of I3C to neutralize estrogen metabolites as well as to block aflatoxin (a mycotoxin that promotes prostate cancer) makes cruciferous vegetables equally important to men.
By inhibiting protein kinases and other growth factors, restoring p21 activity, and encouraging apoptosis, I3C appears an effective chemopreventive/therapeutic agent against many types of malignancies (Chinni et al. 2001; Roman-Gomez et al. 2002). Evidencing its benefits, I3C reduced the incidence of cervical cancer from 76% to 8% in laboratory mice (Jin et al. 1999), and administered together with tamoxifen, I3C inhibited the growth of estrogen-dependent human MCF-7 breast cancer more effectively than either agent used alone (Cover et al. 1999).
If vegetables providing I3C are in short supply in the diet, indole-3-carbinol capsules are available. For those under 120 pounds, one 200-mg capsule taken 2 times a day is suggested; those between 120-180 pounds could take 200 mg 3 times a day, while those over 180 pounds could take four 200 mg a day.
Cholesterol (Can It Be Too Low?)
Hypocholesterolemia (abnormally low levels of cholesterol) has been shown in several epidemiological studies to be related to increased mortality from human cancer. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels in 135 patients with squamous cell and small cell lung carcinoma were evaluated. All lung cancer patients had higher rates of hypocholesterolemia as well as lower triglyceride levels compared to a healthy control group. Total cholesterol concentrations were lower in both histological types, but triglyceride levels were lower only in patients with squamous cell lung cancer (Siemianowicz et al. 2000).
An article in Hematology and Oncology reported that 90% of 83 patients with acute myeloid leukemia were hypocholesterolemic (Zyada et al. 1990). Additionally, another article in theEuropean Journal of Haemtology reported that remission in acute myelogenous leukemia was associated with a significant increase in cholesterol levels in those patients with low cholesterol concentrations or high leukocyte counts at diagnosis (Reverter et al. 1988).
Various reports have emerged showing that low cholesterol levels are associated with higher death rates (particularly among elderly people), from cancer and infection (Weverling-Rijnsburger et al. 1997; Schatz et al. 2001). These findings raise concerns regarding hypocholesterolemic drug therapy and diet manipulation to drastically lower cholesterol levels in a subset of the population.
