Tag Archives: Diet Tips

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Living with Cancer

Living with Cancer – Beneficial Supplements for Living with Cancer

Healthy Living With Cancer
Healthy Living With Cancer

Conventional cancer treatments, while capable of saving people’s lives, can also zap the human body of crucial vitamins and minerals.  When patients go through chemotherapy and radiation, for example, they may feel lethargic, have brittle hair and nails, and find that they cannot fight off colds and infections very well.

Rather than take chances on their bodies being able to resist viruses and bacteria or submit to feeling tired and physically drained until their treatments are done, most may be able to reclaim their energy and immune support by taking supplements in conjunction with alternative or conventional cancer treatments.

Before a patient takes any vitamins or supplements, they should consult their doctors to make sure that any product that they take will not interfere with their treatment.  However, studies have noted that antioxidants, particularly those that contain Vitamins A, C, and E are effective in fighting free radicals in the body and repairing some of the damage that these free radicals have inflicted on a person’s DNA.

Likewise, chemotherapy and radiation are well known to deplete a person’s iron level and leave that individual feeling lethargic and sick.  People whose blood iron levels are found to be very low during cancer treatment may be advised to take an iron supplement or a multi-vitamin that contains 100 percent of the daily recommended dose of iron. They should take their iron supplement with fruit juice, as the Vitamin C in juice will bind with the iron in the supplement and help transmit it throughout one’s body better.

People who go through cancer treatments look forward to recovering from their illness.  When they feel drained of energy, have low blood iron, or have other signs of nutritional deficiencies like brittle hair and nails, they may recoup some of their former physical characteristics by taking a supplement.

Cancer Research, News

High Protein Diet Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

High Protein Diets Linked to Cancer
High Protein Diets Linked to Cancer

Many people swear by high-protein diets, crediting Atkins, Paleo and other protein-intense diets with helping them drop excess weight and keep it off. But by relying on protein to improve one aspect of their health, protein lovers could be opening themselves to an even greater health risk. New research has linked high-protein diets to increased cancer risk.

This isn’t welcome news for meat-loving Americans. Even if you think you’re following a healthy diet, you may be eating more protein than you realize. A surprising number of the most popular weight loss diets in the U.S. are high in protein. According to Health Central, protein-rich foods account for nearly a third of the daily menu in the following diets: The Biggest Loser, Atkins, South Beach, Abs and Zone. Even the Weight Watchers Diet, which is considered to be more well-balanced than most diet programs, recommends that protein comprise a quarter of your diet.

Interestingly, the study found that all protein does not carry the same risk. People who get their protein primarily from animal meat and dairy are at greater risk of developing cancer than those who favor plant-based proteins. Additionally, age seems to be a factor in the intensity of the cancer risk. We’ll talk about that next time.

Diet is an important part of Issels individualized immunotherapy program for treating cancer. At Issels alternative cancer treatment centers in Tijuana Mexico and Santa Barbara, California, our patients receive education in making healthy diet and lifestyle choices that will allow them to continue strengthening their immune system after they leave our care.

 

To be continued

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Three Lifestyle Strategies Can Decrease Cancer Risk

Diet and Health Can Prevent Cancer
Diet and Health Can Prevent Cancer

Three lifestyle strategies that have already been found to lower heart disease and diabetes risk are also proving effective in cutting cancer risk. While smoking is the leading preventable cause of cancer, three lifestyle choices – poor diet, excess weight and inadequate physical activity — have been linked to nearly a third of all cancer cases, according to a joint policy report by the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research.

The recently released Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study found that cancer risk could be lowered significantly by following the American Cancer Society’s Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention. In tracking more than 65,000 post-menopausal women over a 12-year period, researchers found that women who closely followed the ACS guidelines were able to lower their overall cancer risk by 17% and even more dramatically decrease their risk of two specific cancers, cutting breast cancer risk by 22% and colorectal cancer risk by 52%. One of the significant discoveries of the study was that cancer risk could be significantly decreased even when healthy lifestyle changes where implemented later in life when cancer risk typically rises.

The “Magic 3” lifestyle choices for lowering cancer risk are:

• Weight. Maintain a healthy weight throughout your life.

• Diet. Eat a diet rich in plant-based and whole-grain foods.

• Exercise. At least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a day is recommended.

The lifestyle changes promoted by the American Cancer Society help your body build and maintain a healthy immune system which is most likely responsible for their success in decreasing cancer risk. The body’s immune system plays a critical role in fighting cancer cells. In the same way that immunotherapy bolsters the body’s innate ability to fight cancer, boosting the body’s immune system may also help prevent cancer.

Alternative Cancer Treatment

Gerson Diet Can Help Fight Obesity, Decrease Cancer Risk

Image of an apple
Gerson Diet Can Help Fight Obesity, Decrease Cancer Risk

Over the past few decades adult obesity in the U.S. has doubled and childhood obesity has tripled. Cancer researchers warn that unless Americans can trim down and learn to manage their weight more effectively, the obesity epidemic is likely to cause a spike in cancer diagnoses and cancer deaths.

While researchers are still working to understand how obesity promotes cancer development, it appears that fat tissue creates an ideal environment for the development and growth of numerous types of cancer. Obesity has been linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer, colorectal cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, thyroid cancer, gallbladder cancer, endometrial cancer and liver cancer.

An excess of fat cells can result in metabolic dysfunction, compromising the body’s immune system and its ability to fight cancer. Researchers have discovered that fat tissue stimulates the production of estrogen and other cancer-related hormones; can disrupt insulin production which can lead to chronic inflammation; and interferes with cytokines, disrupting vital cell communication and opening another door to cancer-related inflammation.

Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly to maintain a healthy weight promote a healthy immune system and can help prevent cancer. More and more oncologists recommend diet and exercise goals for cancer survivors to reduce the risk of cancer’s return. Issels cancer treatment specialists recommend to their patients, according to their individual needs, an organic vegetarian diet that is high in immune-boosting vitamins, minerals, enzymes and micronutrients.

Next time: The benefits of exercise

 

Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research

Cytokines: Fighting Cancer at the Cellular Level

mid section view of a man sitting on a bench in a park --- Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis
Obesity can interfere with normal cytokine function.

Cytokines are protein molecules that help cells communicate with each other and have the power to enhance or suppress the body’s immune system. When infected or damaged cells are detected, cytokines work together to attack harmful and cancerous cells. But cytokines can also call in reinforcements, signaling other immune system cells to join the attack.

Unfortunately for the third of American adults who are obese, obesity can interfere with normal cytokine function. When obesity causes interruptions to the vital cellular communication process performed by cytokines, malfunctions in the body’s immune system can occur that can lead to cancer, as CBS News recently noted in a report on the connections between obesity and cancer.

Cytokines function as the immune system’s communication network. When that network is disrupted, the body’s cells are not longer able to communicate with each other to coordinate their attack on rogue cells. Without impediments, cancer cells can multiply and migrate without restriction. Issels Integrative Oncology’s program of integrative immune therapy restores and supports the health of your body’s cytokines — and thus your immune system — through alternative cancer therapies and cancer vaccines.

Cytokines fight or control cancer in a number of ways.  They can interrupt pathways that contribute to uncontrolled growth of cancer  cells and prevent cancer from metastasizing and spreading to other parts of the body. By binding to cancer cells, cytokines identify rogue cells and attract other immune system cells to attack them. In addition to augmenting the killing action of immune cells, cytokines aid in the repair of cells damaged by radiation or chemotherapy.

Find out more about cytokines and cancer on our website.

Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research

How Does Obesity Increase Cancer Risk?

Young Couple Walking Dog
Daily walk could decrease your risk of cancer.

It seems absurd that something as innocuous as taking a daily walk could decrease your risk of cancer, as well as a host of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. But, as we noted in our previous post, researchers are finding that regular exercise could be the “magic pill” that saves us from a host of ills, including cancer. Exercise promotes a healthy immune system, improving your body’s ability to fight off cancer; but it is the link between exercise and obesity reductions that intrigues cancer researchers.

Affecting the health of more than a third of American adults, obesity adversely affects the body in several ways that can weaken its ability to fight off cancer and disease:

  • Obesity can change the way your body absorbs and uses energy from the food you eat, resulting in metabolic dysfunction.
  • Obesity can interfere with the process of cytokines, disrupting cell communication which can increase inflammation.
  • Obesity can also impact the body’s endocrine system, affecting production of certain hormones that can fuel cancer tumor growth.

As little as 30 to 60 minutes of brisk walking or other moderate-intensity exercise a day can be enough to promote weight loss, help maintain a healthy body weight, protect you from the deleterious effects of obesity and reduce your cancer risk. (Tip: at moderate intensity you should be able to talk but not sing.) If you don’t have the time or stamina for a 30-minute workout, experts say you can derive the same obesity-fighting, cancer-prevention benefits from several 10-minute workouts. Cumulative exercise time and exercise intensity are what matter.

Next time: Cytokines and cancer