Dietary Fibers and Cancer

Good health is most essential to keep all problems far away. All of us know that health is wealth. One must essentially realize that the best weapon to fight /prevent cancer is Good Health.

Diet containing approximately 2.5 gms of fiber per serving is ideal diet. One can get such supply from Bananas, Apples, Oranges, Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Peanuts, Oatmeal and similar grains.

There are two types of fibers

(1) Insoluble fibers found in whole wheat flour, wheat bran, various nuts and vegetables. These fibers are helpful for smooth movement of contents in digestive system, especially in colon.

(2) Soluble fibers are the ones which form gel or colloidal suspension with water inside digestive tract. Such fibers are found in Oats, Peas, Apples, Carrots and Psyllium (Ispagol). These are helpful in formation of soft stools. These also lower blood cholesterol and glucose level.

Daily Fiber Requirement:-

Males need between 30 to 38 gm and females need 21 to 25 gm of fibers daily. For seniors beyond 50 years of age, the requirement of the daily fibers is on the lower side of this scale.

Benefits of having diet with requisite amount of fibers: -

(1) Normal smooth and regular bowel movements is the most important benefit of fibers in diet. For constipated person, fibers soften the stools, and for person having watery or loose stools, fibers help in formation of solid stools.

(2) Diet containing fibers reduces probability of getting hemorrhoids or diverticulitis (development of stagnant pouch in colon or twisting of colon)

 (3) Soluble fibers help in lowering blood cholesterol levels. Studies have also shown that an increased fiber in diet lowers blood pressure.

(4) Fibers slow down absorption of sugar helping in lowering blood sugar especially in people suffering from diabetes.

(5) High fiber diet helps in reducing weight thereby avoiding obesity. The diet with high fiber contents gives feeling of being full for longer time and contains lesser concentration of energy-giving components. This leads to lesser intake of food and weight control.

(6) The studies have proved that seniors who have been regularly taking diet containing proper amount of fibers have lesser problems related to ‘Gums’.

The ways of easily adding required fibers to daily diet: -

(1) Start day with breakfast containing high fiber cereals with bran.

(2) Consume bread containing whole wheat flour. Also use whole grain flour for all baking

(3) Add chopped fresh leafy vegetables and carrots to soups

(4) Eat more legumes such as Peas, Beans and Lentils

(5) Have fruits like Apple, banana, pears with every meal.

(5) Carefully opt for snacks which contain high fiber

Usefulness of Fibers in prevention of Cancer: -
(1) It is claimed that dietary fibers help in preventing colon cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer. This is not conclusively proved as many studies have shown conflicting results. This means, there are some studies showing positive effect of dietary fibers in cancer prevention.
(2) Fibers most certainly improve digestive health. Fibers definitely help in controlling body weight and in avoiding obesity. It is most conclusively proved that ‘Obesity’ is the major cancer cause. Also good digestive health leads to improved general health.
(3) Mostly, we get food fibers from non-starchy vegetables, legumes, fruits and colored vegetables. These food substances contain phytochemicals, co-enzymes, antioxidants, vitamins and also fibers. All these ingredients together help in prevention of many cancers such as Colorectal, stomach, mouth, larynx and esophageal cancer.
The most important fact is that as far as possible, dietary fibers must come from normal food intake and not as ‘Commercial Food Supplements’. Sudden increase in intake of fiber can lead to having intestinal gases, abdominal bloating and cramping. Also it can lead to nutritional deficiencies.

Cancer Scary Facts

Every year, nearly 60 million people die in the world and out of that, nearly 7.6 million die because of cancer. That is 13% of total deaths. It is feared that by year 2030, 13.2 million people will die of cancer each year.

Assuming each cancer patient survives ‘5’ years after being diagnosed, at any given time, there are approximately 38 million cancer patients in the world.

World population is approx. 6500 million. This means there is ‘1’ cancer patient every 171 persons. In civilized society we all have approximately 8-10 close family members and approximately 40-50 close family members, relatives and friends. This means 1 person in every 15-20 people has very close relative like mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter or first cousins suffering from cancer and 1 person in every 4-5 people has somebody among the friends and aquaintances suffering from cancer.

The most common cancers are

Lung (18.0%),

Stomach (10.0%),

Liver (9.0%),

Colorectal (8.0%),

Breast (6.0%) and

Cervical  (3.5%).

The major cause for all these five types of cancers is bad life style and unhealthy eating habits. Nearly 30% of the cancers are caused because of one or more of the five life style factors. These are

(1) High Body-Mass Index,

(2) Low fruit and vegetable diet

(3) Insufficient physical activity

(4) Tobacco

(5) Alcohol.  

It is possible to avoid these risk factors and prevent cancer caused by these factors. With small changes in life style and eating habits, these cancer causing factors can be easily eliminated.

Approximately 70% of cancer deaths took place in low and middle income countries. In these countries, viral infections such as Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and Human Papilloma (HPV) caused 20% cancer deaths.

Tobacco consumption contributes to 22% of total cancer deaths and 71% of Lung cancer deaths.

Every year 157000 new children take up smoking.

It is possible to prevent cancer to very great extent with simple precautions.

Also, awareness about cancer causes and cancer symptoms will help in early detection.

Useful Diet for Cancer Prevention and Treatment

Diet plays very vital role in prevention and treatment of all types of cancers.
Following are the most important points while planning the diet:-
1. All dietary requirements must be fulfilled through normal food intake and by natural means.
2. Dietary supplements available in market must be taken only on expert medical advice.

 

Substance	Food Source	Effect on Cancer
Antioxidant	Vegetables, fresh fruits, carrots,	Negate effect of cell damaging free radicals in body. These damaged cells can become cancer cells. Clinical trials are yet to prove conclusive usefulness. All the same food sources giving antioxidants are very useful for general health
Beta-carotene	Brightly colored fruits and vegetables,	Good for general health, role against cancer is yet to be proved. High dose in form of dietary supplement can be even harmful.
Lycopene	Tomatoes: vegetables of red family	Lycopene strong antioxidant is claimed to be useful in stopping cancer progress in Breast, lung, endometrial and mainly prostate cancer.
Calcium	Yogurt, cheese, milk, dark green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils and peanuts. Dairy products should be low/non fat so as to reduce intake of saturated fats.	Calcium is likely to have some useful effect of colorectal cancer but high doses have bad effect in case of prostate cancer. For an adult up to 1Gm per day as supplement along with normal diet is recommended.
Vitamin E	Wheat germ oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, nuts and nut oils, palm oil	Very powerful antioxidant and is claimed to be effective in slowing prostate cancer.
Vitamin D	Milk, cereals, fish oils. Produced naturally in body of exposure to sunlight.	It is likely to have positive effect in Breast, colon, pancreatic and prostate cancer.
Vitamin A	Liver oils, carrots, broccoli,  sweet potatoes , spinach, butter, animal liver	This vitamin is useful for general health, eye sight, skin and body resistance but the usefulness in cancer is not proved
Vitamin C	Oranges, Lemons  Call citrus fruits) grapefruits, leafy vegetables	Vitamin C is very strong antioxidant. Its role in reducing cancer tumor is conclusive proved in many clinical studies. It also boosts body’s resistance power.
Omega 3 Fatty acids	Fish, fish oils, krill, Perilla, linseed, eggs and meat	Studies show that these fatty acids retard cancer growth and also stop tumor formation. Omega 3 fatty acids have excellent effects on heart and circulatory system.
Folate	B vitamin source found in vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains.	These are proved to be useful in reducing cancer risk and also useful for maintenance of general body health
Cruciferous vegetables	Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels sprout	Conclusively proved to be useful against cancer mainly mouth, larynx, esophagus and stomach. These help in improving enzyme system in body that is useful in fighting cancer cells.
Beans	Lentils, Peas, Soybeans	These contain phyto-chemicals such as saponis, protease inhibitor, phytic acid. These chemicals protect cells from getting damaged and also slow down growth of tumors.  These are also good fiber source.
Garlic	Garlic and other from Onion family	Some studies are inconclusive about benefits of garlic in treating cancer but some studies, Chinese medicine and Ayurveda claim that garlic is useful in tumor of prostate , bladder, stomach and colon
Turmeric	Indian/Asian spices made from turmeric rhizome	Contains Curcumin , which is very strong antioxidant. Turmeric also has strong anti-inflammatory properties. It is useful in treating tumors of mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, breast and skin.
Fluids	Water, juices	Drinking sufficient quantities of water and juices lower the risk of bladder cancer but diluting the cancer causing agent and by regularly flushing those out.
Vegetarian diet	Vegetarian diet are normally high in fibers, phytochemicals, vitamins and low in saturated fats. Those opting for vegetarian diet for long time have lower incidences of various cancers as compared to those having non-vegetarian diet.