Top Cancer Researchers Show How to Fight Cancer with Food
Hundreds of oncologists, nurses, health professionals, dietitians,
and Cancer Project Food for Life cooking instructors received breakthrough
information this summer about how foods can fight cancer when top
cancer researchers from across the country joined Cancer Project
president Neal Barnard, M.D., at the first Cancer Project Symposium.
You will soon be able to receive this same information by viewing
the symposium webcasts at CancerProject.org.
The symposium, which was held in July in Bethesda, Md., featured
presentations from Dr. Barnard, Paul Talalay, M.D., Edward
Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., Paulette Chandler, M.D., M.P.H., and
Gordon Saxe, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Talalay is John Jacob Abel
Distinguished Service Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He spoke about
how cruciferous plants, such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower,
Brussels sprouts, arugula, watercress, and radish, may be particularly
effective in reducing cancer risk at several organ sites. Crucifers
are rich in glucosinolates, which induce the liver to produce enzymes
that detoxify potential carcinogens.
Dr. Giovannucci is a professor
in the departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard
School of Public Health and an associate professor in the Department
of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He was recently awarded
the 2005 DeWitt-Goodman Award for excellence in cancer research
from the American Association for Cancer Research. At the symposium,
Dr. Giovannucci spoke about evidence linking dairy products with
risk for aggressive prostate cancer. Dr. Giovannucci’s research
in the Harvard Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which followed
more than 47,000 men for 16 years, found a twofold increased risk
for high-grade prostate cancer in men with high calcium intake,
mainly from dairy products, compared with those with low calcium
intake. Some researchers believed the high-fat dairy products were
to blame for this increased risk, but new evidence shows that low-fat
dairy products might increase the risk for prostate cancer even
more than high-fat products.
Dr. Saxe, assistant professor in the
Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University
of California, San Diego, presented evidence that a plant-based
diet can play a role in the management of prostate cancer. Dr.
Saxe presented findings from a pilot clinical intervention trial
in which 13 prostate cancer patients were put on a plant-based
diet along with stress-reduction training. The participants showed
marked improvements, as measured by prostate specific antigen.
The full results of the trial can be found in the September issue
of Integrative Cancer Therapies.
Dr. Barnard presented
research about the link between diet and breast cancer survival.
He explained how a high-fat, low-fiber diet increases the amount
of estrogens in a woman’s body.
Because estrogens cause cells to multiply, the more of these hormones
that circulate in the blood, the more likely cancer cells will
arise and multiply. A high-fiber, low-fat diet will not only bring
estrogen levels down, but the antioxidants and phytochemicals in
plant-based foods are protective and can help prevent cancer.
Dr.
Chandler is an associate physician in internal medicine at Brigham
and Women’s Hospital in Boston and an instructor
in clinical medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chandler, who
is also a Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking class instructor
for The Cancer Project, ended the day with an uplifting discussion
on how to stick to healthy diet changes when embarking on a vegan
lifestyle.
Continuing Education
The symposium wasn’t the end of the learning experience for
Cancer Project Food for Life cooking instructors. The Cancer Project
held a summit for cooking instructors from around the country.
The summit gave the instructors a chance to meet, mingle, and continue
learning about cancer-fighting foods and cooking techniques. To
find a Food for Life cooking class near you, visit www.CancerProject.org.
Online Symposium Videos
The following presentations from the symposium will be available
as a webcast or for purchase at CancerProject.org in the near future:
“The Cancer Project’s Nutrition Research and Advocacy”
Neal Barnard, M.D.
“Protection Against Cancer and Chronic Degenerative Diseases:
Plants, Genes, and Enzymes”
Paul Talalay, M.D.
“Nutrition and Breast Cancer Survival”
Neal Barnard, M.D.
“Dairy Products, Calcium, and Prostate Cancer: A Review
of the Evidence”
Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D.
“Effects of a Plant-based Diet on Disease Progression in
Recurrent Prostate Cancer”
Gordon Saxe, M.D., Ph.D.
“Keys to Keeping the Change”
Paulette Chandler, M.D., M.P.H.
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