The word cancer comes from the Greek word “karkinos”, which means crab, as in the writings of Hippocrates, known as the father of medical science, he compared cancer tumors to the claw of a crab. Hippocrates was also the first person to distinguish between benign and malignant tumors.
If it is necessary to define cancer easily and clearly, it is possible to describe it as “uncontrolled cell proliferation in tissues and/or organs”. This can be attributed to many mechanisms known to cause involuntary and dysfunctional multicellular proliferation. In the middle of these factors, as can be seen in the table below, eating habits are at the forefront.
The most valuable statement that this table gives us is that we can eliminate the two major factors, nutrition and tobacco use, which have a 60-70% share in sharing, by increasing the level of consciousness, since they are manageable by human beings.
The 2nd National Symposium on Healthy Life, which was held in Ankara in 2012, devoted the subject to Cancer and Nutrition, and the following detail drew attention:
With an average view, the incidence of cancer will double all over the world by 2030, and it is claimed that 75% of this increase will occur in developing or undeveloped countries, including our country. Since the countries that will face lifting this burden have only 5% of the budget spent on cancer in the world, it is necessary to give the scales to cancer prevention and early diagnosis in cancer control programs.
The most rational approach to cancer and nutrition should be to adopt nutritional behaviors that can prevent cancer before it becomes a subject of speech. After the cancer is the subject of speech, the opinion of destroying the cancer is delusional, and the opinion that it affects the face is more rational.
Since our subject is Cancer and Nutrition, it is useful to mention the defective nutritional practices that may invite cancer, as they will be more permanent in the mind.
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High intake of animal-derived fat, protein, and consumption of refined sugar (e.g. tea sugar) and sugar-containing foods,
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Consumption of high-powered convenience foods, sedentary life and obesity,
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Cooking techniques exposed to high temperature and direct fire in frying, barbecue, barbecue style,
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Consumption of processed foods containing preservatives such as nitrite and nitrate in the form of sausage, salami, sausage, and techniques for smoking, food processing in smoked form,
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Inadequate dietary intake of antioxidant nutrients (e.g. catechins, flavonols, sulfarophanes…), which are thought to be protective against essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and carcinogenic compounds, with insufficient consumption of vegetables and fruits,
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Excessive salt and salt-containing foods (e.g. brines, soy sauce) and alcohol consumption,
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Inappropriate packaging materials that come into contact with food, improper storage conditions that may cause mold (e.g. aflatoxin formation in nuts and risk of liver cancer)
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Direct or indirect dietary exposure to lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic (excessive consumption of mussels and sole fish).
One of the most valuable statements that we should emphasize under the heading of Cancer and Nutrition is that there is no single nutrient or food that can take care of cancer. Also, rumors that a random food or nutrient feeds cancer cells are unfounded. In the statements of Elizabeth Platz, one of the leading organizations in cancer, one of the specialists of the Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, it is stated that reducing red meat consumption is appropriate in reducing the risk of cancer, milk cannot be said to have any effect on mucus-producing tumors, and it can be used in moderate amounts within a stable diet pattern. It is stated that food issues such as milk, chocolate, meat, coffee, tea and sugar should not be feared, but triggering obesity with the increase in the amount of sugar in the diet is, of course, a risk factor for cancer.
There is no miracle or wrong food, there is a healthy or unhealthy diet!
There is no savior food or drink after cancer occurs!
Neither reishi mushroom nor oleander, neither ginger nor mixed herbal teas… It is wrong and unethical to say that none of these are cancer preventers or saviors! On the contrary, the fact that individuals undergoing chemotherapy turn to specific foods that do not have such a base can adversely affect the effect mechanisms of the drugs used in chemotherapy, and even render the treatment ineffective!
The rational and healthy thing is to include all the foods that are known to be beneficial in the diet in a way that will gain sufficient and stable power, and to stay away from harmful food and nutritional habits as much as possible by ensuring weight control.
