Using Nutrition to Fight Cancer Essays - Nutrition, Fatty Acids

Using Nutrition to Fight Cancer The correlation between sugar and cancer is quite disturbing to be honest. Human consumption of sugar was approximately 11 lbs. a year in 1830 and rose to a shocking 150 lbs. a year by the end of the twentieth century. This inevitably had an effect on the amount of cancer cases in the United States and around the world. Nobel Prize winner, Otto Heinrich Warburg, a German biologist, discovered that the metabolism of malignant tumors is dependent on glucose consumption. Sugar and flour have a high glycemic index. When we eat these foods our blood levels of glucose rise fast. The body releases insulin to allow the glucose to enter cells. The release of insulin promotes the release of another molecule called IGF (insulinlike growth factor) which is used to promote cell growth. Insulin and IGF combined can create a deadly cocktail that promotes inflammation and stimulates cell growth. In turn, this acts like a fertilizer to tumors. These days you cannot seem to find a food label without h igh fructose corn syrup on the ingredient list. We as a society have become one of the un-healthiest in the world. Our diets consist of a high sugar content and we have become dependent on preservatives and fast food, which also have high glucose content. If we dont control our eating habits the cancer epidemic could become worse. This information has certainly opened my eyes to the dangers of eating too much glucose. I grew up eating flour tortillas and drinking tons of Kool-Aid as a kid, so I figure I have a lot of making up to do. Originally, farmers used natural sources to feed cows and chickens. However, the demand for milk, eggs, and beef spiked in the fifties. This caused farmers to look for shortcuts in the production of milk and eggs. Farmers began to use corn, soy, and wheat as the main diet for cows and chickens. These foods practically have no omega-3 fatty acids, which develop the nervous system, makes cell membranes more flexible, and reduce inflammation. This leads to an imbalance with omega-6 fatty acids. Both these fatty acids are important because our bodies do not naturally make them. We get these nutrients directly from the food we eat. In order for our bodies to function the way there were supposed to, the balance of omega-3s and omega-6s needs to be close to 1/1. If the cows and chickens eat corn and soy, this results of an imbalance of 1/15 to 1/40. The rising amount of omega-6s in our bodies stocks fats and promotes rigidity in cells, as well as inflammation when responding to outside aggr essors. The use of estradiol and zeranol, and recently introduced hormones like rBGH, are stored in fatty tissues and are excreted in milk. These hormones stimulate the growth of fatty cells and speed the growth of malignant tumors. The most disturbing fact of all this is that we may have eliminated the anti-cancer benefit of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which is found in cheese. By not sticking to a grass-only diet for cows, this has almost entirely removed this benefit by changing their diet. Margarine is significantly more dangerous than butter. Due to the fact that margarine contains sunflower, soybean, and canola oil which contain a lot more omega-6s than omega 3s. Like stated previously, your body needs to maintain a balance of the two to properly function and to reduce the risk of cancer. I typically cook with olive oil, so in that aspect I have it covered. As far as margarine goes, I have used it for the majority of my life. I have tried many alternatives due to the low cholesterol, but never knew or considered the effects of not balancing the omega fatty acids. After reading this I will conduct more research to find the safest alternative to margarine. BIOL 2302 MTWR 12:00 PM-1:59PM Using Nutrition to Fight Cancer