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With the diagnosis of my 5 year old nephew, Ethan, with liver cancer earlier this year my senses have been elevated for anything cancer related. In the newspaper this morning I came across an article summarizing 7,000 studies into cancer and its relationship to what we eat and how much we weigh. You can read the entire article online, although listed below are the major points:
The American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund recommend:
- Maintaining a healthy body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 (compute your BMI here)
- Limiting consumption of red meat to no more than 18 ounces (cooked) a week
- Eliminating processed meats such as bacon, ham, sausage and lunch meat (more on this point below)
- Eating five servings or more of fruit and vegetables a day
- Limiting consumption of alcohol to no more than two drinks a day for men and one for women
- Exercising at least 30 minutes a day
- Limiting consumption of salt
- Limiting processed foods high in added sugar and fat
With this guideline in mind my thoughts turn to what we feed our kids and what really should be in a sack lunch. I think for ease we like to put lunch meat between slices of bread and send it off to school or after children get home they snack on a hot dog or a slice of pizza. One section of the article reads:
Every 1.7 ounces of processed meat consumed a day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 21%. This is a wake-up call for people who eat hot dogs or pepperoni pizza regularly.
That blows my mind. 1.7 ounces … That’s about the size of the pretzel bag I got on the plane this morning – and we all know how big that is.
My mother had her colon removed because of cancer growth over 10 years ago. She constantly tells me to avoid red meat, get enough sleep and exercise, and eat my fruits and vegetables. Looks like mom’s right on this one.
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Why Is It So Difficult? by JulieHamar :: NR0 :: Show
Food and eating have taken too much of a priority in our lives. There’s got to be other activities that interest us. Some examples could be good conversation, quiet reflection, people watching, etc.
One has to wonder.. by ldsudduth :: NR7 :: Show
How our ancestors survived? I’m sure they ate less red meat than we do today, but I also often wonder how much of this isn’t caused by all of the ‘things’ we add to the meats—all meats, not just red meats.
Antibiotics, growth hormones, stimulants to keep cows giving milk. All of this adds up. As an avid angler, I look at the problems of male fish with eggs in the Potomac as a symptom of all the health issues in humans. We are what we eat—and if the agri-runoff is causing these problems in our streams and rivers; think what it could be doing to us.
Diet by Anonymous :: NR0 :: Show
In general these recommendations make good sense. However, data quality from these studies are incredibly poor. I would not pay much attention to specifics regarding food intake and associations with cancer.
Everything in moderation (except moderation).
And really, would life be enjoyable forgoing a tasty steak wrapped in bacon?