Lung Cancer Diet Tips
What Foods and Nutrients are useful for Preventing and Managing Lung
Cancer
A lung cancer diet will be one that includes foods high in
antioxidants including Vitamin C and Vitamin E and the cancer fighting
carotenoids, as well as healing fats including sufficient Omega 3’s the
latter consumed in healthy ratio with Omega 6 fats.
Vitamin D blood levels should be adequate too. Low levels of
both are associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Food and supplements
can provide these, as well as in the case of Vitamin D, adequate sun exposure.
Some foods to include regularly in your lung cancer diet are
a surfeit of brightly colored fruits and vegetables chockablock with Vitamin C
and cancer protective carotenoids; the Indian spice turmeric; cold water fish
and their oils or other Omega 3 rich seeds; selenium rich Brazil nuts,
sunflower and sesame seeds, and fish and sea food; traditional soy foods
including tofu, tempeh and soy sauce; and green tea.
Lung Cancer Diet Tips
- Focus on Fruit and Veg
With the above in mind, the number one tip for any lung
cancer diet is to focus on eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables.
Myriad studies have confirmed the association between a high
intake of fruit and vegetables and a reduced risk of lung cancer. Some studies have shown those with a highest
intake of fruit and veg having up to a 50% lower risk of lung cancer than those
who consume the lowest amount.
A 2007 study published Lung Cancer found a protective effect
from frequent fruit intake. In the case of men and small cell and squamous cell
lung cancers, the same study found a protective effect of apples, giving a lung
cancer spin to the folk prescription of “….an apple a day, keeps the doctor
away…”
As well as tasting great and providing superb texture, color
and depth to your meals, eating fruit and vegetables regularly and in abundance
can provide an unbeatable cocktail of cancer-preventative antioxidants and
phytochemicals which supplements cannot equal. See the below discussion on
Vitamin C as well as lycopene and other carotenes for which fruits and
vegetables are the prime source. When
you have cancer, fruits and vegetables can function like a thrice daily
chemotherapy bathing your cells in health-promoting and disease-preventative
nutrients enabling your immune system to better fight tumors.
Lung Cancer Diet
Nutrients – Spotlight on Vitamin C
The US government advises that smokers consume 35 mg of
vitamin C more than the RDA to offset the oxidizing effects of smoking. Many experts
believe that the government guidelines for vitamin C are too low for healthy
people, let alone those indulging in a free-radical generating activity like
smoking.
See benefits of vitamin C for details about how this vitamin
functions as an antioxidant, what foods are good sources of vitamin C and on
how much vitamin C is best.
For the purposes of a lung cancer diet, vitamin C is an
essential component of the tissue matrix and, therefore, important for
maintaining healthy lung tissue and healthy blood vessels that are concentrated
in lung tissue.
As well, vitamin C is
the cornerstone of any antioxidant regime because of its ability to reload
spent anti-oxidants like vitamins E and beta-carotene that may have become
oxidized. In fact, vitamin C, along with selenium and other nutrients, may be
the missing link to avoid the increased risk of death by lung cancer found
among smokers (but not non-smokers) who’ve supplemented beta carotene alone
and, for that matter, Vitamin E.
Lung Cancer Diet
Nutrients – Spotlight on Selenium
Several studies have established an association between low
selenium and cancer, including lung cancer.
Supplementing selenium in people with low selenium blood
levels reduces the risk of cancer including lung cancer. In one study, the
reduction in lung cancer risk when a low selenium population in the US
supplemented was as high as 50%.
How does selenium
play a role in the lung cancer diet? Scientists think it works on several
fronts:
Selenium enhances levels of glutathione, a powerful
antioxidant, which low levels have been linked to increased risk of
cancer. Glutathione levels decrease with
age.
Selenium helps form the protein C43 that stops “cell contact
inhibition” and helps cancerous cells behave normally.
Selenium promotes cancer cell apoptosis – cancer cell death.
So what foods contain selenium? ….
Selenium is found in many kinds of nuts, seeds, fish and
shellfish, meats and whole grains.
Beware, however. Your
food may not contain the selenium you think it does. …. If the soils in which
these foods are raised are selenium-depleted, the level in food will be low.
Some regions have naturally low soil selenium levels; others’ low levels are
due to intensive farming techniques.
Much of the UK and Europe and swathes of the US have low selenium soil
levels with low selenium food as a result.
When it comes to a lung cancer diet, have your selenium
levels checked. Consume enough selenium rich food. Supplement if necessary
until you are in the normal range but, like with all minerals, not too much, so
as to avoid toxicity.
Lung Cancer Diet
Nutrients – Spotlight on Curcumin
Curcumin is the active ingredient in the Indian spice
turmeric and has been found to have astounding anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor
properties. For this reason, it is a wise choice as part of a lung cancer diet.
- Incorporating Curcumin into your Diet – Use Turmeric
- Order Indian curries when
ordering take out, instead of burgers, fries or pizza – Order a mild kind if
you prefer less spice and remember the rice is a natural way to lessen the
intensity of a curry. Make your own turmeric-rich curries with vegetables
including cauliflower, chickpeas, lentils, peas, carrots and eggplant.
Incorporate some chicken, lamb or lean beef for a meat flavor but keep a heavy
vegetable presence. Add
turmeric to onions, garlic salt with olive oil and sweat in pan. Add mix to
soups, and bean, lentil and vegetable dishes for a curcumin-kick. The yellow
color is splendid. Use a splash of agave juice if the turmeric too bitter for
your taste.
- Use turmeric in
marinades along with garlic, olive oil, onion and other spices. Turmeric
combined with other spices works well with meats as well as tofu and tempeh.
A 2008 article in Cancer Research described curcumin’s
ability in the lab to inhibit lung cancer cell invasion and metastasis.
The high intake of turmeric in Indian cooking, especially
curries, is thought to be one reason for the 8 fold lower rate of lung cancer
in India over developed countries, as well as lower rate of other cancers. This
is despite the high rate of smoking and pervasive air quality problems in much
of India.
Combining turmeric with black pepper and ginger, as is done
in traditional curry preparation, magnifies turmeric’s anti-inflammatory
effects. A 1998 study found combining piperine (an alkaloid in black pepper)
with turmeric enhanced turmeric's bioavailability an astonishing 2,000%.
Lung Cancer Diet
Nutrients – Spotlight on Dietary Carotenoids
With the exception of supplemental beta carotene in smokers,
which has been found to increase risk of lung cancer (see below), the
protective role of dietary carotenoids when it comes to lung cancer diet is
well established. Dietary studies have observed an up to 50% reduction in lung
cancer risk between high and low intake of carotenoid-rich fruits and
vegetables suggesting that they are wise foods to include in your lung cancer
diet.
So what are carotenoids? ….
Carotenoids are a series of phytochemicals found abundantly
in brightly colored vegetables and fruits that are thought to function as
antioxidants. They also improve the communication among cells including making
cancer cells respond better to signals from the immune system.
Carotenoids include not only beta-carotene but
alpha-carotene, lycopene, and lutein/zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin among
others. One 2006 study on lung cancer by researchers in San Francisco and Spain
found the above combined carotenoids had a protective role when it came to lung
cancer.
Alpha –Carotene - found in carrots, winter squash, tomatoes and
green beans. Higher dietary levels have been associated with reduced risk of
lung cancer.
Beta-cryptoxanthin
– found in red bell peppers, papaya, cilantro, oranges, avocado, watermelon,
corn and Serrano peppers has been found in a study published in the 2003 issue
of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers to reduce risk of lung cancer by 10 to 40 %
for people with the highest percentile of dietary beta-cryptoxanthin intake.
This takes into account the effects of
smoking
Lutein – found in
kale, collard green, spinach, turnip greens, broccoli and egg yolks is linked
with a lower risk of lung cancer. However lutein as a supplement, like
beta-carotene supplements, has been linked with an increased risk of lung
cancer, specifically in the 2009 VITAL study published in the American Journal
of Epidemiology. From a lung cancer diet perspective, best to get your lutein
from dietary sources i.e. fruits and vegetables.
Lycopene – found
in tomatoes, especially cooked varieties like pasteurized tomato juice and tomato
sauce. A 2000 Korean study of mice published in Biofactors found lycopene
shrunk lung cancer tumors significantly. The effect increased when lycopene was
combined with chemotherapy.
Beta-carotene –
high blood levels of beta carotene are associated with lower risk of lung
cancer suggesting to researchers that it has a protective role when it comes to
lung cancer. However, further studies
suggest the association may be more a function that those who have high beta-carotene
level eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which protect against lung cancer
because of nutrients other than beta-carotene like Vitamin C, selenium and a host of other phytochemicals.
While supplementing beta carotene has been linked with lower
cancer risk among non-smokers, several studies have found it increases the risk
of lung cancer in smokers when taken alone. Avoid supplementing beta carotene,
if you smoke
.
Lung Cancer Diet
Nutrients – Spotlight on Vitamin D
Vitamin D has been linked with slowed growth of lung cancer
as well as improved lung cancer survival.
A 2011 University of Michigan study examining an enzyme that
blocks vitamin D metabolism found enzyme CYP24A1 in much higher concentrations
in lung cancer tumors than healthy tissue. Patients with high levels of enzyme
CYP24A1 in lung tumors (and therefore poor metabolism of vitamin D) at five
years had half the survival rate, as those lung cancer patients with low
levels.
Lung Cancer Diet
Nutrients – Spotlight on Omega 3s
Omega 3s have been found to slow the growth of lung cancer
tumors along with stomach, pancreatic and colon cancers.
A 2011 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition
found that patients with inoperable lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy, who
consumed EPA/DHA fish oil capsules, had significantly fewer markers for
inflammation and oxidative stress than those who took a placebo. The fish oil
group also gained weight, an important factor when undergoing cancer therapies
that can zap one’s appetite and ability to consume nutrients via food.
Good sources of Omega
3s are cold water fish including tuna, salmon, sardines, anchovies and herring
along with their oils in supplement form; alternative sources are unroasted
nuts and seeds including pumpkin, flax, hemp and chia seeds along with their
cold pressed oils which eventually convert to Omega 3 in the body.
Current views is that it is not only the absolute levels of
Omega 3 in your diet that are important in order to prevent or manage health
conditions like lung cancer, but also the relative ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6s
in in ones’ diet. Unlike Omega 3s, Omega 6 oils are in relative abundance in
the typical Western diet with all the refined food on the menu – in general
most food processing techniques destroy Omega 3s but not their Omega 6s
cousins. The result is often too much inflammatory Omega 6s in the diet – not
good when aiming to achieve a lung cancer diet.
Lung Cancer Diet Nutrients – Spotlight on Soy
Soy has been found to have a preventative role in lung
cancer as well as other cancers including those of the colon, breast and
bladder.
Lab experiments have suggested the protease inhibitors were
one reason for soy’s reduction in the risk of lung cancer.
A recent study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology
found that Chinese women who ate more soy prior to being diagnosed with lung
cancer lived longer than women who ate less soy. 60% of those who consumed the
equivalent of 4 ounces of tofu per day (the high soy group) were still alive 12
months after diagnosis; while only 50% of those who ate 2 ounces or less (the
low soy group) were alive then. Most of the women were non-smokers, so more
research is needed to see if the effects of soy are as beneficial in the case
of cigarette smokers.
Lung Cancer Diet
Nutrients – Spotlight on Green Tea
A 2009 meta-analysis of studies on green tea, black tea and
lung cancer risk published between 1966 and 2008 concluded there was a
reduction in lung cancer risk with green tea. Drinking 2 cups of green tea per
day lowered the risk of lung cancer by 18%.
The study found no link between black tea consumption and a lowered risk
of lung cancer, although some of the studies included in the meta-analysis did.
The researchers concluded that it was the polyphenols in
green tea, which are significantly higher in green tea than in black, that
played a lung cancer protective role.
While fewer than in green tea, black tea contains
polyphenols tool. This likely explains why some studies have found a minor
protective role for black tea too.
