Nutritional Advice El MondoThe human body consists of organs like liver, lungs and heart. Organs consists of tissues, and tissue consists of cells. Under normal circumstances cells only divide when needed, e.g. at recovery, growth and wound healing. This process is also called controlled cell division. Controlled cell division is necessary and innocent. However, it becomes dangerous when cell division within a particular organ is no longer under control. In that case, is called cancer. Cancer is a disorder, characterized by uncontrolled cell division in a particular organ. Cancer is often deadly when there is metastasis.
The oxidative DNA damage is a major risk factor for developing cancer. Antioxidants can protect the DNA against oxidative damage. Oxidative damages can be caused by free radicals.
The word "cancer" is derived from the Latin word "cancer", which means "lobster". There are several types of cancer.
Cancer mortality can be reduced if cases are detected and treated early. There are two components of early detection efforts:
- Early diagnosis
- Screening
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. The main types of cancer are lung, stomach, liver, colorectal, breast and cervical cancer.
Cancer of the lung is the most common cancer in the world.
Lung, stomach, liver, colon and breast cancer cause the most cancer deaths each year.
35% of cancer cases is due to a wrong diet, such as high fat, high salt and/or less fruit and vegetables diet.
Dietary guidelines for cancer prevention:
- Choose products with maximum 35 En% fat, products with maximum 10 En% saturated fat, products with maximum 0.5 g of sodium per 100 g (100 ml) product, products with minimum 1.3 grams of fiber per 100 kcal and fish providing at least 250 mg EPA and DHA per day.
- Aim for a healthy weight. A healthy weight has a BMI of 18.5-25. BMI is weight divided by height squared (weight (kg)/height2 (m)).
- Spend at least 60-90 minutes per day on physical exercises or at least 10000 steps per day.
- Eat 25-30 grams of vegetables and 2-5 servings of fruit a day or 25-30 grams of fiber per day.
30 grams of fiber per dag corresponds to a daily diet of minimum 1.5 grams of fiber per 100 kcal. - Eat plenty of whole grains, such as brown bread, oatmeal and legumes.
- Limit to 2-3 glasses of alcohol for men, and 1-2 glasses for women a day or <30 g alcohol per day.
- Eat no more than 6 grams of salt per day, corresponding to 2400 mg of sodium.
6 grams salt per day corresponds to a daily diet of <0.3 g salt per 100 kcal. - Do not take antioxidant supplements. They do more harm than good!
- Eat no more than 500 g of red meat per week. Red meat increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer.
Scientific studies on the relationship between diet/nutrients and cancer.
Review articles of randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trials (RCTs) will answer the following question:
"Is taking dietary supplements make sense?". Yes at a positive conclusion and no at a negative conclusion.
Review articles of cohort studies or case-control studies will answer the following question:
"Should I change my diet?".