Neal D. Barnard - The Cancer Survivors Guide

FOODS THAT HELP YOU FIGHT BACK

Neal D. Barnard, MD
Jennifer K. Reilly, RD

HEALTHY LIVING PUBLICATIONS
Summertown, TN 38483

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Barnard, Neal D., 1953

The cancer survivors guide : foods that help you fight back / Neal D. Barnard, Jennifer K. Reilly.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-57067-225-5

1. CancerNutritional aspects. 2. CancerPrevention. 3. CancerDiet therapy. I. Reilly, Jennifer K. II. Title.

RC268.45.B37 2008

616.99'40654dc22

2008041092

2008 The Cancer Project

Cover and interior design: Aerocraft Charter Art Service

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in Canada

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ISBN: 978-1-57067-225-5

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The Cancer Survivors Guide: Foods that Help You Fight Back was written by Neal D. Barnard, MD, with the help of Jennifer K. Reilly, RD. The recipes were developed by Jennifer Raymond, MS, RD, with additional contributions and assistance from Amy Lanou, PhD, Brie Turner-McGrievy, MS, RD, Jennifer Reilly, RD, Stephanie Beine, RD, Evelisse Capo, and Brandi Redo. This handbook was created to accompany The Cancer Projects Food for Life Nutrition and Cooking Class Series for Cancer Prevention and Survival. However, it is sufficiently detailed to be used on its own and will give you important insights into foods role in cancer prevention and cancer survival.

Our goal is to provide you with information about food and health. However, neither this book nor any other can take the place of individualized medical care or advice. All cancer treatments, including dietary changes, must take into account your needs as an individual. In addition, if you are overweight, have any health problem, or are on medication, you should consult with your doctor before making any modifications to your diet or exercise routines, and you should follow your doctors recommendations, which will be based on your personal needs.

There are many situations in which a dietary change can alter your need for medications. For example, individuals with diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol levels often need less medication when they improve their diets. You should be sure to work with your physician to adjust your regimen as needed.

The science of nutrition grows gradually as time goes on, so we encourage you to consult other sources of information, including the section.

With any dietary change, it is important to ensure complete nutrition. Be sure to include a source of vitamin B12 in your routine, which could include any common multivitamin, fortified soymilk or cereals, or a vitamin B12 supplement of five micrograms or more per day.

We wish you the very best of health.

For many years, researchers have been investigating how food choices can help prevent cancer and, when cancer has been diagnosed, how these choices can improve survival. While their work is by no means finished, what is already known is nothing short of dramatic. Certain diet patterns seem to have a major effect, helping people diagnosed with cancer to live longer, healthier lives. Other diet choices are risky propositions, increasing the toll cancer takes.

Our goal is to translate scientific findings into simple, practical steps you can use in your own kitchen, at the grocery store, at restaurantsanywhere youre thinking about what to eat. Well divide this information into eight chapters and include key scientific information, meal-planning tips, and suggested steps you can take at home. We will also list recipes that illustrate the key points in each chapter. Some recipes embody more than one nutritional advantage, so well list especially good ones in more than one chapter. All the recipes (and more) are included in this book.

Before we begin, one note of caution: As we explore the role of food in cancer, some people might feel a bit uneasy. If foods can affect cancer risk, they ask, does that mean I am somehow to blame for my illness? Did the foods I ate as a child cause this problem? Is our culture causing these problems?

It is natural that concerns like these will cross our minds. However, let us encourage you to set blame aside. The fact is, some people do their very best to follow health-promoting lifestyles and still develop cancer. And you may have known people who smoke, drink heavily, and eat with abandon and yet manage to live to a ripe old age. Unfortunately, it is easy to get cancer, and we cannot predict with certainty who will be affected by it and who will not. So lets focus not on blame but on what foods can do for you. As Jack Nicklaus said, You can spend all day trying to figure out why you hit your ball into the woodsor you can just go in and get it out.

Certain diet patterns seem to have a major effect, helping people diagnosed with cancer to live longer, healthier lives.

Research into foods role in cancer survival grew from studies looking at the causes of the illness. As researchers compared the diets of people who developed cancer and those of people who remained healthy, they found many factors that do indeed influence cancer risk. They also had an opportunity to look forward to see how various eating patterns affect survival.

It turns out that many foods that help prevent cancer in the first place also seem to help us beat the disease when it has struck. Among the most important themes to emerge from research has been that foods influence the hormones that fuel cancer growth. For example, diets high in fiber and low in fat tend to reduce the amount of estrogens (female sex hormones) circulating in the bloodstream. This taming of estrogens seems to reduce the likelihood that cancer cells will multiply or spread.

Fiber is also important in preventing colon cancer, as it helps move food waste out of the body. And fiber may even help the immune system function properly. Building your diet from fiber-rich plant foods is important for cancer prevention and survival as well as overall health. In chapters 1 and 2, youll learn about building low-fat, fiber-rich foods into your routine.