Anti-Cancer Diet Considerations

In Part 1 we’ve covered a lot of information about food. From harmful growing practices, to shopping tips for buying the best quality food possible. We’ve covered the dangers of sugar, and which are some of the best fruits and vegetables to eat for your anti-cancer diet.

There are, however, four additional food areas that we want to cover in more detail with you:

Soy, Antinutrients, Excitotoxins, and Acidic & Alkaline Foods.

Having an understanding of these four areas will greatly enhance your knowledge about nutrition, and help you to make the best choices when it comes to what to feed your family.

The Damaging Side Effects of Soy

According to various sources in both mainstream and alternative living media, soy beans are hailed as a miraculous food that offers a plethora of health benefits. These versatile legumes are said to be heart-friendly, aid in weight management, promote growth, and overall contribute to improved well-being. This praise for soy is evident in the abundance of soy-based products lining the shelves of grocery stores, ranging from soy protein and breakfast bars to burgers, ice cream, and an endless variety of beverages. Additionally, soy is a common ingredient found in numerous processed foods, making its presence in our diets even more prevalent. In fact, a study conducted in the United Kingdom in 2003 estimated that around 60% of products contained soy, with more recent estimates suggesting that this number has increased to approximately 70%.

Along with being marketed as a so-called “health” food, soy is also a cash cow for companies like Monsanto. Nearly all the soybeans being grown in the U.S. today (around 94%2) are genetically modified. Soy contains phytoestrogens which are plant estrogens. Phytoestrogens exist within plants as a natural defense against herbivores. Plants secrete these hormones to control the fertility of animals that may eat them, to reduce further attacks on the plants. These phytoestrogens modulate the production, availability, and action of hormones while also slowing down cell division.

One of the most well-known phytoestrogens are isoflavones. Isoflavones are present in berries, wine, grains, and nuts, but are most abundant in soybeans and other legumes. While there has been a lot of hype about the benefits of isoflavones on heart health, scientists have also reported that isoflavones in soy products can depress thyroid function, causing autoimmune thyroid disease, and even cancer of the thyroid. Soy also contains “antinutrients” including phytic acid (see more on antinutrients below).

Manufacturers often tout the benefits of soy as a good source of calcium and that it helps prevent osteoporosis. However, phytic acid impairs the absorption of all minerals, especially calcium! And since soy contains more phytic acid than any other grain, soy actually strips your body of calcium and other essential minerals.

Despite there being many soy protein products on the market, soy is not a complete protein as it lacks the essential amino acids methionine and cystine. Soy protein is also difficult to digest because it contains substantial amounts of trypsin inhibitors. Trypsin is essential in protein digestion. Soy also contains hemagglutinin, a clot-promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together. These clustered blood cells are unable to properly absorb oxygen for distribution to the body’s tissues, which can damage the heart and lead to cancer. 

But don’t Asian populations eat lots of soy you might be asking, and haven’t they been shown to have lower rates of breast cancer and heart disease than the U.S.? While they do have lower rates of certain diseases, the majority of the soy products which they eat are fermented (i.e. tempeh, tamari, natto, and miso). Long ago, they discovered that fermentation caused the protein to be more easily digested, and the phytic acid, toxins, and antinutrients to be greatly diminished. 

Why Even Organic Soy is Suspect

There are millions of acres of genetically-modified soybeans growing in the U.S. alone. Here’s the catch: American law permits these crops to be mixed with a small amount of organic soybeans, and the resultant combination may then be labelled “organic!” This deadly “food” belongs in the toxic waste dump, but the multinational corporations like Monsanto are disposing of it in you, your family, and even in baby formulas! Approach Soy with Caution! The impact of phytoestrogens on hormones will vary from person to person depending on age, sex, health status, and even the presence or absence of specific gut microflora.  

Action step: Avoid all processed foods which contain soy.  Very small servings of organic and fermented soy foods such as miso, tempeh, tamari, and natto may be acceptable. 

A 2010 research paper published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology on the pros and cons of phytoestrogens recommends that, “Women who are pregnant, nursing, or attempting to become pregnant should use soy foods with caution and be aware that soy formula may not be the best option for their babies. Older individuals, especially those with high cholesterol, may experience modest benefits including improved bone and cardiovascular health, and perhaps a decreased risk of carcinogenesis. 

Moderation is likely key and the incorporation of real foods, as opposed to supplements or processed foods to which soy protein is added, is probably essential for maximizing health benefits.”     

Antinutrients

Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds found in a variety of foods – especially grains, beans, legumes, and nuts – that interfere with the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. These antinutrients can even disrupt digestive enzymes. Although some plant roots, vegetables, leaves, and fruits also contain antinutrients, these are generally at much lower levels and usually have benefits as opposed to mostly harmful effects. 

ACTION STEP: Ditch processed foods and eat real food. 

However, when it comes to antinutrients, they are found in many real, whole foods. So what do you do then? As a general rule of thumb: fermenting, soaking, and sprouting foods that contain antinutrients is also a great way to remove most of the harmful aspects, while still benefiting from the healthy components of these foods. This can be as simple to soaking raw nuts and seeds overnight before you eat them to make them easier to digest. The same also applies to beans. Simply soak overnight and rinse well before cooking. 

Steaming and boiling also helps to remove a significant amount of the antinutrients from most of these foods. Ultimately you may need to test out what works for you personally. If you eat a certain food and it makes you feel bad (i.e. bloated, headache, sore joints, etc.), then maybe that’s not a food for you. The best way to test for how you react to a food is to go through an elimination diet protocol and then introduce the food back after a period of time and see how your body reacts. A book that walks you through the food testing process is: The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising “Healthy” Foods That Are Making You Fat – and Lose Weight Fast by Lyn-Genet Recitas.

Excitotoxins

There’s a widespread and silent killer that’s hidden in many foods that’s worse for you than alcohol, nicotine, and even many drugs. Chances are it’s lurking in your kitchen cabinets right now. What is this harmful – yet legal – substance that is so pervasive? Monosodium glutamate or MSG. You may have thought that MSG was just in Chinese food, but the truth is that it’s added to thousands of processed foods. It’s used in frozen dinners, crackers, chips, canned soups, gravy, processed meats, barbeque sauce, salad dressings, and much more. It’s found in supermarket and restaurants, in school cafeterias, and even in baby food and infant formula. 

Why is MSG so harmful? It’s an excitotoxin – substances, usually containing amino acids that react with specialized receptors (neurons) in the brain in such a way as to lead to the destruction of certain types of brain cells. Humans lack a blood-brain barrier in the hypothalamus, which allows these excitotoxins to enter the brain and cause damage. Simply put, as described in Dr. Russell Blaylock’s excellent book, Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, they are exactly what they sound like: toxins that excite your brain cells to death! How does this happen? Dr. Blaylock explains: “MSG enters the brain past the blood-brain barrier and triggers neurons to open their calcium channel. The glutamate causes the cell to remain stuck in the open position then calcium floods into the cell in large amounts. 

This triggers the cell to react in emergency mode and starts its special pump that will start pumping out the excess calcium using up large amounts of energy (ATP). The cell then swells up with excess calcium and eventually the cell is depleted of energy and dies within a few hours. The pump couldn’t pump out the excess calcium fast enough. It’s like trying to bail water out of a boat with a large hole in the bottom. You use up a ton of energy and eventually the boat is filled and sinks. The cell shrivels up and the body’s defense mechanism sweeps away the dead cell debris.” In addition to killing brain cells, MSG has also been shown to cause nausea, vomiting, migraine headaches, depression, and heart problems.

Watch Out for these Excitotoxin-Containing Ingredients: MSG is often disguised under many other names and you may not be able to detect it in a list of ingredients unless you know what to look for. According to Dr. Blaylock, the following are hidden MSG derivatives listed on ingredient labels. 

Action Step: Do not consume foods with these ingredients:  -

• Natural Flavors/Flavoring

• Corn oil 

• Glutamic Acid 

• Yeast Extract 

• Soy Protein 

• Soy Isolate 

• Carrageenan (often in almond and other nut milks) 

• Stock 

• Broth  

• Natural Beef Or Chicken Flavoring 

• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein  

• TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) 

• Glutamate Textured Protein 

• Gelatin Yeast Nutrient 

• Autolyzed Yeast 

• Caseinate 

• Citric Acid  

Clearing Up the Confusion on Glutamine

Dr. Russell Blaylock has spoken about the dangers of glutamine and advised staying away from foods that are high in glutamine. However, this includes mushrooms, beans, tomatoes, and other foods that are usually considered healthy choices. In response to that, many people inquired as to whether or not it was safe to eat these foods.

Our goal is to share the research of the experts, and Dr. Russell Blaylock has done more research on excitotoxins than anyone in the world. One of those excitotoxins is MSG, monosodium glutamate. The other is aspartame. Those are the two excitotoxins. What Dr. Blaylock said was that there is an enzyme in the body that converts glutamine, which is an amino acid, into glutamate. And he said that the damaging thing in MSG, monosodium glutamate, is not the monosodium. It’s the glutamate, because the glutamate is an excitotoxin, and it excites brain cells to death and can cause brain damage as well as a lot of other physical ailments that can result from glutamate.

So what Dr. Blaylock I believe was recommending is that if you’re a cancer patient, glutamine converts to glutamate through this enzyme called glutaminase. If you’ve got excess glutamine that you are ingesting, and you’re not a pro athlete or you’re not a really physical athlete, because glutamine fuels the muscle cells. It fuels workouts. That’s why a lot of athletes will take glutamine.

But if you’re working out regularly, you’re burning it, and that excess glutamine is not getting converted to glutamate in the brain through this enzyme called glutaminase. And so then you’re not in danger of the detrimental effects of this excitotoxin, glutamate. I think what Dr. Blaylock was saying is just be aware that if you’re a cancer patient, and we know that cancer cells are fuelled by sugar as well as glutamate. They do have glutamate receptors. The scientific literature is full of articles which prove that.

And I went out in the last couple days just to make sure [referring to checking food labels], and they’re everywhere. The cancer cells love glutamate as well as sugar. If you’re a cancer patient, you need to be aware of that. And I think what Dr. Blaylock was saying is just be aware that there’s some of these natural substances that if you’re already in a state of advanced cancer, maybe you want to watch your total glutamate intake, and he was letting you know that mushrooms are high in them, high in glutamine, not glutamate.

It hasn’t been converted yet, but high in glutamine as are beans and some other things like tomatoes and broccoli.

These are all healthy vegetables. I love medicinal mushrooms. As I mentioned earlier, Dr. Daniel Nuzum is developing a product that’s got seven different medicinal mushrooms in it. I think it’s going to be a great immune supplement. This is just knowledge that you need to know so you can make your own decision.

We’re not telling you what to do. Not telling you don’t eat mushrooms, don’t eat tomatoes, don’t eat broccoli, don’t eat beans that are high in glutamine. We’re just making you aware of the fact that they are high in glutamine. The research shows that glutamate is an excitotoxin, and so you want to watch your overall glutamine levels. I think that’s what Dr. Blaylock was saying. But the bottom line is, now you have the knowledge and you can act on it accordingly.

Acidic vs Alkaline Foods

You may already have a basic understanding of acids and bases (alkaline) from high school chemistry. The two compounds vary greatly in structure, electron numbers, and in hydrogen concentrations. All of their chemical differences add up to give them very different characteristics. These different characteristics can affect your body and your overall health. Your body has an overall pH level that can be measured. If your body’s pH level is too acidic, then you may be a breeding ground for bad bacteria and cancer cells. 

To prevent cancer, eating a diet that is rich in alkaline foods is best. Acidic Foods and Cancer Cancer cells thrive in acidic environments, yet cannot survive in alkaline environments. To prevent cancer, it is best to eat a healthy mix of alkaline foods and avoid high concentrations of acidic foods. Food such as red meat, dairy products, and products that contain gluten increase the acidity level of your body and increase your risks of developing cancer in the future. 

Acids taste sour or “have a bite” and will burn your skin if they are strong enough. Even slightly acidic compounds can burn any open wounds or cuts you may have. Examples of acidic compounds are lemons and vinegar. Bases, or alkaline compounds, tend to be slippery and can taste bitter. When they come into contact with your skin, they may not immediately be a cause for concern. However, strong bases can be very dangerous, can pass through your dermal layers to reach your bloodstream, and cause severe burns. Examples of bases include soap, toothpaste, and many cleaning products.    

Examples of Acidic and Alkaline Foods 

Fortunately, unless you are a chemist or a biologist, you will probably never come in contact with strong acids or bases. However, you do come into contact with moderate acids and bases each day depending on the foods you choose to eat. All of the foods and drinks that you consume have an acidic or alkaline measurement. Some foods even create acidic environments in your body by stimulating the production of acids as they are digested. 

Examples of Alkaline Foods: Vegetables such as beets, broccoli, kale, onions, greens, and spinach Fruits such as apples, bananas, melon, and citrus Herbs that include cinnamon, ginger, and curry Starches such as potatoes, peas, and parsnips Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are other excellent alkalizing foods.

Examples of Acidic Foods: Meat products such as beef, poultry, seafood, pork, and bacon Dairy goods that include eggs, butter, and milk Nuts, seeds, and nut butters Produce such as corn, beans, tart berries, and plums Other examples of acidic foods are condiments and processed oils    

Items that Stimulate Acidity: Sugary foods - especially sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, Sodas, White flour products, pasta, and processed grains, Coffee, Alcoholic beverages, Pharmaceutical and over-the-counter medications, Tobacco use 

There are many foods that also create neutral environments in your body. Neutral foods and drinks include water, coconut oil, yogurt, teas, chicken, and many nuts and seeds. These foods can complement your diet and provide you with nutrients and healthy fats without messing up your acid base balance.

 ACTION STEP: To reduce the acidity level in your body and prevent cancer, a heavier consumption of alkaline foods is a better option.

Fortunately, eating alkaline foods can be very healthy overall and delicious. Most fruits, veggies, and herbs are alkaline and help balance acidic foods such as meats or fish in your diet. (Fun fact: lemon is an acid that once digested is actually alkalinizing in your body!) To eat an alkaline diet and reduce your risk of cancer, you don’t have to eat only alkaline foods. In fact, eating quality (i.e. grass-fed) meat or animal products for protein is fine in moderation. A diet that is rich in vegetables and some fruit helps to maintain your body’s pH balance and keep you healthy. In addition, eating a diet that is primarily plant-based also delivers high concentrations of antioxidants to your bloodstream, which lowers your cancer risk overall.

Books and Articles Referenced in "Additional Diet Considerations"

10 Antinutrients to Get Out of Your Body… And Life

https://draxe.com/antinutrients/

The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising “Healthy” Foods That Are Making You Fat – and Lose Weight Fast

by Lyn Lyn-Genet Recitas

Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills by Dr. Russell Blaylock

Additional Recommended Resources

Got Thyroid Problems? Then Stop Consuming Soy

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/13/soy-controversy-and-health-effects.aspx

How Soy Can Kill You and Save Your Life

http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/08/06/how-soy-can-kill-you-and-save-your-life/

The Soy Deception

http://www.drbrownstein.com/The-Soy-Deception-p/soy.htm?1=1&CartID=0

The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food