Cancer, Skin Color & Diet

[Berzerker]

I was watching an Indian author (The Emperor of All Maladies?) on Colbert talking about how younger Indians who left for the 'west' are getting cancer at higher rates. He attributed this to changes in diet, they head west and start eating like westerners and less like folks in the old country where spices are used liberally. On top of this I've heard cancers seem to have a geographic link - the closer you are to the equator, less cancer... Of course this poses a problem, people closer to the equator typically have darker skin for protection from the sun. What happens when they head away from the equator? We know fair skinned people moving closer to the equator get skin cancer more often because they lack that protection, but will darker skinned people at higher latitudes get more cancer because they have too much protection from a "weaker" sun? And while skin cancer would increase for lighter people moving to the equator, do they also see a reduction in other forms of cancer?

I'm old enough to watch the obit pages and many of the people dying between 50-70 had cancer and I'm getting the impression cancer sets in early, not that we get cancer young, but whatever triggers it later on in life has its own trigger earlier. Old people living into their late 80s or more seem to have gotten past that time frame, maybe they avoided much of the environmental pollution the baby boomers grew up with, but a bunch of people, primarily men, got their first deadly exposure working in industry from WW2 on. I had a relative die from inhaling the crap they used in shipbuilding during the war, he'd be around 94 today and probably be alive given the longevity in his lineage.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I approve of any link of eating spicy food as a cure for cancer

[Al B. Sure!]

No. Darker skinned people aren't going to get cancer from having melanin in high latitude climates. Their vitamin D absorption rates are lower, though, and vitamin D deficiency can be problematic. Fortunately, there's dietary vitamin D.

By the way, while skin cancer rates are lower the darker someone is, the severity of the cancer usually is greater the darker someone is because it does not get checked out.

[Al B. Sure!]

And there's been a body of evidence that shows that the 'disease of decadence' (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc. even tooth decay) were unknown in more primitive areas (though I don't imagine India qualifies; more like Papua New Guinea) until the introduction of a Western diet and lifestyle.

[Felch]

No ****, really? Starving stone age people didn't get diabetes?

[Hauldren Collider]

You can't die of cancer if you die of exposure first.

[Pekka]

I've consumed piles of books, studies and research articles on this subject in my last year or two. I've come to the conclusion that diet is extremely important. There is a growing body of evidence that is not only statistical but also more empirical.

Nutrition is at the center of a lot of problems. I won't trivialize the subject for you, however, there are great books, great websites that lists the things you could add to your daily nutritional needs. It's just plain healthy food. I've adopted that style of eating and I feel much better physically as well as mentally. There are great cook books as well that I use, and now I just make my own recipes as well.

I'll break it down for you:
Food!!! Your body is a complex system, you can make your body a hostile ground for things like tumors, or you can feed them. Sugar, for example, is something tumors love. Inflammation is what you want to avoid, but fortunately many foods are anti-inflammatory. Stay away from carcinogens. Some food additives are not good for you either.

Obesity!!! If you are, start working out. Low fat, fitness in general will help you a lot.

Tobacco and alcohol!!! Not good for you. Red wine etc. includes flavonoids and as such can be actually helpful, but boozing and long nights with trunk full of beer can destroy you later. Same for tobacco.

These are the top 3 things you can easily avoid and will give you better chances.

On top of this, they say happiness doesn't cure cancer - true, but stress isn't good for you either. It'll give you a high blood pressure, it will screw up your metabolism sometimes. You want your body working optimally at all times because when it works, it kills everything in its way, all the invaders are in for a surprise. So, what ever lowers your stress levels will be good for you, it might not kill you directly, but indirectly it can do that in the long run. Hey, stress free life, what's wrong with that anyway?

So yes, there's plenty of evidence, not just anecdotal or statistical, that diet matters. It really does matter a lot. You can do preventative stuff right now. Read about the things you should be eating (vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, etc.) as a functional human body, start taking walks or do other physical things, stop smoking and don't drink too much.

If you want to know why and how this is so, there are good books about that too. They go down to nitty gritty levels, and if you want to look through the rabbit hole, then there's always the research articles.

[molly bloom]

Curry- not just tasty, stops cancer too:

Curry spice 'kills cancer cells'

The yellow spice gives curries their bright colour
An extract found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric can kill off cancer cells, scientists have shown.

The chemical - curcumin - has long been thought to have healing powers and is already being tested as a treatment for arthritis and even dementia.

Now tests by a team at the Cork Cancer Research Centre show it can destroy gullet cancer cells in the lab.

Cancer experts said the findings in the British Journal of Cancer could help doctors find new treatments.

Dr Sharon McKenna and her team found that curcumin started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8328377.stm

[Berzerker]

Inflammation is what you want to avoid, but fortunately many foods are anti-inflammatory

now this is what I dont get, another factor is activity level and they're thinking more is better than less, but that means more inflammation, right? Or are they talking about some other kind of inflammation (is there another kind?)? I know they want diabetics to be working out somehow, unfortunately activity declines with age. But the more muscle mass vs fat is better for diabetes, those muscles burn up sugar. I can tell, when I'm out golfing or lifting weights my symptoms decline, I get home and relax and the symptoms increase. Thats not good, I still gotta lose weight and add muscle.

I've cut way down on animal protein, I went from well over half to hopefully below %10. But I'm pre-diabetic or diabetic so I got other concerns, but it cant hurt with other diseases. I know this is something we should all learn at an early age just by watching the folks cooking up various meals, but the amount of grease left in the pan by red meat or chicken compared to veggies and even fish is amazing. That yellow stuff in the pan is clogging arteries, and I ate that stuff for decades. Ugh, I aint worried about all the drugs I took, its all the fat I ate that'll kill me. That and the corn syrup in the gallons of soda I drank... I luv Mt Dew, but its probably why I'm in danger of diabetes.