WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Preventing Cancer

“We learned that animal protein was really good at turning on cancer.”  

              --Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., from the film, "Forks over Knives"

Have you read The China Study?  It is a powerful epidemiological study of a large population which looks at the relationship between diet and diseases such as cancers and diabetes.  The China Study was published in 2005.  The data collection methods and findings from the study played a leading role in the classic documentary, "Forks over Knives". 



I recently watched "Forks over Knives" for the second time.  The first time I watched it was in 2011, the year the film was released.  The film demonstrates the body’s ability to reverse diseases such as diabetes and heart disease with whole food plant based eating. The benefits of eating a whole food, plant based diet are clear:  vegetables do not cause disease but eating foods from animals causes disease. 

Breast, lung, and prostate cancers top the list of cancers in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.  In 2017, it was estimated that there were more than 255,000 cases of breast cancer, with 40,610 deaths from breast cancer.  A woman born today has a 1 in 8 chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.  Below is a list of the most common cancers (cases and deaths):  

	Common Types of Cancer	Estimated New Cases 2017	Estimated Deaths 2017
1.	Breast Cancer (Female)	252,710	40,610
2.	Lung and Bronchus Cancer	222,500	155,870
3.	Prostate Cancer	161,360	26,730
4.	Colorectal Cancer	135,430	50,260
5.	Melanoma of the Skin	87,110	9,730
6.	Bladder Cancer	79,030	16,870
7.	Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma	72,240	20,140
8.	Kidney and Renal Pelvis Cancer	63,990	14,400
9.	Leukemia	62,130	24,500
10.	Uterine Cancer	61,380	10,920

Look at cancer.org, the website of the American Cancer Society.  Sadly, you will find nothing about the benefits of a whole food plant based diet.  You will find nothing about the harmful effects of consuming animal proteins.  You will find nothing about the addictive nature of casein, the protein found in milk, cheese, and hidden in many processed foods.  

What you will find on the website is a list of the organization's corporate alliances.  Included on the list is Tyson, America's largest producer of broiler chicken.  Other corporate alliances of the American Cancer Association include Pfizer, Lilly, Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and other drug companies.  There is no guessing needed as to why the American Cancer Society promotes eating chicken in their nutritional guidelines or accepts money from the country's largest pharmaceutical companies.  With sponsorships from drug companies that directly profit from cancer drugs, why would the American Cancer Society profit from educating you on how to prevent cancer?  If you get cancer, their supporters make money. If you don't get cancer, they don't make money.  

It is up to us to educate ourselves how to prevent cancer.  

Every day I make conscious and intentional decisions about what foods to buy, what to eat, and whether or not to take a walk or jog.  I do not want to be the 1 in 8 to get breast cancer. 

Kids who are overweight or obese are more likely to be obese as adults.  Obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer.  Therefore, helping overweight and obese teens, especially girls, get to healthier weights will help them prevent breast cancer.

My heart breaks every time I learn that someone close to me is diagnosed with cancer.  Several of my family members have already had breast cancer.  The shock of the diagnosis, the torture of the treatments and resulting physical disfigurement plus the burden on families is too much of a burden.  We must do more to prevent cancer. We must work harder to prevent cancers, especially those that are obesity-related.  

What can you do to prevent cancer in your own family?  Here are my suggestions:

1. Learn about the health benefits that come from avoiding all animal products.  
2. Choose fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains as your food groups.  
3. Watch "Forks over Knives".  
4. Read The China Study.  
5. Read Dr. Michael Greger’s books, How Not to Die and his new How Not to Die Cookbook (one of my favorite cookbooks in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen).  
6. Go to www.pcrm.org to learn about the benefits of a plant-based way of eating from Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.  
7. Eat rainbows (fruits and vegetables that are the colors of the rainbow). 

If you are not sure how to transition to whole food plant based eating, call me at 772-453-3413.   

Please pass the blueberries.  

With love and gratitude,

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.