Cancer and diet

[COcheesehead]

Our doctor told us to avoid sugar. Any food with over 8 grams a serving should be a avoided. You know how many things have over 8 grams? A lot. Pasta sauces, tomato soup, most yogurts, ketchup, juices.... Start looking closely at the nutritional labels and you’ll be shocked as to how much sugar there is in foods.

[MRG]

After traditional medicine did nothing for DWs headache for 70 days they sent her to biofeedback. A few weeks later the headaches gone. The traditional medicine doctors couldn't even agree what type of headache she had. Nor can they explain why biofeedback worked.

[6miths]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead Our doctor told us to avoid sugar. Any food with over 8 grams a serving should be a avoided. You know how many things have over 8 grams? A lot. Pasta sauces, tomato soup, most yogurts, ketchup, juices.... Start looking closely at the nutritional labels and you’ll be shocked as to how much sugar there is in foods.

Bring on that fructose baby! Back in the day 'Fatty Liver' meant too much alcohol for sure, now every third 10-year-old has it thanks to sugar intake and alcohol is a distant second and fading as a cause.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead Our doctor told us to avoid sugar. Any food with over 8 grams a serving should be a avoided. You know how many things have over 8 grams? A lot. Pasta sauces, tomato soup, most yogurts, ketchup, juices.... Start looking closely at the nutritional labels and you’ll be shocked as to how much sugar there is in foods.

One of the nice things about being retired for me is the time to buy whole foods, cook more from scratch and leave out the additives and sugar. I made my own pasta sauce the other day and it turned out pretty good. One of my next cooking projects is to try to make a bigger batch and keep some in the freezer for nights we don't have time to cook as much.

[Bir48die]

I think those who try and cook with clean ingredients is good and noble. Does it ultimately result in a low cancer risk diet? Probably not. So, do your own thing and if it feels right, do it

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAE Yeah, I suppose so. Heck, I've even heard of close-minded people sometimes realizing that there might just be some benefit to considering the merits of what other intelligent people have to say about a subject.

I've heard of that too. Anything is possible.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort I made my own pasta sauce the other day and it turned out pretty good. One of my next cooking projects is to try to make a bigger batch and keep some in the freezer for nights we don't have time to cook as much.

Sauce freezes well. I have 3 quarts in my freezer right now.

I've been doing that as long as I can remember. Coming from an Italian family, it was just what we always did pretty much every other Sunday. My dad grew the tomatoes in season, too.

Lots of soups freeze well, too.

[6miths]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bir48die I think those who try and cook with clean ingredients is good and noble. Does it ultimately result in a low cancer risk diet? Probably not. So, do your own thing and if it feels right, do it

It's probably not 'clean' that is so important (although a good idea) it is 'unprocessed'. There is pretty good evidence that a diet that minimizes processed foods will lessen the risk of cancer, most notably cancers of the GI tract.

[Winemaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead Our doctor told us to avoid sugar. Any food with over 8 grams a serving should be a avoided. You know how many things have over 8 grams? A lot. Pasta sauces, tomato soup, most yogurts, ketchup, juices.... Start looking closely at the nutritional labels and you’ll be shocked as to how much sugar there is in foods.

Sugar counteracts the acid in under ripe fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes. It's all chemistry and trying to feed the masses. Foods aren't grown for flavor, they're grown for transport and shelf life. Same with wine, if you pick ripe fruit, you get fruit flavor and high alcohol, because of the higher sugars. If you pick unripe fruit, it's higher in acid and has less alcohol, but needs sugar for you to swallow. Think freshly squeezed lemonade!!!!

[Masquernom]

If I recall correctly, someone did a statistical evaluation of cancer risk within the last few years. Their conclusion, I think, was that about 2/3 of the risk of contacting cancer was random chance. A mistake when a cell divides. About 1/3 due to lifestyle issues.

Someone will have to search for the study if they wish to read the details.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker Sugar counteracts the acid in under ripe fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes. It's all chemistry and trying to feed the masses. Foods aren't grown for flavor, they're grown for transport and shelf life. Same with wine, if you pick ripe fruit, you get fruit flavor and high alcohol, because of the higher sugars. If you pick unripe fruit, it's higher in acid and has less alcohol, but needs sugar for you to swallow. Think freshly squeezed lemonade!!!!

There is tons of sugar in tomatoes already, especially ripe ones.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 There is tons of sugar in tomatoes already, especially ripe ones.

To add to Audrey's statement:

Quote:

Tomatoes may taste sweet, but they’re not a high-sugar food. One cup of sliced tomatoes has 30 calories, 7 grams of carbs, 4 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber. The amount of sugar in 1 cup of sliced tomatoes translates into about 1 teaspoon of sugar. For comparison, a cup of sliced carrots has 6 grams of sugar and a cup of chopped broccoli has 2 grams of sugar, while a 12-ounce can of cola has 37 grams of sugar. Because the tomato also contains fiber, the sugar in the tomato is digested slowly, providing a nice steady source of energy. While sugar in a candy bar gets digested rapidly, causing a dramatic spike in blood sugar.

[brett]

We have cut down on sugar. Since retiring, and traveling extensively, we have changed the way we eat. We have both lost weight. Our health is better and we feel better.

We cut out all the processed foods, fast foods, fried foods, etc. We are eating less meat as we age. We spend more than we did on fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. I believe that our taste buds have improved as a result of eliminating a lot of the food with chemical additives that seem to dominate much of the convenience food offerings.

We do not keep track of our spending but I suspect it has remained constant. The difference is what we spend it on. Salads with many meals, always with balsamic vinegar or a home made lemon dressing. We do not even bother with the pre made products after looking at the contents.

[daylatedollarshort]

This seems to be a pretty well balanced article on meat and the latest cancer research -

https://osher.ucsf.edu/patient-care/...in-cancer-risk

TLDR: To lower cancer risk you don't need to be a vegan but you do need to eat a lot of plants. Vary your protein sources, including plant based sources of protein (beans, lentils, nuts, seeds) on a regular basis. Have fish two or more times a week. Poultry without the skin is the next best choice after fish. Limit eggs to 1 - 2 per week. Limit red meat to once a week. Avoid processed, fried and charred meats entirely as well as cooking at high temperatures.

[Winemaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 There is tons of sugar in tomatoes already, especially ripe ones.

You are confirming what I said about fruits being ripe and high in sugar, but sugar is added to sauces 3.5-4.0 ph to counteract the high acid. A ripe tomato is about 4.5-4.7ph, 7.0 is neutral.

[RAE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masquernom If I recall correctly, someone did a statistical evaluation of cancer risk within the last few years. Their conclusion, I think, was that about 2/3 of the risk of contacting cancer was random chance. A mistake when a cell divides. About 1/3 due to lifestyle issues. Someone will have to search for the study if they wish to read the details.

There have been several studies looking at this, and they don't all agree on the exact percentages. This one concluded that about 45% of cancer deaths were due to potentially modifiable lifestyle and diet factors:


https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...322/caac.21440

The authors also state: "These results, however, may underestimate the overall proportion of cancers attributable to modifiable factors, because the impact of all established risk factors could not be quantified, and many likely modifiable risk factors are not yet firmly established as causal. Nevertheless, these findings underscore the vast potential for reducing cancer morbidity and mortality through broad and equitable implementation of known preventive measures."

[COcheesehead]

My comment about sugar in retail pasta sauces wasn’t in regard to naturally occurring sugar, but added sugars. And yes, it’s there to balance acidity, but some have as much sugar as a candy bar.

[Crewer]

Rae, I'm also very interested in how diet affects health and have read and listened to much on the subject including the books Undoctored and Proteinaholic and both Paleo- and vegan-based podcasts. I know alot of what happens depends on the individual but I figure might as well go with what gives the best group outcomes unless there is a reason not to. It also seems to me much of the earlier work was less biased by agribusiness funding. Anyway thanks for more input here from you and others.

[Cerys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort One of the nice things about being retired for me is the time to buy whole foods, cook more from scratch and leave out the additives and sugar. I made my own pasta sauce the other day and it turned out pretty good. One of my next cooking projects is to try to make a bigger batch and keep some in the freezer for nights we don't have time to cook as much.

Due to our intolerance of onions, I’ve made my own sauce forever. Lots of garlic, and to sweeten it? Dried mint, ground into a powder. Couple of teaspoons. You don’t taste the mint, but to us, it does the same thing that adding sugar does.

[Teacher Terry]

I make my own spaghetti sauce but I add sugar otherwise it’s too tart.