Cancer and diet

[audreyh1]

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]

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

To add to Audrey's statement:

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...-and-nutrition/faq/animal-protein-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]

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]

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/full/10.3322/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]

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.

 

[Aerides]

While I do like to make a big pot of sauce from time to time, for every day pasta or red sauce needs, I've found the Gia Russa Tomato Basil is best. Very low sugar - 1G, total carbs 6g, -2 fiber.

Never felt like it was missing anything to me. Not as thick as a good marinara, but totally fine for most things, especially if I want to add mushrooms or something.

 

[MarieIG]

Don't add sugar to the sauce. Onions, garlic, diced peppers, mushrooms, Italian spices, a touch of Romano & Parmesan, a tiny pinch of pepper, olive oil.

 

[gtd9876]

It's all about improving the odds, which is all you can do.

You can eat healthily (mostly plants, whole foods) your whole life and still die of cancer at 50. You can smoke your whole life and die of the flu at 90.

However, if you eat healthily and don't smoke, you improve your odds of living longer and better. No guarantees, but better odds.

 

[MarieIG]

It's all about improving the odds, which is all you can do.

You can eat healthily (mostly plants, whole foods) your whole life and still die of cancer at 50. You can smoke your whole life and die of the flu at 90.

However, if you eat healthily and don't smoke, you improve your odds of living longer and better. No guarantees, but better odds.

Well put.

 

[TrophyWife]

I have been doing a lot of research on autophagy. It is fascinating how our bodies will clean themselves up if we give them time.

 

[Chuckanut]

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.

I also make my own pasta sauce and it's pretty good, IISSMS.

It's just canned tomatoes, some red wine, lots of garlic, spices to taste and, of course, olive oil.

Occasionally, I will fry up some meat in the pan ahead of time and include the drippings and the meat with the sauce.

 

[rtt1961]

My first post. Thanks to the OP and others for the information on cooking oils. I need to follow up on that. While I too can think of anecdotal evidence both ways, such as smokers who lived a long life and meat eaters that required heart surgery, I see value in applying the statistical evidence; such as found in the Blue Zone recommendations; to increase one's chances of a long and healthy life. And even though "correlation does not prove causation," statistical data can provide useful guidance.

 

[cyber888]

Blueberry and Acai Berry blend everyday .. kills cancer cells