A fruit that is 10,000 times more effective than chemotherapy
"Anti-cancer" food: truth or fiction?
Aliments "anti-cancer": les croyances ont la vie dure
(Sara Taleb, Le Huffington Post, France)
Translation: ИноСМИ.Ru
Unfortunately, cancer is still on the first step of a very sad podium. On January 4, Francois Hollande launched the third plan to combat this disease, but today it still remains the main cause of death in the country. Despite all the achievements and advances in scientific research, cancer claimed the lives of 148,000 people in 2012. In addition, in the same year it was detected in another 355,000 people.
According to the National Cancer Institute (INCa), almost a third of all cases of its occurrence could have been avoided. We still cannot predict the time of the onset of the disease and say who it will affect. However, the likelihood of cancer depends on a number of factors, and some of them we are quite able to influence. This applies to physical activity, smoking and nutrition.
As for food, "studies conducted in recent years have allowed us to establish nutritional factors that can reduce the risk of this disease," INCa experts write, noting that there is no question of "anti–cancer products" in any case.
"10,000 times more effective" than chemotherapy Be that as it may, the definition of "anticancer" is becoming more and more common.
In a huge variety of collections of culinary recipes, you may encounter "anti-cancer" diets and various kinds of recommendations for the use of certain products. Their "miraculous" properties are also praised on social networks.
Take at least this picture from Facebook. It claims that the fruit is "10,000 times more effective" than chemotherapy... Despite a gross spelling error (the article "le" instead of "la"), users have shared the image as many as 60,000 times!
"You see, now you can help a friend in need if you tell him about it or just give him a drink of annona juice. It's much better than taking medication. And the taste is pretty good. It is a completely natural remedy with no side effects. If you have a vegetable garden or a garden, plant it," reads the caption to the photo.
Annona is indeed a real fruit, but it does not cure cancer. No more than spirulina, morinda, spices or black rice – these products are also sometimes attributed almost magical properties.
To understand where the truth is and where the fiction is, we turned to nutritionist Bruno Raynard from the Gustave Roussy Institute: "Nutrition can reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. Some nutrition factors can protect the body, while others, on the contrary, pose a danger. These factors are regularly updated by the International Cancer Research Foundation and transmitted to France through Nacre."
"For example, it was found that the abuse of alcohol, salt, meat and sausages contributes to the occurrence of certain types of cancer. Being overweight is also a risk factor. At the same time, we know that exercise, fruits and vegetables help protect the body," he explains.
Healthy food is not a panacea"But although we know that fruits and vegetables are protective factors of the body, we do not know which ones are useful.
Therefore, a balanced and varied diet is very important for us. Everything else is just speculation," warns Bruno Reynard.
In any case, a healthy diet is still not a panacea. "Even if a person eats only healthy food all his life, we cannot promise him that he will not have cancer," the nutritionist notes. The fact is that cancer is affected not only by nutrition, but also by other factors, such as a person's environment and his genetics.
The belief that some products can prevent or even cure cancer is spreading, despite all the denials that have been made. In 2011, the National Agency for the Sanitary Safety of Food, Environment and Labor (Anses) devoted a special report to this issue. "Studies conducted on cell models and animals emphasize the role of nutritional factors in various mechanisms of carcinogenesis," experts say. Be that as it may, "the results that were obtained in laboratory conditions and in animals cannot be directly extrapolated to humans," the report says. In addition, it emphasizes "the difficulty in identifying a causal relationship between nutrition and health, in particular with regard to the risk of cancer."
In February 2013, the American edition of Nutrition and Cancer released a study entitled "There is no Miracle Food." As it is easy to understand from the title, it talks about the lack of evidence of the existence of a link between nutrition and cancer, and also notes with regret the simplifications ingrained in people's minds. The impetus for the publication of the material was the release of the Dr. Oz Show medical program, which claimed that chicory, red onion and perch reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by 75%.
"Food cacophony"In recent years, such statements have been met in many media, not to mention collections of recipes that promise everyone "anti-cancer diets".
"There are so many contradictory statements now that all this creates a food cacophony," says Raphaelle Ancellin from INCa. "In such conditions, it is difficult to convey to people a clear and scientifically sound point of view."
"Scientific institutions are not to blame for this, because we are doing everything to form a clear and homogeneous message. Nevertheless, it is difficult for us to bypass the influence of the media and overcome the marketing hidden behind the word "anti–cancer": all this is business," she says.
"Some books and the media reinforce the prevailing ideas: their mistake is that they do not try to somehow balance their statements,– believes Bruno Reynard. – I am in favor of giving people information, but we need to take a balanced approach to what we are saying. The life expectancy of medical truth, unfortunately, is quite small. Proven today may seem doubtful in five to ten years."
"The concept of an "anti-cancer diet" is deceptive, as it implies that nutrition can become a medicine, and this is not the case. No diet can be a substitute for anti–cancer therapy," Raphael Ansellen is sure. Dr. Reinard agrees with her point of view: "All the current talk about anti–cancer products is a delusion, complete nonsense. I would be happy if some fruit could cure cancer. But, unfortunately, there are no such miracles."
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru05.02.2014