Change your plate, change your fate.
-- Kris Carr, author of Crazy Sexy Cancer
I received an email from the American Institute for Cancer Research (aicr.org) and noticed an interesting item about the link between cancer and obesity.
It told of a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that suggests a troubling trend. They found that overweight- and obesity-related cancers account for approximately 40 percent of all cancers in the United States, and that the incidence of obesity-related cancers is rising.
In the item, Nigel Brockton, PhD and director of the institute's research department says, "We know that obesity has increased and now we are seeing an increase in cancers that are associated with obesity -- and a decline in those not associated with obesity."
Aside from not smoking, staying a healthy weight throughout life is the single most important lifestyle step to protect against cancer risk. The institute estimates that if all adults in the United States were a healthy weight, it could prevent 132,800 new cases of cancer each year.
I just wish that being a healthy weight was easy for everyone. I've heard people say, "All you need to do is eat less and exercise," but that's just a part of the process. For many, being overweight is a struggle mentally, physically and emotionally. Making that statement to a heavy person does not and will not help.
The CDC report was released in 2017. It states that the rate of new cancer cases has decreased since the 1990s, but increases in obesity-related cancers may be slowing positive progress overall.
The institute's research links overweight and obesity to 11 cancers that include liver, kidney, stomach, prostate, pancreatic, gallbladder, ovarian and colorectal growths.
Since body fat is metabolically active, like an organ, how it can promote cancer is an active area of research. One idea is that fat cells promote high levels of hormones that fuel certain cancers and produce substances that lead to chronic inflammation.
According to the American Diabetes Association website (diabetes.org), high blood glucose levels, even before they reach the level needed for diagnosis of diabetes, could signal an increased cancer risk for women.
A Swedish study financed by the World Cancer Research Fund found that women whose blood glucose levels are higher than normal have increased risks for several types of cancer. While earlier studies have shown a link between Type 2 diabetes and some cancers, this study suggested that the mechanisms that lead to cancer are at work much earlier -- as glucose levels begin to rise -- possibly long before diabetes is even a consideration.
Researchers found an association between high fasting glucose levels and pancreatic, breast and endometrial cancers, and a twofold increase in the risk of malignant melanoma, the most serious of skin cancers.
Oddly enough, in men they found that high glucose levels were associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer.
The researchers concluded that a lifestyle that decreases blood glucose levels could reduce overall cancer risk not only in overweight subjects, but also in those of normal body weight.
The diabetes association mentions a Korean study. It found that people with high levels of persistent organic pollutants (POP) in their blood are more likely to develop insulin resistance, which is a precursor to Type 2 diabetes.
POPs are toxic chemicals that adversely affect human health and the environment around the world. They are transported by wind and water, and pass from one species to the next through the food chain.
These researchers suspect that some POPs are involved in insulin resistance. They contend that most exposure to them comes from fatty animal foods, which can lead to being overweight, which can lead to the possibility of cancer.
Email me at:
rboggs@arkansasonline.com
ActiveStyle on 02/26/2018