Health and Nutrition Info
By Didrik J. Sopler, Ph.D, L.Ac.
10-01-05

 

What research says about cancer risk

Cancer is one of the most serious diseases where inflammation and insulin resistance have been established as big risk factors.

Several research articles points out the connection between inflammation and cancer.

The authors of an article in the British Journal of Cancer suggested that the inflammatory process itself provides the prerequisite for the development of malignancy 1.

Inflammation is a critical component of tumor progression according to researchers at the Cancer Research Institute at the University of California 2.

When the two inflammatory markers IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured in a group with breast cancer, a control group and a group with benign breast tumors these inflammatory markers were significantly increased in the group with cancer 3

Colon cancer is another type of cancer where inflammation is increased, CRP levels have been found to be elevated among persons who develop colon cancer 4.

Insulin resistance has shown to increase inflammation and it has been documented that elevated CRP levels are associated with increased fasting insulin levels and fasting glucose levels 5.

In the article “Insulin and Cancer, Boyd describes the link between insulin and the etiology as well as the prognosis of cancer in the colon, prostate, pancreas and particularly the breast 6.

The conclusion of an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association was that elevated fasting blood glucose levels and a diagnosis of diabetes are independent risk factors for several major cancers 7. The risk tends to increase with an increased level of fasting blood glucose.

Remember you don’t have to have diabetes to be at increased risk. The good news is that you can reduce these risk factors by implementing certain dietary changes.

The diet should be low glycemic index which means it should not cause a big rise in blood sugar.

However it should not only be low glycemic index, it also needs to include specific components to ensure plenty of antioxidants and the right type of fatty acids.

You can learn more about this by logging on to our website www.tissuerecovery.com. There you will find both e-books and a program which we can print for you if you like.

Following this program has shown significant changes in the biochemistry in only some few weeks.

Wishing you the best of health,

Didrik

References:

  1. O’Byrne KL, Dalgleish AG. Chronic immune activation and inflammation as the cause of malignancy. Br J Cancer 2001;85(4):473-83.
  2. Coussens LM, Werb Z. Inflammation and cancer. Nature 2002;420(6917):860-7.
  3. Zakrzewska I, Kozlowski L, Wojtukiewicz M. Assessment of changes in levels of interleukin 6 and C reactive protein in patients with breast tumors. Pol Merkuriusz Lek 2003;15(85):115-7.
  4. Erlinger TP, Platz EA, Rifai N, Helzlsouer KJ. C-reactive protein and the risk of incident colorectal cancer. JAMA 2004;291(5):585-90.
  5. Nakanishi N, Shiraishi T, Wada M. Association between C-reactive protein and insulin resistance in a Japanese population: the Minoh Study. Intern Med 2005;44(6):542-7.
  6. Boyd DB. Insulin and cancer. Integr Cancer Ther 2003;2(4):315-29.
  7. Jee SH, Ohrr H, Sull JW, Yun JE, Ji M, Samet JM. Fasting serum glucose level and cancer risk in Koran men and women. JAMA 2005;293(2):194-202