Nutrition and Cancer Prevention

Host: Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director for Family and Consumer Sciences Extension, University of Kentucky

Guest: Rachel Miller, MS, RD, CSO, LD, Registered Dietitian Consultant, University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center

Special Edition Series – Cancer Conversations Episode 10

 

0:00 Welcome to Talking FACS and thank you for tuning into Cancer Conversations on Talking FACS; a podcast collaboration between the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Cooperative Extension Service.

We will share with you the latest developments in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research from the experts at Markey Cancer Center; Kentucky's only National Cancer Institute designated Cancer Center.

Talking FACS is hosted by the UK Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program. Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families and communities to improve quality of life.

0:41 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Hello and welcome to Talking FACS. This is your host, Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director for Family Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.

Today, I'm pleased to have joining us Rachel Miller, a Registered Dietitian with the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. Welcome, Rachel.

0:59 Rachel Miller: Thank you. I'm glad to be here.

1:00 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Today's topic, I think, is one that's going to be of interest to our listeners. I've always heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.” And today, you are really going to share with us on the topic of Nutrition and Cancer Prevention.

So, we'll get started with just kind of the basic question of how does an individual's nutrition, really and truly, how can they eat to work towards preventing cancer?

1:26 Rachel Miller: Okay. So, starting off, cancer risk is, as we know, multi-factorial. So, that is inclusive of our genetic makeup, our lifestyle and our environment. So, there's some things in that category that we can change and some things that we cannot.

Genetic makeup, of course, is one of our risks, but lifestyle is where we talk about changes to diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, environment; other things that we may be exposed to around the places that we live, any chemical exposure, et cetera.

One of the factors that that we focus on, as far as lifestyle, is a healthy body weight.

There is recent research that attributes obesity to increased risk of several different cancer types through the American Institute of Cancer Research; including the esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum, endometrium, kidney, post-menopausal breast, gallbladder, ovarian, liver, advanced prostate cancer, stomach and cancers of the mouth, larynx and pharynx.

2:29 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Oh, wow.

2:30 Rachel Miller: Yeah.

2:31 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: That’s a lengthy list there.

2:32 Rachel Miller: It is a lengthy list. And so that, speaking of one of the things that we can change to be healthier, not just as far as chronic disease, but as far as decreasing your risk of cancer.

Because reasoning behind this is that fat cells, in excess, of course. Fat cells in general, produce estrogen and higher levels of estrogen, which as a hormone, can contribute to risk of cancer development.

Also with excess of fat cells, we have an excess of production of insulin, which is also a hormone that can contribute to cancer cell growth. And excess of other substances with fat metabolism that can contribute to chronic inflammation, which is another factor in in our risk of cancer overall.

3:18 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: So, you mentioned that fat cells can produce estrogen. Is that true in both men and women or only women?

3:24 Rachel Miller: I would say it's true in both men and women.

3:26 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I often think of estrogen, as more associated with females, but when you said that, it kind of sparked the question in my head of, “I wonder if that's true for both men and women?”

3:37 Rachel Miller: Excess body weight is a risk factor for cancer, for men and also women.

3:41 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: How can an individual work towards having a healthy body weight?

3:46 Rachel Miller: That's a good question. And it's a good lead into why we want to look at diet, of course, and nutrition overall. Because, The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that 20 percent of cancers in the United States can be attributed or connected to body fatness and excess alcohol intake and poor nutrition. So, we want to achieve a healthy body weight. And even having some healthy weight loss has been shown to help.

So, some of the things that we talk about in the guidelines between the American Cancer Society and also the American Institute of Cancer Research talk about maintaining a healthy body weight, but also being physically active. Because that and in combination with diet can help us achieve a healthier body weight.

And when we say healthier body weight, we look at weight for height, age and also the body mass index. And you can find more information as far as that's concerned and what a good personal range would be through these agencies.

But in terms of physical activity, recommendation is at least 150 minutes of what we call moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week or a combination.

5:08 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: And is moderate intensity, to kind of help people envision what that is, that they could achieve that by maybe walking briskly or…?

5:17 Rachel Miller: Absolutely, walking, being active in your community and yard work, even working around the house can be considered light to moderate, depending on what you're doing.

Some of the activities that we kind of want to limit are those that we call sedentary activities, which is sitting at your computer or watching television; really not moving around. You know, our jobs kind of limit us as far as physically being sedentary at times. So, you kind of have to figure out how you're going to work that into your into your life.

5:52 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I think so often that when someone says to me, “You really need to increase your exercise”, I immediately think about, “I’ll be needing to go to the gym or something like that.” But there's really so many ways that we can incorporate moderate activity just into our daily lifestyle.

6:06 Rachel Miller: Yes, activity is inclusive of a lot of different activities; even just, like we said, walking, yard work, running the vacuum cleaner; that's pretty active in a home.

6:18 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Right. That’s true. Yeah.

6:19 Rachel Miller: That could get a little strenuous.

6:20 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Cleaning the house. Exactly. That could be strenuous activity.

6:23 Rachel Miller: Yeah. And as far as eating, of course, are… So, our healthy diet and you've probably heard emphasis on plant foods. So, the American Institute of Cancer Research recommends two-thirds of your plate being fruits and vegetables. The American Cancer Society recommends eating at least two and a half cups of vegetables and fruit daily.

You may have heard the term antioxidant, phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds in foods that are inclusive of antioxidants. These work together in a way to keep our cells healthy from damage, which damage to DNA is the beginning of development of cancer in cells that are changing.

We want to keep your immune system healthy and reduce overall, kind of inflammation and we want you to get those nutrients from food. It's not recommended to try to obtain all of these antioxidants in phytochemicals through supplements because they may possibly be harmful or they may not be absorbed. So, definitely one of the emphasis on nutrients is getting them from food from the Americans Institute of Cancer Research.

7:39 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I feel like sometimes online or on social media, you'll see things that talk about, “Well, there's a cancer diet.” Is there any type of really specific diet, that you would call a cancer prevention diet or is it really just kind of this general recommendation of eating healthy and kind of following the dietary guidelines of kind of what your plate should look like?

8:04 Rachel Miller: Yes. When we hear cancer prevention diet; that is a generally healthy diet. It's plenty of fruits and vegetables. It's choosing whole grain. It's limiting alcohol. It's limiting and avoiding processed meat. It's limiting red meat.

The latest guidelines from the American Institute of Cancer Research is 12 to 18 ounces per week and really avoiding processed meats. But that's part of a generally healthy diet.

And when we hear cancer fighting foods, we think of fruits and vegetables; all different colors. We say eat the rainbow. They have all different phytochemicals that work together, even in your body.

And there's thousands of them. Some have been identified and certainly, some, there's a lot more information that I think we're going to find as these studies continue.

8:53 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I always love the “Eat the rainbow” analogy because I think that that's something that everybody can envision, even little kiddos, that they can think, “Well, I did eat something green and yellow and red and orange.” so that they can kind of start figuring out what that healthy plate does look like.

9:09 Rachel Miller: Of course. And every color of every fruit and vegetable has something to offer; each fruit and vegetable is unique. And there's a variety; there's so many choices out there. If you don't like one, there's another one that's going to offer you similar benefits.

So, I do encourage folks to choose the things that they like and always try to incorporate new things, new fruits and vegetables to get your variety and your repertoire; the things that you're serving your families and that you are choosing to grow so that you are inclusive of all those things that can be helpful to keep yourselves healthy.

9:48 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: All right. I'm blessed at home that I've got two kiddos that will eat anything. So, they pushed me outside of the box to try something new. You know, my little one will say, “Well, let's have an avocado” or “Let's have this.” So, I tend to be a little bit more selective, but they really kind of push our plates out of the box, too, to try more.

So, if someone wanted to learn more, and I know that you have mentioned several different sources of information today as we've been talking, where would be good sources to find more information?

10:18 Rachel Miller: The latest research, information, tips, recipes - couple of good places. I find that the American Institute of Cancer Research has a wonderful website. They answer a lot of frequently asked questions, just in the information that they present; “Why is one particular food beneficial?” or “What's a good recipe that I can incorporate all of these healthy cancer preventing foods and begin with that type of a diet?”

The American Cancer Society also has a lot of good information as far as diet and nutrition. Both do discuss cancer prevention, but also tips for once someone does have a cancer diagnosis. We do encourage a general healthful diet, of course, and continuing a cancer preventative diet through survivorship. But also talks about what changes one might need to make during the treatment process and after. So, those are good places to start.

Also, the National Cancer Institute has an excellent website. There is a lot of applicable research that sometimes can be a little difficult to navigate. But I think that some of these have their own tip sheets and very easy-to-read information, even if you just enter what you're interested in in their search bar, on their websites.

11:42 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: And for our listeners, you have provided us with a list of websites and links to many that you just mentioned. So, that as they listen, feel free to go back to the show notes and you'll be able to find all the additional resources and information.

Rachel, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing more about nutrition and cancer prevention.

12:03 Rachel Miller: Absolutely. I'm glad to be here. And everybody enjoy your fruits and vegetables.

12:07 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Exactly. Thank you.

12:11 Thank you for listening to Cancer Conversations on Talking FACS. Our goal is to connect you with the latest advances in cancer research in the Commonwealth.

If you enjoyed today's podcast and have a suggestion for a future show topic, please messages on the UK Markey Cancer Center Facebook page at facebook.com/ukmarkey. Or visit our website at markey.uky.edu for more information.

You can find University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Programs at your local extension office or online at fcs.uky.edu. Building strong families, building Kentucky. It starts with us.