Endometrial cancer is a cancer that starts in the endometrium. Cancer develops when the cells of this inner lining start to grow out of control and form tumors. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors are not cancerous, while malignant tumors are cancerous and spread to other tissues and organs. Several complex investigations like transvaginal ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, endometrial biopsy, hysteroscopy are conducted to diagnose the cancer. Most obvious treatment for this type of cancer is surgery. Amongst the preemptive measures, diet plays an important role in preventing endometrial cancer to develop in the first place. For patients who are already diagnosed with endometrial cancer, certain dietary modifications can play a great supporting role by reducing the side effects of medications and thereby improving the quality of life.
Some dietary tips worth incorporating are as follows:
1. Eat whole, unprocessed foods
Endometrial cancer is mostly associated with high levels of unopposed estrogen in the body. Packaged foods are not just nutritionally depleted, but artificial preservatives and chemicals, as well as plastics that are found in packaging, resulting in increased circulation of estrogen. An ideal diet for a person with endometrial cancer needs to contain lots of whole foods and should be devoid of packaged and highly processed foods. Whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal, legumes, and bran provide sufficient fiber that helps in regular elimination of toxins from the body.
2. Eat Organic
The pesticides present in many non-organic food items increase estrogen in your body. Eating whole, organic foods may be especially important for prevention and management.
3. Reduce unhealthy fats
A diet high in animal fats has been implicated as a possible contributing factor to endometrial cancer. Limiting your intake of bad fats i.e. saturated fats and trans fatty acids are highly recommended as they increase the risk of heart disease, which in turn is known as another risk factor for developing endometrial cancer. Consumption of meat products, butter, deep fried and greasy foods should be minimal.
4. Include fruits and vegetables in the diet
Medical experts associate any cancer with a suppressed immune system. Fruits and vegetables contain high doses of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients that support your weakened immune system. Fruits and vegetables are a must in a diet that is for a person suffering or recouping from endometrial cancer. Especially, all the cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts have anti-cancer effects. A chemical called Sulforaphane that is present in these vegetables produces an enzyme that reduces tumor growth.
Another compound, Indole-3-carbinol, present in these foods, is popular for fighting off cancer cells. Also, Beta-glucan, a compound that is present in some mushrooms, is popular for fighting cancer. Coriolus versicolor is another type of mushroom that boosts the immune system and has anti-cancer compounds. These also reduce the side effects suffered by patients undergoing chemotherapy. Amongst fruits, grapes have enormous health benefits. They contain antioxidants that prevent free radicals that damage healthy cells of the body. Grape skin contains resveratrol, which is another compound with anti-cancer properties.
5. Cold-water Fish and Soy
Cold-water fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation and support your immune system. There have been findings that eating two to three servings of cold-water fish in a week considerably reduces your risk for developing this type of cancer. Good sources include salmon, mackerel, trout, sardines, and tuna. Also, soy products contain phytoestrogens, which are estrogens based on plants. Studies say that consuming soy products may decrease your risk of developing endometrial cancer.
Following the above mentioned dietary tips would certainly benefit. Apart from treatment and diet, people should also include some form of exercise, yoga, meditation in their daily routine so as to cope better with problems that surface. People diagnosed with endometrial cancer can also be a part of some support group.
Apart from following these dietary requirements while suffering from endometrial cancer, study findings claim that a ketogenic diet can keep those cancer cells at bay. Read on to know more about the ketogenic diet and how it can prevent cancer from knocking at your doors.
A Study On Ketogenic Diets Finds It Can Starve Cancer
Dreaded cancer and diabetes are becoming more and more common these days. We all know at least one person who suffers from cancer and one person who suffers from diabetes. Weight is another problem that just about everyone struggles with. So what is the reason that these diseases are spreading more and more? Scientists and researchers believe that these diseases are metabolic diseases, which can be cured by diet control, specifically by following the ketogenic diet. A study on ketogenic diets has proved that this diet is the best for cancer and diabetic patients, as well as those looking to drop a few pounds.
More about the study on ketogenic diets
Dr. Dominic D’Agostino has researched the ketogenic diet, who found that it is surprisingly effective to check cancer cells from spreading by basically starving them. This study on ketogenic diets has shown that the ketogenic diet does not only starves cancer, but is also beneficial for diabetes, prevents epileptic seizures, helps in the healing of traumatic brain injuries, and so on.
Dr. D’Agostino’s study showed that ketogenic therapy (low in carbs and high fat), helped to increase the rate of survival of cancer patients. In his study, the mice that were on a ketogenic diet were able to reduce cancer to a great extent. The mice that were fed a ketonic and ketogenic diet had much better results. The group who were on a ketogenic, ketonic, and HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy), fared the best with a 103% survival rate.
Cancer was historically thought to be a genetic disease, but approximately only 5-10% of all cancers are genetic/hereditary. The rest 90-95% of cancers are metabolic cancers. The path to healing these cancers is by following the right diet. Toxic radiation is not the way to treat/check cancer.
Dr. Seyfried, who is the forerunner in treating cancer via nutrition, is part of the growing community of scientists who now believe that a ketogenic diet is an answer to treat various types of cancer.
How does the ketogenic diet works?
The healthy, normal cells in our bodies have flexible metabolism to use up glucose, ketones, and fat to survive. But, cancer cells require large quantities of glucose to survive, and cannot survive on ketones, unlike healthy cells. In the simplest terms, ketogenic diet actually starves cancer cells as it is a low carbohydrate and therefore low glucose diet. The ketogenic diet is the diet that starves cancer, reverses diabetes and helps to lose weight, as it concentrates on reducing or limiting carbohydrate intake, and stimulates the production of ketones.
How are the ketones formed in the body?
Ketones are created by the fatty acids inside the liver when there is a lack of glucose. The process when the body burns the ketones is ketosis, which is the aim of the ketogenic diet.
The study on ketogenic diets showed that humans produce ketones when they limit the carbohydrate intake by 80 grams every day and 1.2 grams protein per kilogram of lean mass. Once the body becomes used to ketone metabolism, the FGF21 liver hormone which is essential to ketone production becomes more efficient.
The elements of the ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet, the diet that starves cancer, reverses diabetes and helps to lose weight, consists of 5% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and 75% fat. These percentages can vary from person to person, as recommended by the nutritionist or doctor. The goal of the ketogenic diet is to minimize glucose in the body, and as carbohydrates turn into glucose within the body, the carbohydrate intake has to be as little as possible. Then the body starts to burn fat instead of glucose to get energy.
Following the diet that starves cancer, reverses diabetes and helps to lose weight, can help to control diabetes, which is another factor that determines the lifespan of cancer patients. It has been seen that those cancer patients who are diabetic and have high blood sugar levels have the least life span.
Foods allowed in the ketogenic diet
Healthy fats allowed in the ketogenic diet are coconut oil, raw nuts and seeds, butter, avocados, olive oil, and eggs.
Low carb vegetables allowed in the diet are cabbage, cauliflower, celery, spinach, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, kale, and broccoli.
Proteins allowed in the diet that starves cancer, reverse diabetes and helps to lose weight, are beef (grass fed), organically fed poultry, seafood and fish, wild game, fermented dairy, and full-fat organic dairy.
New medicines are available in the market to combat cancer and diabetes. But the path to curing, such as chemotherapy, does more harm than the disease itself. So, consuming the ketonic diet seems to be a much healthier solution to diseases like cancer and diabetes.