Everything We Eat Both Causes and Prevents Cancer

[lwien]

So...........the next time you hear of a medical study that claims that a certain food helps to prevent or cure cancer, check this little graph (pic) out for a reality check:

Edit: To the mods, I was torn in putting this up here or starting a thread over in the Medical forum. Don't know. Your call...........

Mod note: Moved.

 

[momofthegoons]

I would have thought there might be a few 'takers' on this thread.

One of the things on that list that really surprises me is tea. With all the antioxidants in it it's surprising to see it there. Must be the caffeine that put it on the list? And the poor maligned egg...

 

[kellya86]

This just backs up what I've been saying for ages, we know fuck all about our own biology, we may as well claim the world is still flat and that bacteria doesn't exist.....

We are still a primitive race really, we like to think we are all well informed and at the forefront of science, but we are still digging stuff out of the ground and burning it for energy, primitive...

 

[Slow Draw McGraw]

It's like when people say things cause cancer in lab rats. Doesn't everything give them cancer? At least that was an in-joke for a veterinarian friend of mine.

 

[stickstones]

I used to say everything causes cancer in that same tone. I'm interested in some backup to the claims on that graph, and some more detail. It will take a lot more than a graphic for me to believe tomatoes cause cancer. Animal products, on the other hand, are horrible for our systems.

 

[Madcap79]

I wonder if it has more to do with what is pumped into the product itself while growing? Do cancer rates grow every year?

That graphic was used on Last Week Tonight. They did a story about how all the 'morning show science' is based on shitty science and never retried to see if results are the same. Pretty good watch, if you have HBO.

 

[CaptVapor]

Well... it's a complicated thing. I'm no expert but I've done a fair amount of reading on the matter:

1. We all have our own genetic inclination towards some diseases, however...
2. ...disease is a part of gene expression, and THAT we have some control over in regards to food, exercise, life decisions, etc
3. So there is no blanket advice for how to eat. A high fat diet might do well in some people and in others would cause cholesterol havoc. Some people have more issues with sugar than others, giving 2 people the same amount of bananas can cause an insulin spike in one and nothing in the other.
4. Most foods have some nutritional value as long as you consume them in moderation. Depending on the food item, of course. So for instance, red meat, we have done a lot of research on red meat. It has lots of essential B vitamins and protein and fat, good cholesterol for us guys to make testosterone, yet too much of it causes issues. There's a study out there that shows how red meat is high in l-carnitine and l-carnitine is a favorite food source for a specific gut bacteria that is associated with arterial plaque (just to show an example)

If you wanted the best shot possible at good health I'd suggest getting a test from 23andme to figure out what diseases you're genetically predisposed to and work against them. Also exercise (and exercise opens up another can of worms!)

 

[GOOREGON]

alright...you are gonna need to post more than just a graph... sources etc. I have a hard time believing tomatoes causes cancer. all animals products obviously do...
our bodies kill tons of potential cancer cells everyday.please anyone out there listen to this..
diet is everything.
every single piece of food or what have you that you put into your body either helps or hurts you. our bodies are naturally alkaline yet americans (mainly ) and most of the world still relies on an animal based diet.which is extremely acidic. to the poster above me.. diseases youre genetically predisposed to have ? that's BS. I say this in the most kind tone possible because I'm sure that's what you have been told your whole life. like I said diet is everything. there is no better wayto eat than a whole foods plant based diet.our country especially is full of companies advertising 24/7 to people to control them in a way. buy this buy that....what they don't tell you is how harmful all those "food like products" are. I put that in quotes because that is what it is. something that resembles food but is not. refined sugar,soda,candy,dairy,meat...all these things are killing us.please take some time to research and watch some documentaries. Netflix has cowspiracy and forks over knives. the first is an environmental look at what our need to satisfy our taste buds is doing to the world. if you didn't know animal agriculture is the number one cause of global warming and destruction to this planet. the second is a health orientated look at what eating animal products does to us.
one more important thing to add... that graph says nothing about how the tomato was grown. most likely conventional I'm guessing...which means it was sprayed with pesticides/herbicides and other nasty chemical that people wear suits to spray. and then you eat the product..
what I'm saying is organic is the way to go. try to find local organic produce and support your local farmers.
youll find by adopting a plant based diet you can pretty much heal any disease (to a point).diabetes is abig one. why are so many people getting it now? sugar.soda.that nasty shit.poison. educate yourself anf help heal this planet for future generations!

 

[smokum]

Throughout my life I've seen health nuts and fitness freaks die of cancers and other diseases.... I've also seen those who've chosen what science & society deem as a bad/poor lifestyle live into their 90's and beyond. I've come to realize that simply 'living' is a task in itself as much as a business to many (healthcare, politics, government, food sources, sciences, and the list is infinite), yet when your number comes up, regardless of your life choices, style, demographic, whatever ... it's over..PERIOD..!

Upon coming to the 'realistic' realization that the day you are born, you are dying (or rather, living towards the day that you cease to exist in the form we've come to accept/believe as Living), I (personally) much prefer to 'exist' obtaining what joy(s) I can find and to share with those who I tend to call friends and loved ones, while at the same time not fretting over all things that 'may' or may not shorten my existence (which all seem to point towards some mysterious decade being shaved off ones life regardless of source), according to others whose 'business' it is to achieve personal gain hyping their theories or findings.

As far as I'm concerned, the human race is nothing more than a specific (earth) planetary parasite at the current hierarchy end within a vast and much larger solar system of unknowns. Even our planet (as the rest) are on a time constraint that we don't/won't ever truly understand nor conquer.

"We're here for a good time…..Not a long time. So have a good time, the sun can't shine everyday..."

 

[CaptVapor]

@smokum agreed!

However, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't figure out our individual health requirements. If the experience of living is to collect as much joy as possible then I think maximizing health should be our core responsibility.

Take, for instance, going on a hike, maybe a hike with a decent incline. I think anyone can imagine the joy that you'd experience at the summit, overlooking the valley, etc etc... However, if your health isn't where it should be then that you may very well never experience that joy.

Anyone can live, I think. It's the level of living that you can do. I'm constantly experimenting on myself to figure it out so I can not just live but THRIVE. Over the past 3 years of trying different diets and cutting things out and adding them back and trying different exercise regimens I've figured out what I personally need but it's not universal. Everyone has to figure out their own needs. But I really do believe that maximizing your health maximizes the chances of joy that you can achieve and that... maximizes your life

 

[GOOREGON]

Throughout my life I've seen health nuts and fitness freaks die of cancers and other diseases.... I've also seen those who've chosen what science & society deem as a bad/poor lifestyle live into their 90's and beyond. I've come to realize that simply 'living' is a task in itself as much as a business to many (healthcare, politics, government, food sources, sciences, and the list is infinite), yet when your number comes up, regardless of your life choices, style, demographic, whatever ... it's over..PERIOD..!

Upon coming to the 'realistic' realization that the day you are born, you are dying (or rather, living towards the day that you cease to exist in the form we've come to accept/believe as Living), I (personally) much prefer to 'exist' obtaining what joy(s) I can find and to share with those who I tend to call friends and loved ones, while at the same time not fretting over all things that 'may' or may not shorten my existence (which all seem to point towards some mysterious decade being shaved off ones life regardless of source), according to others whose 'business' it is to achieve personal gain hyping their theories or findings.

As far as I'm concerned, the human race is nothing more than a specific (earth) planetary parasite at the current hierarchy end within a vast and much larger solar system of unknowns. Even our planet (as the rest) are on a time constraint that we don't/won't ever truly understand nor conquer.

"We're here for a good time…..Not a long time. So have a good time, the sun can't shine everyday..."

fuck yeah! we are here for a good time!! who cares if the good times we have are literally destroying the very earth we walk upon.... not trying to be rude. I agree with some context of your post. but come on..seriously?you don't care enough to learn what we (planetary parasites) are doing to mother earth.i certainly agree with that. we are parasites...the worst disease this planet and universe has seen.we create wars to make money and capitalize. we should be uniting worldwide for peace,love and compassion. please consider watching the documentaries I spoke about, specifically cowspiracy for you @smokum .

 

[Buzzbomb Almighty]

I would have thought there might be a few 'takers' on this thread.

One of the things on that list that really surprises me is tea. With all the antioxidants in it it's surprising to see it there. Must be the caffeine that put it on the list? And the poor maligned egg...

It might be the tannins in tea, despite wine having them as well.

 

[lwien]

I agree with @CaptVapor. We're not all built the same. We have different genetic makeups that can cause some of us to be susceptible to certain diseases while others have genetic makeups that make them almost immune to those same diseases. And that's why therapies based on genetics is going to be HUGE !!!

With that being said though, I like playing the odds. I put in my 23 miles a week and eat a very healthy diet not because I want to live longer but because I want to have a high quality of life while I'm alive. Does my exercise and diet guarantee that? Of course not. I'm just playin' the odds.

So far, it seems to workin'.

(now I gotta find some wood to knock on............quick!!!)

 

[seaofgreens]

Might as well throw the video in question up (Last Week Tonight puts all of his main topics on youtube every week for any non HBO subscriber. Just figured i'd let yall know.)

I feel like the video really puts the chart into context, and in some ways is a bit ironic to see it used here in the context it is used.

The key point is that science should be heavily confirmed, before we play telephone with the findings, and that virtually all media reporting on a "new study," should really be looked at skeptically, to say the least.

 

[lwien]

I feel like the video really puts the chart into context, and in some ways is a bit ironic to see it used here in the context it is used.

Ironic? Please explain.

 

[seaofgreens]

Well the chart (if I understand the way it is used in the show anyway,) is to show just what studies media reports on, and to what degree it was good or bad. But the point is that these shows are reporting on conclusions that are drawn from potentially statistically insignificant information. And when fact checked, is often found to be a conclusion reported by media drawn from one, and only one study, often with fewer than 50 participants...

So when you look at the chart without that idea, you would think... as John Oliver says, that science clearly doesn't know what it's doing. But it's really that science goes through the kids game telephone, through press releases, media reporting etc. and so the conclusions portrayed in a news story are quite often off the mark by a long shot.

This would be a touch ironic, imo, because this is a case of using a chart which shows that the news thinks everything both causes and prevents cancer, and extrapolating that to mean that the main body of science is saying that, which it is not. It is one off's, or one pool of data with extrapolated findings. They are not an amassed conclusion, but are often portrayed as such.

Sorry if I am mis-informed or offensive. I do not mean it as such.

 

[lwien]

Sorry if I am mis-informed or offensive. I do not mean it as such.

No need to apologize. You stated yourself perfectly and put it all into the right context.

 

[verdampersweats]

Man will eat anything, Imagine being a creator looking down and watching Man eat your creations, Heck did Simpsons not parody this? People eating milk and animal by products what are they doing do they not realize they look like an animal by doing so?

I have food issues according to some people higher up I have an unwell outlook on food. And you know what it is? A belief to only eat naturally occurring foods so below are the things im suprised about? Tomatoes! I believe them along with fruits and vegtables and nuts and grains are what you are meant to eat daily. If it has or previously had conciousness or a heart beat then leave it alone! And thus Beef is hardly sruprising to be ranked carcinogenic by the WHO along with Alcohol so there is wine off the list. Butter Eggs and Milk are also animal by products are they meant to be eaten when you look at what we are provided with naturally? Animals themselves only wean on milk for a brief period in life and butter is simply churned processed milk!

And finally Tea and Coffee i presume this is due to Caffeine being ranked carcinogenic by the WHO as well? My aim is not to be like this but it costs a LOT of money and in truth i simply cannot afford it all being unwell, Example my nuts alone are £2 per day £14 per week just for nuts!! The only thing i can afford like most of the human cattle is cheap meat. Why when man is not a compulsive predator do we do this?