If a diet prevented cancer, would Americans hear about it?

Question

Note that T. Colin Campbell is a nutritional researcher who studied the relationship between animal protein consumption and cancer growth. He worked at Cornell and MIT and was funded NIH and he published 300 peer reviewed articles on nutrition and wrote "The China Study." He showed an extremely high correlation between animal proteins in diet and cancer growth in laboratory animals and he showed a comprehensive demographic study in humans as well.

The best dietary advice I've heard from PBS is to stop super-sizing my meals. HA!

Only about 1% of Americans follow a vegan diet plan.

If someone did discover a dietary answer to increasing cancers (as I believe Campbell has), would medical professionals and the American public be the first to know?

Answer 1

No, Americans would not hear about any cancer preventing diet, as any such info would be suppressed by the powerful cancer/pharmaceutical industry and its government backers. Billions of dollars in profits would be lost if Americans were advised to eat a particular, presumably plant based diet ( based on what you mentioned about Campbell's research). The current draconian cancer treatment regimen of radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy is the only accepted medical response, not because its effective ( which is highly debatable) but because it brings in the most profits. Prevention is somewhat of a dirty word in orthodox medicine. Notice people fervently denying any correlation between diet and cancer, which is great news for agribusinesses. However, this is conveniently ignoring studies documenting the low incidence of colo-rectal cancers in Asian countries ( where consumption of meat other than fish is rare, and vegetable intake is quite high ). In North America, where most people eat large quantities of meat, and less vegetables, the incidence of this type of cancer is much higher. This is just one example. So, to answer your question, its just not profitable for certain groups if everybody buys their cancer preventive in the vegetable section of the supermarket.

Answer 2

Interesting thing, Skeptic - I had followed a vegan diet for several years, and a vegetarian diet for most of my life, when I was dignosed with grade 3 cancer.



I have read The China Study; it's an interesting book, but it's just what it says it is - a study. Studies suggest possibilities for further research, they aren't proof of anything



And in many ways it's a flawed study, and Campbell is an embarrassment to many vegans because of the selectivity with which he conducted, interpreted, and presented his research. Many vegans have accepted it uncritically because it's what they want to hear and it appears to vindicate what they've been saying; many more are unimpressed by it.



It is too simplistic to argue that diet can prevent cancer; it clearly can't. Cancer affects the healthy and the unhealthy alike. I wasn't (I'm not) a junk food vegan, I always ate organic where possible, I exercised regularly and I've never smoked. But I got cancer.



I don't live in America. What's PBS?

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Edit:



Quote ''Based upon the first four responses, it appears that these individuals demonstrate that Americans would not want to hear about it.''



Do I have to say again - I'm not American.



And I'm a vegan - what is it exactly you assume I 'don't want to hear about'? I think veganism is the healthiest diet in the world if done properly.



And I have no interest in smearing Campbell - but I don't accept his findings uncritically just because they support veganism.



And - bottom line - I'm a vegan who's had cancer. Explain.



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Edit 2: I can't see anyonre here 'fervently denying' any link between diet and cancer.



And it is universally acknowledged that a diet high in red and processed meats is a major risk factor for colorectal cancers - I don't think any medical professional would argue with that. So in places where comsumption of red and processed meat is high, incidence of colorectal cancers will be correspondingly higher.



A diet high in red and processed meat is also thought to be a possible risk factor for pancreatic and stomach cancers, and a diet high in dairy is thought to be a possible risk factor in prostate cancer.



No secret about any of that.



And yes, in some Asian countries the incidence of certain cancers is far lower than in the west. At the same time, the incidence of some other cancers is higher in Asian countries. In several Asian countries the rates of stomach cancer, for example, are horrendous - way, way higher than in western countries, including America..



Skeptic, I'm wondering if you're going to comment on the fact that vegans do get cancer.

Answer 3

It is well known that animal proteins can contribute to cancer but that is only part of the story. Vegans still get cancer. Cancer is a multifactoral. If solid evidence were to support a purely vegan diet, I would hope this would be widely known. Supersizing doesn't affect animal protein because you would only be supersizing french fries and soft drinks (saturated fats --which are linked to cardiovascular disease -- also well known and discussed).

Answer 4

I don’t know if we would be the first to know, but we would know. There are more than 200 different cancers and diet has little effect on most of them. I have seen several vegans and vegetarians with colon cancer and they are usually quite angry about their diagnosis. However, eating foods high in nitrates, smoked, pickled or salt preserved foods and foods containing fungi or mold are known risk factors for stomach cancers. Also, thermal injury from drinking boiling hot liquids, common in Russia, China and the Middle East, is a risk factor for esophageal cancers.







To lo_mcg ~

PBS is the Public Broadcasting System. They do not accept advertizing as commercial stations do. They rely on public support to stay on air and have more informative and less bias programs. They also broadcast shows and news from the BBC.

Answer 5

Are you serious? A fellow by the name of Linus Pauling discovered that Vitamin C was a potent anti-bacterial and had cancer suppressing qualities in mega doses- and the information you find in the "mainstream" medical literature contains mostly vague warnings about the "potential toxicity" of large doses of Vitamin C.



And of course everyone hears about the "danger of exposure to ultraviolet radiation" and are warned not to go out in the sun without "sunscreen) or they risk getting melanoma- and yet the information that sunscreen containing PABA causes malignant changes in the skin (precursor to melanoma) are lacking in the "news"- and how about the information that Vitamin D has anti-cancer qualities? and Vitamin D is created naturally in the body by... reasonable exposure to UV radiation- seen that in the mainstream? Why in the world would Big Medicine want prospective patients- profit centers- to have a clue that they can protect themselves by ignoring medical advise?

Answer 6

Big hand to Denise and Lo!! Couldn't have said it myself without getting snarky. LOL!