MIAMI.- He breast cancer It is the most common cancer in women in the US after skin cancer and the leading cause of death from cancer in black and Hispanic women. According to the American Cancer Society, in a recent study, although mortality from breast cancer has continued to decrease for three decades in general, the incidence has increased in women under 50 years of age.
In addition to having an annual check-up, it is recommended to follow a healthy lifestyle. On this aspect, DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS consulted Dr. Simón Álvarez, veterinarian, surgeon, and Master of Scientiarum in nutrition and vegetarian dietetics. His experience as a cancer survivor made him delve into the study of the disease, and he currently guides people who want to have a healthier life.
As he explained, “the cancer cell, if we go back to where it comes from in history, was a normal cell that is being attacked by environmental factors (our behavior, stress, problems, poor diet), and one of the survival mechanisms of this cell is to mutate into a cell that supports all that damage. And those mutations, those errors in genetics, are what give rise to these cancer cells.”
The doctor, who survived cancer with metastases in both lungs, detailed the peculiarities of the disease: “Cancer is a multifactorial disease. Not only genes are protagonists; also the environment to which we are exposed. In fact, 95% of cancer cases are attributed to exposure to environmental factors that trigger the disease: pollution, abuse of processed foods, abuse of processed meats, countless substances, even water if it is contaminated.”
He elaborated on this last aspect: “Plastic water has bisphenol A. Doctors encourage drinking water, but there are people who leave the water bottle in the car, it heats up and the bisphenol A released by the plastic is a hormone disruptor. super dangerous. I always say try to use glass bottles. Also exposure to cleaning chemicals. “There are many things, but they all add up.”
“You can inherit, for example, the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, which predispose or give a high probability of suffering from breast cancer. But if you have a very good diet and lifestyle, thanks to epigenetics (environmental factors that influence the expression or not of genes), today we know that these genes can be silenced. This is very common about the BRCA genes, many patients come to me with this concern because they were tested for mutation detection of these genes, and they carry them. Then they tell me: ‘I want to start doing things well.’ And yes, as we do things better, to that same extent we will reduce the chances of it happening,” said the doctor, who has experience working with cancer cells in laboratories.
Food against cancer
“Let your medicine be your food, and food your medicine,” said Hippocrates. Along these lines, Dr. Simón highlighted that food is the canvas on which the story of your future will be written. The cleaner your diet is, the more beautiful the future will be.”
The doctor, who will soon launch his book How to eat against canceroffered a list of foods that help prevent the disease.
Allies
- The soybeans. It is very controversial, because for many years breast cancer patients were taken off their diet due to inadequate knowledge of molecular biology in the past. Soy was punished for the phytoestrogen molecule. We know that estrogens, in some types of breast and prostate cancer, are not so convenient. We thought that phytoestrogen behaved the same, and it turns out that it doesn’t behave the same. Women who ate a lot of soy during chemotherapy were significantly more likely to survive. The phytoestrogens in soy anchor the estrogen receptor and block it so that estrogens that do not suit us cannot anchor. Soy is one of the great allies, and I always recommend to cancer patients and people who want to prevent cancer, that they learn how to prepare tofu.
- Cruciferous vegetables. The cruciferous ones. Broccoli, kale, are wonderful. In addition to chlorophyll and minerals, they have phytochemicals with great antioxidant and anti-cancer potential. All those substances that are in that perfect greenness are called glucosinolates, and they have the potential to induce the suicide of cancer cells. Throughout our lives, we often produce cancer cells and we do not realize it, thank God, most of the time our immune system manages to recognize them, or as a result of our diet the cell recognizes itself as malignant and commits suicide. This is called cell apoptosis. Some cancer cells are very clever and turn off that system.
- The green tea. Great antioxidant, it has very powerful and anti-cancer polyphenols. It is widely studied that people who consume green tea have great protection against cancer. Now, it cannot be combined with sources of iron: green tea has to be separated from meals because it does not allow the iron from those foods to be absorbed well.
- In fruits, berries (berries). Blueberries (blueberries), raspberries (raspberries), strawberries, are one of the top ones. Obviously papaya and pineapple are also very good, but the berries they have to be. They are a gift because of the anthocyanin they have, with great antioxidant power.
- The flaxseed. It also has a phytoestrogen similar to that of soy.
- The legumes. Beans, chickpeas, lentils. I really like to recommend them.
- The mushrooms: Ganoderma lucidum and Trametes versicolor. I brought some spores from these two mushrooms from China when I got sick, and I created some capsules that I started giving away to people who were undergoing chemotherapy with me, and the results were spectacular.
Enemies
“Alcohol, smoking, abuse of processed meats (that have been salted, cured, or smoked), such as sausages, prosciutto, hams. Dairy: I have seen in laboratories how when animals are given casein from milk, metastasis triples, especially in prostate and breast cancer. I think it is a good idea to reduce the consumption of dairy, cheese, and butter. For the calf, cow’s milk is perfect because it needs to grow, but for us it is a load of hormones that increases the probability of cancer,” he highlighted.
Physical activity
How can an active lifestyle contribute to the prevention of breast cancer? Exercise is decisive. In the words of Dr. Simón, “obesity increases the chances of having the disease by 30%. Adipose tissue produces hormones that stimulate the rapid multiplication of cells in the mammary gland and increase the chances of breast cancer and any other type.”
He advised “having an adequate level of muscle mass, maintaining physical activity, walking 30 minutes a day, or doing more intense exercises three times a week.” As he said, “lifting weight is important, because the more muscle mass we have, the more this tissue consumes calories and fatty tissue.”
“Every time we make an intelligent decision we are moving away from the disease. Every time we go crazy eating processed, fast food, we are buying more tickets for the disease,” he said.