Eating for Health Foundational Plan

Eating for Health Foundational Plan (for breast cancer survivors)

Eating for Health Foundational Plan

Would you really rather have broccoli or a sticky bun talk to your genes?
—Robert Rountree, MD,
May 2010, National Association of Nutrition Professionals conference

Chapter Goal: Understand the foundational plan for healthy eating—Eating for Health

Is it nature or nurture that determines our susceptibility to cancer? One of the most
exciting concepts in modern nutrition, nutrigenomics, teaches us that it isn’t one or
the other, but a combination of both. Nutrigenomics looks at how foods can trigger
genetic changes for good or ill. Through the efforts of nutrigenomic scientists,
there is growing evidence that good dietary choices can help prevent the onset of
cancer and may even help cure it.

You might believe that your genetic code is what it is and that it determines many
things about your health status over your lifetime. This is partly true, but a variety
of influences can alter your DNA at any time, and even in the absence of any genetic
tendency, breast cancer can result. If your genes do predispose you to develop breast
cancer, take heart: not all people with a predisposition will develop cancer. Whether
or not the disease actually occurs depends on a host of complex interactions
between your genes and your overall “ecosystem,” your body’s basic “terrain.”

The food you eat; the water you drink; the air you breathe; all the chemicals you
encounter in cosmetics, medicines, and cleaning products—everything that your
body is subjected to on a day-to-day basis—affect the functioning of your bodily
systems, your vital organs, and your very genes, providing stimuli that either can
bring a particular genetic trait to full expression or subdue its impact.

In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2007), only about 5
to 10 percent of all breast cancers are hereditary. The vast majority of breast
cancers are attributable to other causes, which are currently under investigation by
countless research scientists. At least three theories continue to be heavily
researched: that chronic inflammation can lead to cancer, that an excess of oxidation
is to blame, and that a compromised immune system can contribute to development
of the disease.

Because diet can have a profound effect in all three of these areas, it makes good
sense to regularly consume antioxidant-rich, anti-inflammatory, and immunestimulating
foods, while avoiding foods that are more likely to cause disease. That’s
what our Eating for Health plan is all about.

Research shows that health and well-being are best served when beneficial fats,
complex carbohydrates, and lean proteins are consumed in appropriate proportion
day in and day out, along with a wide variety of phytonutrients, health-boosting
compounds abundant in fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods that provide
protection against cancer and other diseases.

The Eating for Health plan focuses on emphasizing just such foods in your diet,
providing a blueprint for avoiding cancer triggers while consuming plenty of
cancer preventers. If cancer is discovered in your body, dietary choices can
contribute to slower progression of the disease, better tolerance of treatments like
chemotherapy and radiation, and longer survival times (Dolecek et al. 2010).

As the pace of modern life increases along with our exposure to toxins in air,
food, and water, the need for a wide variety of protective foods and nutrients also
increases. Fortunately, the rewards of eating seasonal, chemical-free, nutrient-rich,
organic foods include not just disease prevention and healing, but also increased
energy, more-balanced moods, and better-managed weight—as well as wonderful
flavors, textures, and aromas at the table.

The modern food industry favors an economy of scale, which is less about
health and nutrition and more about long shelf life and profit. Fortunately, healthy
alternatives are burgeoning, and organic foods, farmers markets, and hormonefree,
pasture-fed animal products are now easily accessible in many areas of the
country. If they are not available locally, you can even order fresh and frozen
organic food delivered to your door from online markets, such as Planet Organics
(www.planetorganics.com).

Eating for Health (E4H) offers a nondogmatic, flexible approach to meeting
your body’s needs for optimal nutrient quality, quantity, and diversity. Ed first
designed the E4H model in 1991 as an alternative to the USDA food pyramid, which
reflected the biases of the meat, dairy, cereal, soda, and snack-food industries. In
addition to mapping health-promoting food and beverage choices, E4H promotes
the idea of ensuring that you have clean air, pure water, and an active lifestyle that
includes stress reduction, healthy sleeping patterns, and regular social support.