Guest Blog – Nutrition and Cancer

Today my Guest Blogger is Jillian McKee, who has worked as the Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance since June 2009.  Bringing a wealth of personal and professional experience to the organization, Jillian spends most her time on outreach efforts and spreading information about the integration of complementary and alternative medicine when used in conjunction with traditional cancer treatment.

Jillian’s article is about the benefits of eating healthy during and after a diagnosis of any kind of cancer.

Why Cancer and Nutrition Go Hand-in-Hand

If you have recently been diagnosed with cancer, you are more than likely very distraught and aggravated.  Receiving this type of diagnosis is one of the most difficult things that anyone can hear from their doctor.  Thankfully, there is a way to improve your well-being while undergoing cancer treatment.  The best way to improve your life during this time is to incorporate proper nutrition into your daily routine.  A healthy diet has a number of benefits that you may not even be aware of.  Proper nutrition can improve the well-being of individuals who are both sick and healthy, so it is a good idea to make some changes as soon as possible.

Many people may claim that the right diet can actually be a cure for cancer.  While thousands believe this to be true, it is more important to realize that proper nutrition will help you on your journey to wellness while undergoing routine cancer treatments.  Cancer treatments, such as those that accompany mesothelioma, will leave you feeling sick and drained.  The right diet will help to get you on your feet by boosting your energy levels throughout the day.  You may even be surprised to see how much energy you have after incorporating the right meal plan into your life.

Another benefit of a high quality diet that many people do not know is that it improves daily functions.  Good foods, like fruits and veggies, are literally packed with vitamins and essential minerals.  These vitamins are what your body needs to heal itself and support these functions.  You may notice that the right diet puts you in a better mood and gives you a sense of peace that no processed food could ever do.  Natural and wholesome foods can be added to your diet so that you are getting the recommended calories and vitamins for that particular day.

Before making changes to your current diet, you should make an appointment with your doctor to discuss these things.  While it is easy to make quick changes to a diet plan, your doctor will be able to advise you on different things that you need to avoid or get more of for that day’s consumption.  For example, most cancer patients need to have a high amount of calories each day to prevent excessive weight loss.  Only your doctor will be able to tell you how many calories is enough to support your daily functions on a regular basis.

The best thing to remember about nutrition for mesothelioma and other forms of cancer is that good foods can help you on this journey that you are taking.  Proper nutrition will help to improve energy levels, give you a sense of well-being, and help you to heal after treatments faster than living on a diet of processed junk food.  If you feel that a proper diet is the best thing for you at this point, be sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor to see what they can recommend and advise you on when it comes to making these types of changes.

For more information about the link between nutrition and health please visit Cooking for Health.

Nutrition – a game changer in global healthcare

Fierce political debate rages on both sides of the Atlantic about the rising cost of healthcare and what should be done about it.

Spending on health services in the UK has more than doubled in cash terms in the last decade, growing from £53 billion in 2000-01 to £120 billion in 2010-11; this is equivalent to an increase of around 80 per cent in real terms (1).  In England, 22 per cent of total public spending is devoted to healthcare.

In the USA, more than $2.5 trillion is spent annually on medical care.  But as recently as 1950, Americans spent only about $8.4 billion ($70 billion in today’s dollars).  After adjusting for inflation, Americans now spend as much on health care every ten days as they did in the entire year of 1950 (2).  In the USA, medical spending now represents nearly 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The cost of health insurance continues to climb for US companies and workers, with annual family premiums growing at a pace triple that of 2010 and outpacing wage increases (3). The chairman and CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, is quoted as saying that his company spends more money on insurance for its employees than it spends on coffee (4).

New legislation, large-scale reorganisation of health services, changes in insurance schemes and budget cuts are all among the radical measures being taken by governments to address this issue.

There is much less press coverage though about the real game changer with respect to reducing healthcare costs – improving nutrition and lifestyle.

Chronic or non-communicable diseases are the top cause of death worldwide, killing more than 36 million people in 2008.  Cardiovascular diseases were responsible for 48 per cent of these deaths, cancers 21 per cent, chronic respiratory diseases 12 per cent, and diabetes 3 per cent (5).

In most middle- and high-income countries non-communicable diseases were responsible for more deaths than all other causes of death combined, with almost all high-income countries reporting more than 70 per cent of total deaths due to non-communicable diseases (6).

In the UK and the USA, non-communicable diseases account for over 80 per cent of all deaths (5).

Common, preventable risk factors underlie most of these non-communicable diseases.  These risk factors are a leading cause of the death and disability burden in nearly all countries, regardless of economic development.

The leading risk factor globally for mortality is raised blood pressure (responsible for 13 per cent of deaths globally), followed by tobacco use (9 per cent), raised blood glucose (6 per cent), physical inactivity (6 per cent), and overweight and obesity (5 per cent) (7).

If we were to stop overeating, stop eating unhealthy foods, stop smoking and stop living sedentary lives, these risk factors would reduce, the prevalence of these diseases would reduce, healthcare costs would reduce and we would enjoy a greater quality of life.

Simple changes to diet and lifestyle really can make a dramatic difference to your health and well-being (8).

If you have enjoyed this post please leave your comments below.

If you would like to keep in touch, please click here to sign up for my free e-newsletter and browse my website.

You can also join me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, where I post interesting information which is not included in this blog.

 

Works Cited

1. National Audit Office. Healthcare across the UK: A comparison of the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. s.l. : National Audit Office, 2012.

2. Robbins, John and Robbins, Ocean. Beyond the Obamacare debate – why does healthcare cost so much? . s.l. : Fox News, 2012.

3. US Health Insurance Costs Rise. [Online] 27 September 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/27/us-health-insurance-costs-climb.

4. Businessweek. [Online] 21 November 2004. http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-11-21/online-extra-a-full-bodied-talk-with-mr-dot-starbucks.

5. World Health Organisation. Non-communicable diseases country profiles 2011.

6. —. Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2010. . Geneva : s.n., 2011.

7. —. Global health risks: mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks. . Geneva : s.n., 2009.

8. Willett, W.C. Eat, Drink and Be Healthy. New York : Free Press, 2001. ISBN 0 684 86337 5.

9. Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Health Behaviour. Postnote, May 2007, no. 283. 2007.