How to Manage Fats to Defeat Cancer

In my previous post about carbohydrates, I tried to give a general view on how to approach nutrition to fight cancer focusing on one of the three macro nutrients that makes up our diet. In this post I will try to give a general view on the intake of fats, what you should know about them, and what you can do to plan an effective cancer-fighting strategy.

Meet Your Fat

Fats are always complicated to explain and to comprehend mainly because they are not a single homogeneous group. Some fats are good, and some are bad. But things are not that simple. Some good fats can cause problems if taken in certain amounts and with a certain combination. When talking a bout fats, there are so many terms involved that making sense of the whole picture is despairing.

It’s almost impossible to skip the biochemistry of lipids to understand how they work. I will try to simplify this aspect as much as possible. Our bodies can manufacture all the fatty acids they need except for essential fatty acids (EFAs). There are two EFAs: linoleic acid (Omega-6) and linolenic acid (Omega-3). The body needs to get these acids from the diet.

Both EFAs are precursors to prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are hormones found in virtually all tissues and organs. They are synthesized in the cell from the essential fatty acids (EFAs) and, among many functions, they have the capability to regulate tumor growth. By varying the ration of EFAs, it is possible to manipulate prostaglandin synthesis and therefore affect tumor growth.

Amount of Fat

First of all, the total amount of fat in the diet is very important. Too much fat in the diet is linked with increased tumor growth. All fats are potentially harmful if eaten excessively, they stimulate the spread of cancer cells, and inhibit the immune system. When fat intake is decreased, the immune system activity increases. In hormone related cancers such as prostate or breast cancer a very low fat diet slows the spread of cancer cells.

During the 1950s, when Japan’s cancer rates were very low, fat intake represented less than 7% of the calories in the Japanese diet. In rural China, the average fat intake today is approximately 19% of daily calories. The China Study examined provinces with fat intakes ranging from 6 to 24% of calories and found that breast cancer was more common on those provinces at the higher part of the range. Today’s American Cancer Society recommendation of a 30% fat intake is simply too dangerous to follow.

When a high fat diet is followed, one of the most powerful natural forms of estrogen (Estradiol) is increased in the body by up to 30%. Many hormone related cancers like breast and prostate are fueled by estrogen. The higher the production of estrogen, the higher the stimulation of cancer proliferation. Simply put, on high-fat diets, estrogen levels increase; on low-fat diets, they decrease. In dozens of animal studies, a high-fat diet has been shown to stimulate the growth of cancers. Another study from the British Journal of Cancer showed that with a 15% low-fat diet, strictly followed for two years, estradiol levels lowered by 20%.

The Kind of Fat

The type of fat in the diet is also important. Diets that contain more linolenic acid (Omega-3) than linoleic acid (Omega-6) will slow tumor growth and increase immune system activity. Omega-6 promotes a type of hormone (prostaglandin E2) that stimulates cancer growth and reduces the ability of macrophages and natural killer cells to kill cancer cells and tumors. Linolenic acid (Omega-3) competes with Omega-6 fatty acid molecules for the same enzymes.

Udo Erasmus explains how literally all the processed fats we ingest not only decrease the healthy Omega-3s, but also alter their molecular structure becoming highly toxic for our health. Heat, hydrogenation, light, and oxygen produce chemically altered fat products that are toxic to our cells. Products altered by processing include margarine, shortenings, partially hydrogenated oils, deep-fried oils, refined and deodorized oils, cooking oils, oils exposed to light or oxygen during storage, oils fried in food preparation, and oils that have become rancid from exposure to air after opening. These fats kill people.

Terrorist Fats

You should absolutely avoid trans fats, meaning trans fatty acids or partially hydrogenated oils. Trans fatty acids may be one of the major causes of cancer. They become part of the cell’s wall (replacing cholesterol) making it rigid and sticky and forcing the cell to turn anaerobic (i.e. the first step to becoming cancerous) because of their inability to take in oxygen. Like refined salt, these fats also destroy the electrical charge of red blood cells, causing them to “stick” together.

Fat, by various mechanisms, makes the blood sticky.  The body converts fat into body fat quickly and easyly: 100 calories of ingested fat can be converted to 97 calories of body fat by burning a measly 3 calories. In digestion, fats are broken down and emulsified into small drops called chylomicrons. Different from other nutrients, such as glucose and amino acids, which are carried directly to the liver by the bloodstream, fats are absorbed into the lymphatic system, a slow-moving auxiliary circulation to the blood system. The lymphatic system bypasses the liver and empties the fat  into the blood at the heart level. Now, the heart pumps the fat throughout the body within the bloodstream. The bottom line: consuming an excessive amount of fat means a clogged lymphatic system and a bloodstream full of fat.

Once in your blood, fat coats the cells in the bloodstream and makes them bond together. The action of red blood cells clumping together and slowing the general circulation is called Rouleaux Formation, or red blood cell aggregation. Most frequently it’s described as “sticky blood cell syndrome”. This gumming of red blood cells prevents oxygen molecules from entering the cells. The result is a deprivation of oxygen, which is the main factor that turns a healthy cell into a cancerous one. Cancer cells thrive in a oxygen-deprived environment. Any substance that diminishes cellular oxygen will foster the growth of cancer cells. Estimates of such oxygen loss after a single high-fat meal have been calculated at 30%.

Plus, fat is an appetite stimulant: the more you eat, the more you want. Consequently, the more fot in the diet, the more changes you’ll crave for empty-glucose-laden calories that eventually might fuel your cancer.

Good Fats

The healing fats in cancer include EFAs and the fresh, unrefined oils that contain them. EFAS, particularly Omega-3s, enhance oxygen use in cells, decrease tumor formation, slow tumor growth, decrease the spread of cancer cells (metastasis), and extend the patient’s survival time. In clinical practice, they are used to help dissolve tumors. So your target is to reduce the amount of fat to a minimum, and only ingest unrefined, raw, and rich sources of Omega-3s. And unrefined means as much directly from the natural source as possible. You should know that even vegetable oils are controversial because they have gone through a certain level of processing and denaturalization, plus they have been separated from their natural fibers which, among many things, bind with dangerous estrogen-cancer-causing molecules. Rely on natural sources of fat, rather than their oils, no matter how “cold-pressed” they had been.

The Case Against Vegetable Oil

Dr Joel Furhman is very clear in his approach to vegetable oils. We are hearing today from all kind of sources that we don’t need to go on a low-fat diet, we merely need to replace the bad fats with the good ones. We are still cofused and receive conflicting messages. He considers that vegetable oils are not health foods. We consume 60 grams of added fat in the form of vegetable oils, which is over 500 calories a day from this form of no-fiber, empty calories. Refined, unrefined, even cold pressed; these oils are too rich in calories and too low in nutrients. Vegetable oils are 100% fat. There are studies that suggest that even vegetable oils increase the levels of estrogen in our bodies and rise the levels on free radicals. Vegetable oils are too fat-concentrated, they pack too many calories. Unprocessed  foods such as nuts, seeds, and vegetables, utilized as a source of fat instead of vegetable oil, contain cancer fighting phytosterols and precious fiber that are completely absent from vegetable oils.

Dr Joel Furhman states that if you are thin, exercise a lot, and are obviously disease-free, 1 tablespoon of a EFA rich unrefined, cold-pressed, organic vegetable oil is no big deal. Otherwise, the best choice is no vegetable oil at all. I agree with this approach, unless you follow the Budwig Protocol, a proven anticancer treatment).

Omega-3 Source

In Udos book, he refers to hemp seed oil as the best-balanced plant source of both EFAs. However, if you have cancer you might actually be better off finding a source of higher Omega-3 vs Omega-6 ratio. Cancer also alters our own lipid metabolism and makes Omega-6 EFAs more available. So hemp seed oil is good if you are healthy, but not the best if you are fighting a disease.

For quite some time I keep reading that flax seeds are the richest source of Omega 3 EFAs. If you are a cancer patient this is the most recommended source of Omega-3s. Unless you follow the Budwig Protocol, you should keep this oil to a minimum; no more than a tablespoon a day, considering that you are active and that you have already removed any anti-nutrients from your diet. Better yet, grind the flaxseeds and eat them right away. The fact is that all vegetable oil loses part of the Omega-3 EFAs when they are “juiced” from the seed. That’s why I recommend to eat the flax seeds instead of their oil.

Chia Seeds

But, is there a better choice than flax seeds? I actually learned about a seed which oil naturally contains more than 60% Omega-3 fatty acids, the highest percentage of Omega-3 of any commercially available source: chia seeds.

These are the percentages of Omega-3 EFAs on different seeds:

1. Chia seeds: 62.3%
2. Flax seeds: 54.6 %
3. Hemp seeds: 19.9%
4. Borage seeds: 0.5%
5. Evening Primrose oils: 0.4%

Chia has no odor, doesn’t go rancid, it’s easy to store, easy to use, doesn’t have to be grind, it is easily digestible, has very little flavor/taste. Chia seed is a complete source of dietary protein, providing all the essential amino acids. Compared to other seeds and grains, chia seed provides the highest source of protein, between 19 to 23 percent protein by weight. Chia seed produces a thick mucilage in water, absorbing up to 30 times its weight in water. This soluble fiber cleans the intestines by binging and transporting debris, toxins, and dangerous hormones withing your body so that they can be eliminated efficiently and regularly. Since they contain a generous amount of soluble fiber, chia seeds slow the absorption of sugars and starches into the system, keeping blood glucose levels more stable. They are, in fact, the best choice of healthy EFAs.

A Word About Body Fat

Body fat has dangerous consequences when it comes to cancer. Body fat triggers insulin surges, and insulin stimulates cancer growth. Unfortunately, insulin also promotes the storage of more body fat and encourages your fat cells to grow. As more fat is packed away on the body, it interferes with insulin uptake into your muscle tissues, leaving more glucose available for your sugar-hungry cancer cells. The pancreas senses that the glucose levels in the bloodstream are high and pumps out even more insulin, promoting more cancerous growth and fat storage, perpetuating a diabolical dangerous cycle. A little extra fat stored in your body results in interference with insulin effectiveness, something you can’t afford when you are trying to starve cancer cells from getting glucose. Two to five times as much insulin may be secreted in an overweight person and in a thin person.

The best advice for cancer prevention and cancer treatment is to lose body fat. It’s an advice you might never hear from conventional oncologist, despite the fact that the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research recommend people to be as lean as possible within the healthy range, and avoid body fat gain throughout adulthood in order to prevent cancer. Even if you are still within the healthy range, putting on body fat increases your cancer risk.

Conclusions

• Avoid any kind of oil in your diet (Unless you follow the Budwig Protocol)
• Avoid fat intake as much as possible.
• Rely exclusively on EFA-rich, organic, raw, and unprocessed sources of fat (seeds, nuts, and vegetables) to cover your daily energy needs.
• Avocados, almonds, and flax seeds are a great source of rich Omega-3 EFAs.
• The less activity, the less dietary fat.
• Chia seeds have the highest percentage of Omega-3 of any commercially available source. Eat at least 2 tablespoons a day, particularly whenever you eat something that might raise your blood glucose levels (like fruit).
• Avoid body fat and increase muscle tissue. Your goal should not be to loose weight per se, but to loose body fat and gain muscle. Loosing too much muscle will make you less insulin effective.

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Recommended Reading:

• How to Manage Carbohydrates to Defeat Cancer
• How to Manage Proteins to Defeat Cancer
• Excess Body Fat Causes Cancer
• Eat to Live
• What to Eat if You Have Cancer
• Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods