The link between diet and cancer is not new! Much of our risk for cancer is due to dietary factors, and the link between diet and cancer is not new.
In January of 1892, Scientific American printed the observation that 'cancer is most frequent among those branches of the human race where carnivorous habits prevail.
' Numerous research studies have since shown that cancer is much more common in populations consuming diets rich in fatty foods, particularly meat, and much less common in countries with diets rich in grains, vegetables and fruits.
One reason is that foods affect the action of hormones in the body.
They also affect the strength of the immune system.
While fruits and vegetables contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals that protect the body, research shows that, by contrast, animal products contain potentially carcinogenic compounds that may contribute to increased cancer risk.
Low-protein diets inhibit the initiation of cancer and dramatically block cancer growth.
According to research cited in The China Study, the largest exploration ever done on diet and lifestyle, low-protein diets inhibited the initiation of cancer and dramatically blocked cancer growth.
The cancer-producing effects of a highly carcinogenic chemical were rendered insignificant by a low-protein diet.
In fact, dietary protein proved to be so powerful in its effect that "we could turn on and turn off cancer growth simply by changing the level consumed.
" But not all proteins had this effect.
Casein, which makes up 87% of cow's milk protein, promoted all stages of the cancer process.
Plant proteins did not promote cancer, even at high levels of intake.
Sources: Healthy Eating for Life, Food Choices for Cancer Prevention and Survival, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 2004; and The China Study by T.
Colin Campbell, PhD, 2005