Gezonde voeding en gewicht tegen kanker.*

Uit een studie uitgevoerd onder ruim 200 vrouwen die behandeld waren tegen borstkanker blijkt dat gezonde voeding belangrijk is om oxidatieschade in het lichaam te verminderen. Van oxidatieschade wordt aangenomen dat deze een van de belangrijkste oorzaken voor het ontstaan van kanker is. Gezonde voeding is een dieet met veel vezels, weinig vet en veel plantaardige producten. Vooral vetten uit vlees doen de oxidatieschade verhogen. Bij overgewicht blijkt ook meer oxidatieschade te ontstaan.

A study published in the medical journal Nutrition and Cancer looked at the effects of a healthy diet for women with a history of breast cancer. For this study, the researchers measured levels of certain chemical compounds that are naturally found in urine. Researchers look at levels of these compounds as a way to determine how much oxidative damage (oxidation) is occurring in a person's body. This is important because oxidative damage is believed to be one of the major causes of cancer. This study found that following a healthy high-fiber, low-fat, plant-based diet that results in higher intakes of vitamin E can decrease the amount of oxidative damage occurring in the body. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that eating more of a type of fat that is found mostly in meat is associated with higher levels of oxidative damage in the body. Finally, the researchers found that having a higher body mass index, which is a measure of body weight adjusted for height, is linked with higher levels of oxidative damage. In other words, being more overweight appeared to increase oxidative damage occurring in the body.

Diet and biomarkers of oxidative damage in women previously treated for breast cancer.

Authors: Thomson CA, Giuliano AR, Shaw JW, Rock CL, Ritenbaugh CK, Hakim IA, Hollenbach KA, Alberts DS, Pierce JP

Abstract: This study sought to evaluate the relationship between dietary intake of fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, arachidonic acid, and selected dietary antioxidants and levels of oxidative damage as measured by urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-epi-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-iso-PGF2alpha) in women previously treated for breast cancer. Two hundred two study subjects participating in the Women's Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) study were included in this ancillary study. Dietary intakes and concentrations of urinary 8-OHdG and 8-iso-PGF2alpha were measured at baseline and 12 mo in the 179 women included in the analytical cohort. Study subjects demonstrated a significant reduction in dietary total, polyunsaturated, and saturated fat intake and a significant increase in vitamins E and C and beta-carotene intake from baseline to 12 mo. Linear mixed-models analysis using baseline and Year 1 data indicated that vitamin E intake was inversely associated with both 8-OHdG and 8-iso-PGF2alpha. 8-Iso-PGF2alpha is increased with increased body mass index (BMI) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake, indicating an increase in lipid peroxidation with greater BMI and higher PUFA intake. 8-OHdG was inversely related to age but positively related to arachidonic acid, indicating an increase in DNA damage with higher intake of arachidonic acid (meat). The results of this nested case-controlled study provide potential mechanisms by which a high fruit and vegetable, low-fat diet might reduce the recurrence rate of or early-stage breast cancer. Nutr Cancer. 2005;51(2):146-54. (Okt. 2005)