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A Vaccine for Breast Cancer?

What a way to celebrate October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month…if only it were true. O magazine recently featured a report that researchers at Brooke Army Medical Center, in San Antonio Texas, were having some success in using a breast cancer vaccine to prevent breast cancer recurrence. Before we break open the champagne bottles though, we should note that the study was deemed too small to make any significant conclusions and a larger study is planned for the future. We at Exsalus Health & Wellness Center wish them luck in their endeavors as a vaccine that truly worked not only to avert recurrence but to prevent primary breast cancer, and do so without side effects and toxicity, would be an answered prayer for so many of us.

But what if you didn’t need a vaccine…what if you could prevent breast cancer from occurring simply by changing your diet? Well folks, we are here to tell you that your prayers have been answered because you CAN indeed! And, we are not the only ones sharing this message. Many scientists and doctors agree that the Western Diet is a contributor to promoting cancer, including breast cancer. Some of the known cancer promoting qualities of the Western Diet include:

1) It is high in calories – Eating excess calories promotes the growth of cancer. (1)

2) It is high in fat – Fatty foods are easily over-consumed leading to excess calorie

consumption (see 1 above). In addition, fat in our bodies makes estrogen which

stimulates cancer growth – especially breast and uterine cancer.(2)

3) It is high in animal protein and fat which suppress our immune system (crippling our

protective mechanism and preventing us from fighting infections as well as cancer).

4) It is high in animal proteins which increase the growth hormone IGF-1 (insulin like

growth factor), a powerful cancer promoter. (3)

5) It is high in cancer promoting environmental toxins like DDT and Bovine leukemia virus.(4)

In contrast, numerous studies have shown that a low-fat plant based diet improves survival rate in breast cancer patients. A study in Nutrition and Cancer reported that “…results suggest that in postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer, reduced dietary fat and increased fiber, vegetable, fruit, and other nutrient intakes associated with a plant-based, high-fiber diet improves overall survival after breast cancer diagnosis.” (5) Women in this study with the highest fat diets had three times the risk of dying compared to those women with the lowest fat diets. Furthermore, markers of high vegetable and fruit intake such as Vitamin C, folate, and carotenoids were measured and directly correlated to survival (meaning higher fruit and vegetable intake was associated with increased survival). Another study, in Breast (The official journal of The American Society of Breast Disease, The Senologic International Society, and The International Society of Breast Pathology) demonstrated the benefits of a low-fat plant based diet for women with breast cancer. (6) This study demonstrated that by merely decreasing fat from 29% to 20% of calories, a woman could decrease recurrence over 5 years from 12.4% to 9.8% (6) It should be noted that the limited changes occurred because women in this study were maintained on a Western Diet secondary to researchers fearing that they would be unable to make the drastic changes to a low-fat (about 7-10%) plant based diet. The list of studies continues, with at least fourteen of seventeen showing a positive correlation between a low-fat plant based diet and improved survival rates. (5,7)

If this news wasn’t enough to make you jump in, keep in mind that making these dietary changes is SAFE and WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS. That means NO debilitating fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and hair loss that result from chemotherapy, radiation, and even some vaccinations. On the contrary, adopting a low-fat plant based diet only comes with benefits – including but not limited to prevention of primary and secondary cancer; lowering of cholesterol; weight loss; and the prevention and reversal of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Still not convinced, read on…here are a few more ways a low-fat plant based diet protects you from cancer (8):

1) It is high in dietary fiber that binds to and deactivates cancer causing chemicals.

2) It is high in phytates and other anticancer chemicals.

3) It is high in Vitamins such as Vitamin C and E and beta-carotene – anti-oxidants that help

in the prevention of cancer.

4) It is low in calories and fat and contains no animal proteins– all powerful promoters of

cancer. (see cancer promoting qualities of the Western Diet above)

As we stand together in support of the many women courageously fighting breast cancer, let us do our share for them, for ourselves, and for all of our loved ones. It is our responsibility to spread the news… so, let it ring from the rooftops that NOW is the time to stop feeding our bodies the poisons that fuel cancer growth and NOW is the time to start nourishing and protecting ourselves with a low-fat plant based diet. Don’t wait for a diagnosis to transform your life…make your transition to health with Exsalus today!

A special thank you to Dr. John McDougall for sharing his plethora of research and knowledge.

1) Kritchevsky D. The effect of over- and undernutrition on cancer. Eur J Cancer Prev.1995 Dec;4(6):445-51.

2) Key TJ. Body mass index, serum sex hormones, and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Aug 20;95(16):1218-26.

3) Roughead ZK, Hunt JR, Johnson LK, Badger TM, Lykken GI. Controlled substitution of soy protein for meat protein: effects on calcium retention, bone, and cardiovascular health indices in postmenopausal women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Jan;90(1):181-9. Epub 2004 Oct 13.

4) Buehring GC, Philpott SM, Choi KY. Humans have antibodies reactive with Bovine leukemia virus. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2003 Dec;19(12):1105-13.

5) Jaiswal McEligot A, Largent J, Ziogas A, Peel D, Anton-Culver H. Dietary fat, fiber, vegetable, and micronutrients are associated with overall survival in postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer. Nutr Cancer. 2006;55(2):132-40.

6) McDougall J. Preliminary study of diet as an adjunct therapy for breast cancer. Breast 10:18, 1984.

7) Rock CL. Diet and breast cancer: can dietary factors influence survival?

J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia. 2003 Jan;8(1):119-32.

8) McDougall J, M.D. Fat and Cancer, featured in drmcdougall.com.

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