Examine Yourself: Why superfoods do not prevent or cure cancer

When Dr Aoife Ryan, senior lecturer in Nutritional Sciences at UCC, speaks on the topic of nutrition for cancer patients, she finds that her presentation often has as many slides on myths as it has on facts.

There is just so much information online — much of it false — that cancer patients are very confused about what they should and should not be eating, she tells Feelgood.

The first rule, she says, is not to trust what you read on the internet and to avoid all faddy diets that advise cutting out certain food groups; or worse, claim that you can cure your cancer by fasting, eating a raw-food diet, or drinking large amounts of green juices.

“Unfortunately,” she tells Feelgood, “people are buying products they see advertised and they are interfering with their treatment.”

And, even though it is regularly claimed, there is no such thing as a superfood, she says. Yes, certain foods are rich in nutrients and bring a range of benefits, but no single food will cure cancer.

Having said that, nutrition has a significant role to play in the treatment of cancer, even though it is often overlooked in treatment programmes. There is just one dedicated oncology dietician to every 4,500patients.

The nutrition information gap was something highlighted again and again by the 1,000 cancer patients who took part in a study conducted by the Irish Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (IrSPEN) and University College Cork.

The study found a major gap in nutritional support for cancer patients who, very often, have to deal with unintentional weight loss, Niamh Rice, IrSPEN director and nutritionist, tells Feelgood.

One of the confusing issues is that we are told that being overweight puts you at risk of getting cancer, but if you are diagnosed with the disease, it is very important to try not to lose weight, even if you are overweight.

Yet despite the importance of adopting strategies to maintain weight, only three in five cancer patients were asked about diet by their medical team, while just two in five saw a dietician.

“The issue,” explains Niamh Rice, “is that nutrition is just not really taken seriously in cancer.”

While weight loss — and more importantly muscle loss — is often a feature of cancer, it is not inevitable, and there are many nutritional steps that can be taken to, if not correct, minimise or offset it and help the patient to tolerate treatment.

Cancer patients themselves are sold on the importance of nutritional support — an overwhelming nine in 10 of those surveyed said they found it “extremely important” or “very important”, yet they found it difficult to find that support.

Niamh Rice was struck by how many of them took the time to fill in a 25-question survey and describe in detail how their nutritional needs were not being addressed. The answers just highlight the gaps in the system, she says.

One in two cancer patients had nutritional issues and 44% had lost weight. As one patient, Paul, described it:

I would look forward to a meal but… the minute it was sitting there ready for me — I just couldn’t eat it, I couldn’t even face it

The upside, though, was that he began to regain weight with nutrition support from an oncology dietician.

Often, however, patients feel they can’t ask for advice on diet. As one lung cancer patient told the IrSPEN study:

I got the impression that healthcare professionals think patients are gullible and naive and wasting their time and probably money if they display any level of curiosity in the role of nutrition in cancer

Yet, studies have shown that between 10% and 30% of cancer patients can suffer poorer outcomes because of inadequate, delayed, or no nutritional care.

The Irish Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism has already called for the immediate appointment of 10 specialist dieticians and said it is important to make nutrition a part of cancer care.

Niamh Rice believes the introduction of a cancer patient’s charter outlining the right to prompt nutritional support and information would also be a step in the right direction, and might help to put the issue on the agenda.

While it is no substitute for dietary support, for science-backed advice on recovery nutrition, see www.breakthroughcancerresearch.ie