Mesothelioma Treatment: Exploring Diet Therapies

We do not endorse any of these therapies described here. They are included here for informational purposes only.

Practitioners of alternative diet therapies say that much of Western food produces toxins in our bodies. Some of these mesothelioma diet therapies are strictly vegan or vegetarian, which means they suggest eating food that is raw, sugar-free and low in salt, and drinking vegetable/fruit/liver juices and taking high doses of vitamins/ minerals/enzymes. These diets make some people feel better, but there is no evidence they can improve cancer.

While doctors are becoming more convinced that the right diet can help reduce your risk of cancer, no scientific evidence exists that leaving out certain foods will improve the outcome for you once you have cancer. Many complementary therapists believe a good diet can be very helpful to your well-being and will gladly help you construct a special diet that is nutritious and as enjoyable as possible.

Cancer doctors are concerned that many diet therapies are completely inappropriate for most cancer patients. The high bulk, low calories and protein, and the unappealing, difficult to make, or expensive options can discourage patients. The result can often be weight loss, weakness, depression (from not enjoying your food), guilt (if you should have to stop the diet), and anger (if you see no results from the diet). If you've already lost weight from the cancer itself or its treatment, you need all the protein and calories you can get.

More details are provided for the following approaches:

The Bristol diet

The Bristol diet, developed at the Cancer Help Centre in Bristol, England, is a well known alternative diet that emphasizes whole foods, fresh fruit and vegetables, raw cereals and organic fish, poultry and eggs. Emphasis is on avoiding dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt, red meat, salt, sugar and caffeine (e.g. tea, coffee, colas) and using organically grown produce.

Naturally, you may want to make adjustments in any diet to suit your own tastes. The important thing is to relax and enjoy your food.

Caution: Some doctors feel that excluding important sources of calories and protein such as dairy and red meat aren't good for cancer patients, and that cutting out salt and sugar will not help people enjoy their food-an important consideration when fighting cancer. Also organic foods tend to be more expensive and can be hard to find (though that is now changing).

Vitamins, megavitamin therapy and cancer

Vitamins were discovered in the early twentieth century and understanding their power helped advance medicine dramatically. Tiny amounts of these compounds could cure scurvy, rickets and many other potentially fatal conditions. Your body cannot make enough vitamins, so they are an essential part of a healthy diet. Certain vitamins in very small amounts can help protect you from cancer. The assumption by therapists who recommend very large doses of vitamins (megavitamin therapy) for preventing and treating cancer is that if a little is good, a lot of a vitamin is even better. But there is no evidence that taking large doses of vitamins really helps.

Common vitamins used in this form of treatment are vitamins A, C and E.

Vitamin A There is some evidence to suggest that vitamin A may have a protective action in some forms of cancer. However, very high doses can be harmful.

Vitamin C Vitamin C is the most popular of the vitamin supplements used for cancer. It is said to reduce the spread of cancer cells and boost the immune system, but this has never been proven.

Vitamin E This is also thought possibly to help prevent cancer. But as yet there is no reliable evidence to suggest it can help treat cancer.

Vitamin Q10 is another vitamin that's sometimes suggested to rid the body of molecules called free radicals, a material suspected of damaging cell membranes and contributing to the development of cancer. No evidence exists to support a claim that vitamin Q10 prevents this damage.

Selenium is a mineral trace element found in brazil nuts, grain, fish and meat. Researchers are testing the idea that selenium may offer protection against cancer.

Some vitamins and minerals may indeed help to prevent cancer. But there is no evidence that taking extra vitamins and minerals makes any difference when you have cancer, unless you are eating less and your diet is lacking in these. A healthy diet is still the best way to get the vitamins and minerals you need.

Metabolic therapy

Laetrile (amygdalin or vitamin B17), a derivative of bitter almonds, is one of the metabolic therapies that claims to boost the immune system. But a scientific study failed to show any benefit from this treatment. In fact, laetrile releases cyanide into the blood, and the amount reached dangerously high levels during the test.

Other types of metabolic therapy advocate using coffee enemas and liver herb tonics, supposedly to flush toxins out of the body, after which you receive large doses of vitamins and minerals. No evidence suggests these are effective in treating cancer.

 

  
 

Back to Top