The incidence of cancer shoots up after the World War II. There are many theories trying to explain this but most scientists agree that this is probably because the change in our lifestyle (become more sedentary), our eating habits (consume more processed food) and also the ridiculous amount of pollutants on our sick earth.
No, it is not because of more screening programs or greater awareness (like many doctors will argue)--this only contributes to earlier detection hence better survival.
The cancers that have no screening programs/ not routinely screened are also on the rise eg pancreas, brain, lymphoma.
No, the rise in cancers cannot be explained by the population ageing alone (we now live longer therefore we get more cancer cases).
The cancers of childhood and adolescent are among the most that have risen.
For my friends you can check yourself at the website of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
See this fantastic cancer distribution map (it even gives you the percentage of the specific type of cancers involved) and you will see that per 100 thousands individuals in North America, 330 people will be affected by cancer as opposed to South East Asia, only 119 affected. In simpler terms if you are living in North America you have more than double the risk of getting cancer than if you live in South East Asia.
(eh macammana nak copy map ni masuk blog? hehe tak reti, sila klik sendiri ok)
Especially for breast, prostate and colon cancers, they are 9 times more prevalent in North America and Northern Europe than in Asia or Africa.
This leads to the thinking that the lifestyle of the people in Asia (and Africa) are protective against cancers.
Is it the Asian genes? No.
Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco have almost triple rate of having breast cancer as compared to Chinese women in Shanghai.(ni among other evidence la, malas nak tulis lebih2).
The truth is, cancer is a disease of Western lifestyle.
Our Genius Ancestors
Thanks to our genius ancestors (Malay, Chinese, Indians), our local cuisine is full of anticancer properties!
Who would have thought what we eat everyday are actually medicines for our bodies? They have created our cuisine as such that whatever we eat will help us to fight diseases. Because we eat it everyday, we take it for granted, but for Westerners who just learned that turmeric, garlic, onions and many more Asian spices can kill cancer cells, it sure is a big step for them to incorporate those spices in their dishes. In the Anticancer facebook page somebody asked for tips to use turmeric (kunyit) in cooking other than curry. I laughed at first, until few others replied giving funny suggestions eg sprinkle in your salad dressing(!!). I did not reply to that question. They would have to taste our ayam goreng first hehehe (and other long list of recipes using ayam goreng as the base). Not to forget rendang, pulut kuning, gulai this and gulai that.
Turmeric (photofrom Wikipedia)
I think I have written before that I was forced to drink turmeric, tamarind and honey juice after Abid's birth. I'm sure it must be one hell of a medicine.
Of course, there are many other confounding factors that protect us- our strong spiritual wellbeing, enough sun (vit D deficiency is now linked to cancer development-many Westerners now get supplements esp during winter) and the fact that we eat freshly prepared food.
For now, be grateful that we are Asian. Our everyday meals are meant to fight diseases, our cheap warungs or cafes cook freshly prepared food (unlike here, cheap foodstalls or take-aways all cook fastfoods ie fries, sausages, burgers) and we get the precious sun rays everyday.
To begin an anticancer lifestyle, reduce your consumption of processed foods eg biscuits, cakes, canned food, sodas, cordials, processed meats (burgers, sausages). They contain high levels of hydrogenated fats (cheap fat), high-fructose corn syrup (cheap sweetener) and chemical preservatives. Will explain more later.
Bake your own cakes and biscuits. Eat fresh. Eat Asian.
No, it is not because of more screening programs or greater awareness (like many doctors will argue)--this only contributes to earlier detection hence better survival.
The cancers that have no screening programs/ not routinely screened are also on the rise eg pancreas, brain, lymphoma.
No, the rise in cancers cannot be explained by the population ageing alone (we now live longer therefore we get more cancer cases).
The cancers of childhood and adolescent are among the most that have risen.
For my friends you can check yourself at the website of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
See this fantastic cancer distribution map (it even gives you the percentage of the specific type of cancers involved) and you will see that per 100 thousands individuals in North America, 330 people will be affected by cancer as opposed to South East Asia, only 119 affected. In simpler terms if you are living in North America you have more than double the risk of getting cancer than if you live in South East Asia.
(eh macammana nak copy map ni masuk blog? hehe tak reti, sila klik sendiri ok)
Especially for breast, prostate and colon cancers, they are 9 times more prevalent in North America and Northern Europe than in Asia or Africa.
This leads to the thinking that the lifestyle of the people in Asia (and Africa) are protective against cancers.
Is it the Asian genes? No.
Chinese immigrants living in San Francisco have almost triple rate of having breast cancer as compared to Chinese women in Shanghai.(ni among other evidence la, malas nak tulis lebih2).
The truth is, cancer is a disease of Western lifestyle.
Our Genius Ancestors
Thanks to our genius ancestors (Malay, Chinese, Indians), our local cuisine is full of anticancer properties!
Who would have thought what we eat everyday are actually medicines for our bodies? They have created our cuisine as such that whatever we eat will help us to fight diseases. Because we eat it everyday, we take it for granted, but for Westerners who just learned that turmeric, garlic, onions and many more Asian spices can kill cancer cells, it sure is a big step for them to incorporate those spices in their dishes. In the Anticancer facebook page somebody asked for tips to use turmeric (kunyit) in cooking other than curry. I laughed at first, until few others replied giving funny suggestions eg sprinkle in your salad dressing(!!). I did not reply to that question. They would have to taste our ayam goreng first hehehe (and other long list of recipes using ayam goreng as the base). Not to forget rendang, pulut kuning, gulai this and gulai that.
Turmeric (photofrom Wikipedia)
I think I have written before that I was forced to drink turmeric, tamarind and honey juice after Abid's birth. I'm sure it must be one hell of a medicine.
Of course, there are many other confounding factors that protect us- our strong spiritual wellbeing, enough sun (vit D deficiency is now linked to cancer development-many Westerners now get supplements esp during winter) and the fact that we eat freshly prepared food.
For now, be grateful that we are Asian. Our everyday meals are meant to fight diseases, our cheap warungs or cafes cook freshly prepared food (unlike here, cheap foodstalls or take-aways all cook fastfoods ie fries, sausages, burgers) and we get the precious sun rays everyday.
To begin an anticancer lifestyle, reduce your consumption of processed foods eg biscuits, cakes, canned food, sodas, cordials, processed meats (burgers, sausages). They contain high levels of hydrogenated fats (cheap fat), high-fructose corn syrup (cheap sweetener) and chemical preservatives. Will explain more later.
Bake your own cakes and biscuits. Eat fresh. Eat Asian.
7 comments:
hmmm. western lifestyle?
i thought nenek and paklong are the most typical malay in the family – benda yg pelik2 dlm tin/botol termasuklah ajinomoto pun tak pernah pakai/makan – siap bleh detect ada ajinomoto ke tidak dalam masakan – and yet, kena jugak kanser.
agak2 ada tak perkara lain yg myebabkan kanser, selain pemakanan?
errr. rasanya pernah terbaca, klo kita makan nasi/lauk yg dipanaskan berulangkali pun boleh myebabkan kanser. klo betul, haaa – mungkin itulah penyebabnya. nenek dn paklong memang tak pernah buang makanan, kecuali kasi kat itik/ayam aje. selagi tak basi, selagi itulah panas-sejuk-panas-sejuk tetap dimakan sampai habis.
doc, frozen food macam karipap/pau/samosa tu pun kira processed food la kan? what about freshmilk dalam kotak? haihhh. all my favourites tu!
mintak maaf ya. byk soal pulak. hehehe. malas nk baca buku kesihatan ni, klo ada org tolong ringkaskan, lagi bagus :P
mio
ni baru intro, ada byk lagi tak tulis,harap bersabar hehehe (saya bukan tulis buku lah)
penyebab lain kanser ialah merokok (aktif/pasif) dan asbestos, pollutant lain, beberapa virus, hereditary factors about 15%
pada orang yg ada hereditary factor ni, dia masih boleh 'perapkan' kanser dia tu diam2 tak jadi penyakit, pada satu ketika bila sistem imun dia lemah cthnya dia diserang infection atau dapat penyakit kencing manis, masa tu kanser dia akan ambil peluang utk grow, terlampau stress pun sistem imun boleh lemah eg pasangan meninggal atau penceraian (dulu kalu nak exam mesti selsema batuk kan?-stress tu lemahkan sistem imun)
mungkin keluarga awak kalau ikut pemakanan western dia akan dapat kanser tu 15 tahun lebih awal
lagi satu orang melayu ni kuat belacan dgn ikan kering-- ni tak pasti contributary factor ke tak
pasal nasi tu tak tau lah, mana awak baca? minyak recycle guna banyak kali pun tak elok kot
karipap frozen macam ok je sebab dia dah buat karipap tu pastu beku utk preserve- itu tak pakai chemical, itu mechanical preservation, tapi kena tengok ingredient dia ada tak benda2 macam hydrogenated fat or partially hydrogenated fat--biasa dlm biskut or kek yg buat kat kilang (hopefully Secret Recipe takde), high fructose corn syrup (dalam cordial, biskut etc)--ni semua pengilang guna utk reduce cost
fresh milk tak sure, dia pasteurize je kan, kalau tak pasteurize nanti banyak pulak bakteria lain
kalau nak banding kita dgn westerners, kita still consume majority fresh food, diorang kat sini, ramai yg beli ready meals kat supermarket (cth spaghetti bolognaise yang dikeringkan tinggal tambah air dan masuk microwave je) atau sandwich,roti tu kepil dgn salami or chicken slice (yg ready made from supermarket)---diorang tak sebok2 balik kerja masak lauk kat dapur macam kita
teringat pasal susu, ingat tak dulu i wrote about pasal possibility of link between consuming too much dairy products dgn breast and prostate cancer?
right, about that, lembu sekarang dah tak mkn rumput, diorang makan grains like corn, soy, wheat (also to reduce the cost of farming) so milk, meats are not as healthy as 50 years ago
aku tanya zack kat mardi, dia kata menurut kawan dia yg incharge livestock, lembu malaysia makan rumput setengah, makan grain setengah (sebab rumput tak cukup)
plus lembu diberi hormone to produce more milk-rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Factor), effects to human still unknown but since it stimulate milk production, it might stimulate other cells growth--ie cancer cells
apa2 pun makan ala kadar je, jgn over2
aiseh. byknya benda yg nk kena selidik kat label makanan. selama ni, check logo halal dgn expired date aje dah berjam2, belum lagi tengok tin/kotak kemek ke tak. hohoho!
pasni lebih baik tanam sayur sendiri pakai hidroponik. atau mgkin patut jadi pembekal rumput supaya bleh dapatkan lembu organik. kahkahkah!
pasal nasi - dah lama dah, masa zaman sekolah. seingat sy, artikel tu kata bila kita panaskan nasi akan myebabkan karbon terbentuk? sama juga dengan sate - yg hangus2 tu takleh makan. diorang kata, sebab tu kita kena makan bawang mentah dan timun utk buang effect karbon kat sate tu. yea ke?
minyak maksimum pakai 2 kali shj utk mgelakkan gemuk. kahkahkah! tp utk elak kanser tak pernah dengar.
teruskan menulis. tp yg pening2 jgn taruk la. mungkin patut letak tajuk "anti-cancer for dummies". ekekeke :P
fuh... nasib baik aku suka guna kunyit dalam masakan
pasal minyak kena 1 full entry lain :) harap bersabar, belum jumpa link sesuai
pasal mkn timun dgn bawang tu tak sure lah, tapi apa2 yg di-bbq yg part hitam terbakar tu memang carcinogen (part yg sedap pulak tu)
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