Health News: The Diabetes-Cancer Connection

The relationship between two of today’s most destructive diseases may now be a little clearer. This month, The New York Times reported on the detection of an important link between cancer and diabetes, a correlation so strong it is being compared to the link between smoking and cancer.

The news that Type 2 diabetes patients have an increased risk of developing certain cancers comes from the American Cancer Society and American Diabetes Association and researchers and the National Cancer Institute. One in five cancer patients has diabetes, according to the Times report.

The implication that lowering cancer statistics may hinge on lowering the number of people with diabetes is revealing, but it’s also difficult to hear. That’s because the number of Type 2 diabetes diagnoses today is staggering, and many more cases go undiagnosed. If current trends continue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by 2050, 1 in 3 people in the U.S. will have Type 2 diabetes – a diagnosis that is already linked with a long list of health complications, companion diseases, and death.

A Diet for Prevention

While the Times report reveals an intriguing link between these two devastating diseases, in fact, we have already observed a connection between cancer and diabetes from a nutrition perspective. In an interview with Wild About Health this past summer, Dan Nadeau, Medical Director of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Associates of Maine’s York Hospital, explained that diabetes is not a disease that exists in a vacuum. Having diabetes means you are at increased risk of Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart and vascular disease, inflammation, accelerated aging, and many other complications, he said.

Potent, antioxidant-rich, inflammation-fighting foods that provide protective effects to the body are central to the discussion of prevention, according to experts like Nadeau. Because much of one’s risk of Type 2 diabetes depends on being overweight, he advocates for a change in diet built on daily, ongoing healthy choices in an effort to “quiet the storm” of rampant inflammation inside the bodies of those diagnosed with diabetes and the many at risk.

According to Nutrition Advisor to the Wild Blueberry Association Susan Davis, MS, RD, “The typical western diet, high in refined carbohydrates, fats, sugars and calories actually contributes to inflammation while a diet higher in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and omega 3 fatty acids is anti-inflammatory. Vitamins, minerals, as well as plant compounds have both antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties.” For example, wild blueberries, most known for their high antioxidant capacity, contain flavonoids such as anthocyanins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins that have been shown to protect us from disease caused by low-grade, chronic inflammation such as cancer and diabetes (not to mention heart disease and arthritis). And when the inflammatory storm is quieted, our risk for disease subsides as well.

Protection on Our Plate

Coincidentally or not, a large portion of today’s research into berries and wild blueberries focuses on both cancer and diabetes prevention potential. We know, for example, that daily consumption of whole blueberries have helped people with a high risk for Type 2 diabetes reduce that risk by increasing the participants’ insulin sensitivity. And, a recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health showed that consumption of anthocyanin-rich fruits can reduce diabetes risk. We’ve also reported on the remarkable study conducted by Lynn Adams, Ph.D. and her team at Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope: they demonstrated the potential of blueberries to inhibit the growth of Triple Negative Breast Center (TNBC), a particularly aggressive and hard to treat form of breast cancer.  We have even covered research that supports that wild plants provide protection from cancer.

Davis has frequently shared with Wild About Health readers her view that we should view food as “treatment” for disease. Just as food can be used defensively as a preventative for disease and the effects of aging, it can be used as medicine to fight disease and counteract the damage done by free radicals that cause inflammation. Such advice is as timely as ever with Type 2 diabetes on the rise and its connection to certain cancers beginning to be established.

Making smart choices in the supermarket and at the breakfast, lunch, and dinner table means better health and lowered risk of challenging diseases like Type 2 diabetes. And when we make efforts toward prevention in important areas like diabetes, we are making efforts toward prevention in others as well.

You can find information about diabetes and diabetes prevention at Center for Disease Control & Prevention, the American Diabetes Association, and at the Mayo Clinic.

Read More About Nutrition, Diabetes & Cancer

Diabetes, Wild & “The Newsroom”

Pterostilbene: Big Promise for an Amazing Antioxidant

Dr. Oz’s “Cancer Detective” Makes a Case for Wild

Berry Good News: Blueberries May Cut Diabetes Risk

Anthocyanin Intake Decreases Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Will Inflammation Testing Save Lives?

This Year’s TEDMED Takes On Important Health Questions

This month in Washington D.C., the greatest minds in health and medicine came together to address some of the biggest challenges facing our world. It was none other than the annual TEDMED conference that brought them to the Kennedy Center on April 10-13. If this gathering of visionaries sounds familiar, it’s because it was inspired by the original TED, the popular gathering of forward-thinkers in the world of technology, entertainment, and design. True to its legacy, this med-leaning evolution of TED broke new ground in the field of medical research and innovation.

At this year’s event, the world’s big thinkers shared cutting edge ideas that may affect all of us in the coming years. For three absorbing days, attendees tried on aging suits, saw artificial hearts, had discussions about the role of nutrition in cancer treatment, and saw presentations about everything from stress to sleep. But what’s most exciting about this gathering of minds is that some of the information presented at TEDMED may some day solve problems for the average person, and in many cases, save lives. One such idea is helping to identify the risk of heart disease, the leading killer in the U.S., by looking closely at inflammation.

Testing the Risk for Heart Disease

One unavoidable takeaway at TEDMED, according to some attendees, was the difficulties faced by the American medical system. But at the same time, innovations that can have a positive impact on the future of medicine were present in abundance. One example was the presentation by the Cleveland HeartLab (CHL) which addressed a major health challenge head-on by showing how they could track the risk of heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease continues to confound our population – often, those who are at risk know only when a major heart event takes them by surprise. In fact, approximately 50% of patients who have a heart attack or stroke have normal levels of cholesterol, according to CHL, and cholesterol levels have been one of the most reliable indicators for such events. However, CHL maintains that it is the degree of inflammation in one’s arteries that is the better predictor, which is why they took their inflammation testing, or “it” on the road at TEDMED. They offered inflammatory testing to any TEDMED delegate who wanted it, and many took advantage of the screening.

The participants who took part in this voluntary inflammation testing were educated about how  “it” can improve assessment of their cardiovascular health. “It” goes beyond traditional blood tests and provides an inflammation panel (the “it” test screened not only for C-reactive protein but for myeloperoxidase and lipid levels) that determines the degree that someone is at risk of a cardiovascular event, according to CHL. The results? Approximately 40% of the 335 TEDMED delegates had elevated cardiovascular disease risk with 10% having a risk for vascular thrombosis.

The Inflammation Problem 

Inflammation has repercussions that extend to many diseases, and heart disease is one. For many of us, the idea of inflammation brings to mind redness, swelling or infection as a result of injury to the skin or the surface of the body. But the lower grade, chronic inflammation that occurs inside the body is both dangerous and silent, and is linked to diseases of aging like cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and arthritis.

According to WBA Nutrition Advisor and Spokesperson, Susan Davis, MS, RD, inflammation damages nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims and contributes to the proliferation of abnormal cells and facilitates their transformation into cancer without showing any symptoms at all. “Protection from inflammation by compounds in the diet is very complex and not well understood,” said Davis. “Some of the mechanisms that have been identified include interfering with the development of inflammatory compounds at the genetic level.” Diet has shown exciting potential as well. Studies into blueberries for example, have shown that the compounds may have an effect on deterring inflammation in the body. They contain flavonoids such as anthocyanins, flavonols, and proanthocyanidins that have been shown to contribute to protective, anti-inflammatory effects.

Dietary Keys to Anti-Inflammation

Today, we know that the typical western diet, high in refined carbohydrates, fats, sugars and calories contributes to inflammation. But a diet higher in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and omega 3 fatty acids is anti-inflammatory, and vitamins, minerals, as well as plant compounds have both antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Simple steps to create an “anti-inflammatory” diet can help make major gains in health and longevity. Here’s how:

Through Variety. Eat a wide variety of foods, and eat across the color spectrum. When you include deeply colored fruits and vegetables, you are getting the benefits of antioxidants that combat inflammation – they are present in the skins of blueberries, leafy greens, and other colorful foods.

By Eating Fresh and Fresh-Frozen. Eat plenty of real, fresh food or foods frozen at their peak. The key to avoiding processed foods is to turn to the produce aisle, or equally as nutritious, the freezer section of the grocery store where fruits and vegetables have all the advantages of those at the farmer’s market.

By Filling Your Plate with Fruits and Vegetables. Eat them with every meal, and get the recommended servings. They are your best defense against disease and the effects of aging.

Learn more by watching the video from Susan Davis about the Anti-Inflammation Diet.

What are the 20 Greatest Challenges Facing Health and Medicine Today? 

According to TEDMED, the mission of the Great Challenges Program is not to “solve” America’s most confounding health and wellness problems but to provide “a comprehensive view, incorporating thoughtful perspectives from every discipline and from all sectors of society.” They have identified the most pressing issues facing today’s medical community, and they include Causes of Sleep Deprivation, Preparing for Dementia, and Eliminating Medical Errors, just to name a few. Want to know what the others are? Find out at TEDMED Challenges.

Interested in testing for inflammation? Learn more about “it”.