34 Methionine Restriction.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix
34 Methionine Restriction.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
Speaker1:
Hi and welcome to the Cancer Secrets podcast. I am your host and guide, Dr. Jonathan Stegall. Cancer is like a thief who has come to steal, kill and destroy. I have personally seen it wreak havoc on patients, friends and even my own family. But I am on a mission to change the cancer paradigm. Who? The practice of integrative oncology cancer treatment that integrates the best of conventional medicine with the best of alternative therapies backed by science and personalized to each patient. You need a positive voice you can trust. This podcast will share valuable information to give you practical hope for a better outcome. So I invite you to join me on this journey as we seek to change the cancer paradigm together. Hello and welcome back to the Cancer Secrets Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Jonathan Stegall. This is season three and episode number 34. In today's episode, we will be taking a deep dive into our nutritional approach and discussing what I believe to be the most important factor you must incorporate into your anti cancer nutrition plan. As always, we encourage you to listen with a loved one or friend. Learning and enjoying the show with a community will be more impactful than doing so alone. Today's show is going to be a great one as we discuss the details of an optimal nutrition plan to outsmart cancer. Nutrition. Where do we start? Well, the first question we must ask is, does nutrition matter? Does it matter for overall health? Does it matter for cancer prevention? Does it matter if you've already been diagnosed with cancer? The answer to all of these questions is yes.
Speaker1:
However, don't expect to get much, if any, nutritional guidance from your doctor. Most of my patients who have seen another oncologist will tell me that when they ask their other doctor about nutrition, they were either told that nutrition doesn't matter or eat what you want. Just make sure you don't lose weight. Sadly, for a medical system that claims to practice evidence based medicine, the advice to not worry about what you eat is not evidence based at all. There's loads of evidence that nutrition makes a big difference when it comes to cancer prevention as well as cancer treatment. We're going to talk about that today, but I think we're all agreed, at least on this podcast, that nutrition matters a lot. You've probably done a lot of research on your own into nutrition. You probably have your own ideas and thoughts on what constitutes a healthy anti cancer diet. Quick Google search will reveal a lot of different opinions on what people should be eating and what they should be avoiding. We're going to clear that up today. So the elephant in the room, so to speak, is what should I eat? Low carb, low fat, vegetarian, vegan? Primal Paleo, or should you even be eating at all? There's a lot of interest in fasting as well, where food is avoided for a specific period of time, whether that be for a certain number of hours or in some cases for a certain number of days.
Speaker1:
Now, I actually don't recommend any of these diets. Instead, I recommend a much more sensible approach known as a plant based diet. A plant based is exactly what it sounds like a diet based on eating plants. Plants are the most wholesome, nutritious foods on the planet. They also possess the strongest anticancer activity. Research has shown that fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices have loads of cancer fighting properties. Diets high in fruits and vegetables have been shown to result in a reduced risk of developing cancer, as well as dying from cancer. In contrast, beef, chicken, fish, pork, dairy and processed foods do not have these benefits. In fact, I'm not aware of any legitimate research showing that these foods do anything to prevent cancer or reduce its growth. In fact, many of these foods promote cancer growth. Research has shown that diets high in meat, dairy and processed food result in a significantly increased risk of developing cancer. It shouldn't be surprising that cancer rates and cancer deaths continue to rise in countries which eat a high amount of animal protein and processed food. But if you're like me, you want to know why? Why is it that diets high in plant foods and lower in animal foods have these benefits? I believe that the answer to our question lies in an amino acid known as methionine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. When we think of protein, we usually think about animal protein foods we eat. They come from cows or chickens or fish.
Speaker1:
We know that these foods are high in protein, and when we ingest protein, the body through the digestive process reduces those proteins into their constituent amino acids. Proteins are made up of a variety of amino acids. Different foods have different components of these amino acids. For example, the amino acid composition of a piece of steak is going to be different than the amino acid composition of a can of beans. The cells in our body know what they need and what they don't need. A fascinating study conducted in the 1970s. One, which I consider to be a landmark study, found that normal, healthy cells grow just fine without the amino acid methionine, but cancer cells do not. Subsequent research found that tumors taken from patients possessed a specific biochemical defect requiring that they have methionine for growth. These tumors represented a variety of cancer types, including breast, colon, ovary, prostate and skin, among others. Since we have research showing that cancer cells need methionine for growth and spread in normal, healthy cells in the body don't, then it only makes sense to restrict refining. So the question then becomes do we even need protein at all? The finding is an amino acid and amino acids make up proteins. Why not just eliminate protein altogether? Well, we don't want to do that. We definitely need protein in the diet. Virtually all foods contain protein, some more than others, of course. But protein is needed for a wide variety of important processes in the body. We don't want to eliminate protein completely.
Speaker1:
However, it's not surprising that cultures that eat the highest amount of protein in the diet seem to have the highest rates of cancer. So we don't want to eat a high protein diet. And contrary to popular belief, high protein is not needed for optimal functioning. However, we don't want to go too low on protein either. A good guideline is to eat one gram of protein per day, per kilogram of body weight. So to get your body weight and kilograms, you divide your lbs by 2.2. For example, someone weighing £150 has about 68 kilograms of body weight. So roughly 65 to 70 grams of protein per day would be the optimal amount for that individual. The key is to make sure that we're obtaining the right amount of protein. Thankfully, it's very possible to obtain adequate protein without obtaining too much methionine. I recommend that you go online in Google Methionine Food List. You'll find websites which contain listings of foods based on their methionine content. I highly recommend choosing foods that are lower on the methionine list. Not surprisingly, fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts and seeds are very, very low on the methionine list. These foods have extremely low methionine, and not surprisingly, these foods comprise a diet which provides the most anticancer benefit. Plant based diets have been shown to lower the risk of cancer. On the other end of the spectrum, high methionine containing foods include fish, chicken, beef, dairy and other animal products. Unfortunately, we don't have the research yet to know if a certain amount of methionine is too much versus if a certain amount is allowable.
Speaker1:
My recommendation is to eat as low methionine in your diet as possible. Again, focusing on a plant based diet, which is fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, grains, nuts and seeds is the way to go. I believe that restricting methionine is so important. It's more important than restricting carbohydrates. More important than restricting fat. More important than any of the other dietary strategies you've probably heard about. Now, of course, a methionine restricted diet needs to be in the context of what we would consider to be a healthy, unprocessed diet. So limiting processed foods is extremely important. Try to eat foods as close to the earth as you can, meaning you're eating them in their natural state, or at least very close to it. Heavily processed foods are a no no. Foods laden with pesticides, preservatives, artificial ingredients, artificial sweeteners should certainly be avoided. Now, I'm sure some of you may be asking, what about sugar carbohydrates? Doesn't cancer love sugar? Or maybe you've read that a low fat diet is the best way to eat for cancer or or any any question about diets that restrict other things. Well, we know that cancer is what we would call metabolically flexible. Cancer is adaptable. Yes, cancer does love sugar and can use it for fuel. However, if you deprive cancer of sugar, it will simply use a different. Pathway. It'll consume more protein and more fat for energy. We know that cancer is capable of using carbohydrates, proteins and fats for fuel.
Speaker1:
We know that cancer can use hormones for fuel. We know that cancer can use iron for fuel. We know that cancer can use vitamins such as vitamin B 12 for fuel. There's no evidence that removing any of those things from the diet will starve cancer and make it go away. However, there has been no research showing that cancer can adapt to methionine restriction. So based on the research currently available, restricting methionine is quite possibly the most powerful anti cancer nutrition strategy you can incorporate. Hi, this is Dr. Stegall. Thanks again for being a loyal listener. If you love the Cancer Secrets podcast, I know you're going to love my Cancer Secrets book as well. In the book, I take a comprehensive look at cancer and its history while also digging into the treatment protocol. I wholeheartedly believe in integrative oncology. Integrative oncology uses the best of modern medicine with alternative therapies backed by science and personalized to each patient. I not only focus on common cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, but also on more outside the box treatments such as intravenous vitamin C, mistletoe, nutrition supplementation exercised and repurposed medications. I explain which tests you should have but probably aren't getting. I address the power of mind, body medicine and the importance of our thoughts and our words. I also take a look at common myths about cancer. Some of these will surprise you. I will teach you to be an open minded skeptic and give you the hope you need to fight cancer.
Speaker1:
Grab your copy today on Amazon in paperback or Kindle format. In summary, if you're focusing on a plant based diet, you're eating a diet comprised of fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts and seeds. You're eating a diet focused on unprocessed or minimally processed food. You're eating an organic diet as much as possible. You're avoiding artificial colors, flavors, preservatives you're avoiding, or at the very least, significantly restricting animal protein, including fish, beef, chicken, pork. Even dairy, even eggs, because these foods contain higher methionine levels. You're getting all of the anticancer benefits that we've identified in various foods such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices. You're getting all of the nutrients and helpful ingredients found in all of the research into anti cancer nutrition and equally as important. You're also severely restricting methionine. I hope you found this information helpful. As I mentioned, there's so much confusion regarding nutrition, especially as it relates to cancer, and there are a lot of opinions out there. But I truly believe that this is the most powerful nutrition strategy you can incorporate when it comes to treating or even preventing cancer. If you're enjoying this podcast, please subscribe and be notified when new episodes are released. Please take a minute and provide a review on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Finally, please share this podcast with your family and friends. All previous episodes are available for free on our website. Cancer Secrets. I look forward to bringing more helpful, evidence based cancer treatment strategies to you in future episodes. I look forward to next time. Buh bye.
Speaker2:
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