We need to acknowledge the link between nutrition and disease and take responsibility for what we put in our bodies, writes Sylvia Thompson
The role of diet in maintaining good health and preventing illness has become mainstream in the past five years or so. However, nutritional therapist Gosia Desmond believes that things haven't gone far enough. She suggests that individuals can do a lot more through diet, exercise and stress management to prevent chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease, diabetes and many cancers.
"We need a shift in people's perceptions of what moderation means," says Desmond who is the head of research at the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Dublin. For instance, she says a lot of dietitians advise people to eat everything in moderation, but she suggests there are certain foods that we should avoid completely and others that we should eat more of.
"Studies have shown that processed foods increases the risk of colorectal cancer, so I think that people shouldn't eat processed meats like salami, hot dogs, processed hams and hamburgers," she says. She believes that the Irish Government is irresponsible in encouraging people to eat more meat without putting the emphasis on fruit and vegetables at the same time.
"A lot of food advertising doesn't help people understand what a really healthy diet is, and the epidemic of obesity shows that the prevention message isn't working," she says.
Desmond, who is currently doing a Masters in Cancer Prevention and the Risk Factors for Cancer at the University of Warsaw, cites numerous American studies that back up the role of diet in prevention of recurrence of certain cancers.
"High fibre, low-fat diets reduce recurrence of breast cancer by 31 per cent in women with higher oestrogen levels, according to a new report from the Women's Healthy Living and Eating Lifestyle study in the United States," she explains.
About 3,000 breast cancer survivors were randomly assigned to either a special high-fibre diet including five vegetable servings, 16 ounces of vegetable juice and three fruit servings daily or a comparison diet based on the US Department of Agriculture's five serving of fruit and vegetables guidelines.
Desmond, who has been on a vegan diet herself for the past 15 years, firmly believes that so-called nutrient-rich plant-based diets by definition reduce the per cent of fat intake in the diet and increase the amount of fibre without changing the feeling of satiation (feeling of fullness) one gets from one's food. She isn't anti-meat but believes that those who do eat meat need to eat less of it.
So, for starters, she suggests we consider that the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day should only be a minimum. "Even as far back as 1998, there was a study published in the British Medical Journal which claimed that if more people shifted to a diet richer in fruit and vegetables, low in meat and low in high-fat dairy products, millions of deaths from cancer would be prevented."
Taking Dr Louise Brinton, breast cancer researcher at the National Cancer Institute in the United States as her personal model, she says that she eats 10 serving of fruit and vegetables a day.
"Dr Brinton says that the highest fat item she eats is a non-fat yogurt and that she eats close to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day and runs five days a week," says Desmond. She adds that the American Institute for Cancer Research has recently launched a campaign to challenge the current food pyramid to convince Americans to adopt a more plant-based diet.
"There is a lot of proof from epidemiological studies that the standard Western diet is not good for your health.
"It's complex because it challenges what we do on a daily basis and it's difficult for people to accept that what they do is wrong and that we might be responsible for what happens to them," she says.
"We're not physiologically adapted to thrive under the circumstances most of us live our lives - our diet and lack of exercise and sedentary type jobs. We can survive to an extent but thriving and surviving are two different things. The bigger changes are needed to prevent typical diseases of Western old age," she says.
"If more people knew about the potential effects of diet, they would choose it. People who have already had treatment for cancer or heart disease should be supported in making changes to their diets to prevent a recurrence. They should be given cookery classes and information on what foods to eat to prolong their lives."
• Nutritional therapist Gosia Desmond will give a public talk on how diet and lifestyle influences ageing on Thursday, January 15th at 7pm in Griffith College, Dublin. Cost €15. Booking on tel: 01-235 3094.