Experts in the dietary and medical fields are still learning how your diet can raise or lower your risk of cancer, and they have found evidence for many possible connections, such as calcium providing protection from colorectal cancer, or a lower risk of lung cancer in people who eat more fruits and vegetables.
However, researchers haven't found strong connections between the foods you eat and your risk of multiple myeloma, says nutritionist Kristen Trukova, RD, LDN, who works with patients with the disease at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Ill. Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that develops in cells in your immune system and forms tumors within your bone marrow. This cancer is relatively rare, with roughly 10,700 Americans expected to die from it in 2008.
But researchers have found some evidence that certain types of foods might make you more or less likely to develop multiple myeloma, and general anti-cancer diets may help protect you from the disease.
Your Diet's Role in Cancer
In a 2007 study, researchers asked 179 Connecticut women with multiple myeloma and 691 women who were free of the disease to fill out questionnaires listing how often they ate common foods. They found that certain food items were linked with a lower risk of myeloma. These included cooked tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and Brussels sprouts), fresh fish, and vitamin A. On the other hand, cream soups, ice cream, and pudding were linked to a greater risk of the disease. The study's authors report that eating more vitamin D and calcium might be linked to a lower risk, but eating more carbohydrates might be linked to a higher risk.
Earlier studies of people in Italy and Yugoslavia found an association between butter consumption and higher risk, while more vegetable consumption was associated with a lower risk. Several studies found that eating more fish was also associated with a lower chance of developing multiple myeloma.
Another food-related connection to multiple myeloma might involve the amount of food you eat in general. Several studies have reported a higher risk of multiple myeloma in overweight and obese people. In one study of more than 37,000 postmenopausal women, those with a waist circumference of more than 36 inches had double the risk. A Canadian study found that overweight people had a 50 percent higher risk, and obese people had more than double the risk.
Alcohol hasn't been associated with a significantly higher risk of multiple myeloma. However, several studies — including the one with the Connecticut women — have linked alcohol consumption with a lower risk (although this is not a valid reason to begin or continue drinking alcohol).
In general, an anti-cancer diet that will help support your efforts to prevent multiple myeloma — and cancer in general — will require you to focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and fish, and eat red meat and full-fat dairy products sparingly, Trukova says.
Cancer Diet Tips From the Experts
The American Cancer Society offers similar guidelines. The organization recommends:
- Eating fruits and vegetables at every meal.
- Choosing whole grains instead of foods containing processed or refined grains.
- Limiting processed and red meats.
- Practicing eating habits that allow you to maintain a healthy weight.
- If you drink, limiting alcohol to two drinks daily if you're a man and one if you're a woman.
A healthy diet is always important. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about how to optimize yours.
Last Updated: 1/26/2009