by admin | mrt 30, 2015 | Blog
Deze blog werd eerder gepubliceerd op Inpire2Live.org, in het kader van de conferentie ‘Breaking the Barriers for Patients’ (KNAW, Amsterdam, 21-23 januari 2015) Reducing the Incidence of Cancer is not only desirable, but also an immense reality. Recently, the Dutch TNO research institute published a study *) stating that about 30% of cancers in the Netherlands, or some 30.000 cases a year, can be attributed to life style factors. Among them smoking stands out (19% of the cases), followed by sub-optimal food habits (10%), overweight (4%), alcohol consumption (3%) and physical inactivity (2%). In all of these areas, prevention has a huge role to play. While the value of cutting smoking and alcohol is unquestioned, yet hampered by an industrial infrastructure that is not very willing to give in, the value of good food and food habits is much less an accepted fact. In our experience as patient advocates, we too often hear doubts as a response to questions to our doctors as how to influence cancer prevention and development through food. I consider it unacceptable and worrying that ‘lack of evidence’ is misused as an excuse not to take it serious. Behind the face of ‘lack of evidence’, two monsters are growing fat. One is called ignorance, the other evidence based. Ignorance is the easy one to tackle. Most health practitioners simply don’t know enough about the impact of food on the human condition. For this, integrating food and nutrition in medical education and treatment protocols would be a first and easy step to do. That will eventually lead e.g. to better food offerings in hospitals and...
