Abby Bloch interviewed by Anthony Qaiyum on 8 November, 1995 "I think we will help people decrease their risk of getting clinical cancer through food." Tripod: I've heard that a large number of cancer cases can be prevented through proper nutrition. Is there any truth to that? AB: According to most of the studies that have been done, it is very strongly believed, "yes," that diet does play a role in decreasing the risk of cancer. Tripod: If you had to pick one food that was best at decreasing the risk of cancer, what would it be? AB: I don't know that you can identify one single food. I think there are groups of food that we know can either hurt or help us, but not one particular food. Tripod: Could you pick a group of foods that would be a helpful group? AB: What is now believed is that the most healthful are vegetables. But the problem is that there are so many compounds working together that you can't say that one vegetable would decrease your risk. It's really eating a bunch of vegetables that give you a bunch of these compounds that we think are the protective agents. Tripod: And what about a harmful group? AB: I think fats have pretty much been identified as being harmful in excess.. Tripod: What are some simple ways, just in your everyday life, to make your diet more cancer-free? AB: If you try to lower your fat intake of all fats, try to increase your use of fruits and vegetables-- because you asked me for one group, so I could only say vegetables, but fruits are important too-- increase your total intake of fiber, which is not only the fruits and vegetables, but grains and bran and foods that contribute fiber -- and watch your weight, because we don't know the relationship of being overweight and overeating to the risk of cancer. Tripod: When you're talking about nutritional compounds, would you recommend suplements, or is it always better to take these nutrients in their natural forms? AB: There are certain instances for good health where people may be benefited by taking supplements, such as women who need a very high level of calcium to prevent osteoporosis, but in cancer prevention, we don't know enough about the compounds and the combinations yet to be able to isolate them as supplements. For example, there are six hundred different carotenes, so if you only take beta carotene, you're missing 599. If you only take Vitamin C, you're missing all of the other antioxidant type nutrients that could be beneficial. There are thousands of compounds in nature. The protective agents -- which are called isoflavonoids, the flavonoid group that you hear about, or the sinolic acids which are a whole other group, there are thousands of these compounds in nature, and to pick out one specific one doesn't really give us the coverage. And I think that's why many of the studies that have been done recently, where the results have been analyzed, that have used supplements, have been inconclusive or negative -- because they've used supplements instead of foods. Tripod: Would you support the claim that antioxidants are powerful anti-cancer agents? AB: In animal studies they appear to be. There has been very little done in human research to support it. It appears that they can be, yes. Tripod: What about the whole shark cartilage thing? Some people say that it helps prevent cancer. AB: Well, I think it's important for us to keep an open mind in looking at possibilities. I have not read anything scientifically to support the use of shark cartilage, and I'm not sure what the rationale is, so that at this point I have not seen anything that would make me think that shark cartilage is beneficial. Tripod: Is there anything you can do with your diet to minimize the carcinogenic effects of smoking? AB: Again, I think that fruits and vegetables lend protection to smokers. Increased levels of the nutrients that are in fruits and vegetables have been shown to be protective. Tripod: Do you think that if we find a cure for cancer, it will come from a natural source? AB: I think we will help people decrease their risk of getting clinical cancer through food. I don't know that foods will ever be able to reverse it once you have it. Our hope is that, if a third or more of cancers start because of dietary components, we can affect those people and try to decrease them from ever getting it. I think once you have it, it's going to be difficult to manipulate nutritionally. Information about the American Cancer Society is available at: http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/resources/association/acs_info.html