Nutrition Supplement: Vitamins, Minerals and More

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Therapies for cancer

An interview with author Patrick Quillin

With more than 2.5 million Americans currently being treated for cancer and another 1.3 million diagnosed each year, it seems that we still have a lot to learn about the disease. Author Patrick Quillin wants to make sure that we don’t overlook a treatment as accessible as the kitchen cabinet: nutritional therapy.

Quillin, a registered dietitian and certified nutrition specialist with a Ph.D. in nutrition education, has devoted his professional life to the study of nutrition and its relationship to cancer. He has seen both the heady politics and concrete realities of cancer treatment firsthand as a consultant to the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Army Breast Cancer Research Group, Scripps Clinic, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and as the vice president of nutrition for Cancer Treatment Centers of America. His eleven books include Healing Nutrients (Random House, 1989) and Beating Cancer with Nutrition ­(Nutrition Times Press, 1995).

Currently, Quillin directs the Rational Healing Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma, an organization that develops literature, products, and professional networks to expedite the integration of conventional and alternative medicine in international health care.

We asked him to shed some light on nutritional therapy for cancer.

Herbs for Health: How can nutrition help prevent and treat cancer?

Patrick Quillin: First, consider that malnutrition kills 40 percent of cancer patients. Common nutrient deficiencies in cancer patients include protein, calories, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, and vitamin K.

Second, proper nutritional therapy can make radiation and chemotherapy more toxic to the tumor and less toxic to the patient. Third, nutrition can support the immune system in its work to destroy abnormal cells before they turn into cancer. Fourth, cancer thrives on sugar, so diets must be well balanced with plenty of fiber and few sweets. Fifth, we can consume high doses of nutrients that are selectively toxic to tumor cells and may even reverse cancer.

HH: Do you believe that nutrition can work alongside medical therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation?

PQ: Yes, I do. There are a number of alternative therapies, including nutrition therapy, that can be valuable in cancer treatment. We need to look at the risk-to-benefit of any therapy, including vitamins and herbs. Nothing is totally safe in huge quantities; there is a window of efficacy. Above that it is toxic and below that, ineffective. With nutrients, there is a wider window of efficacy, but they still must be used with discretion and guidance to avoid causing further harm.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print