Alkaline cancer treatment involves eating a special diet in order to help prevent and treat cancer. Advocates say eating an alkaline diet can adjust the pH balance of the body, which helps prevent the growth of cancer cells and destroy tumors. However, medical experts at Brigham and Women's Hospital, a teaching hospital associated with Harvard University, argue that there is no proven benefit to alkaline treatment for cancer and that it may be harmful.
Alkaline Diet
An alkaline diet for cancer treatment eliminates foods that are considered to be "acidifying" foods and includes foods considered to be "alkalisizing". Recommended foods include spinach, broccoli, carrots, celery, lettuce, cabbage, squash, peppers, tomato, chilies, garlic, pinto beans, kidney beans, chick peas, onion (regular and spring), ginger, lettuce, celery, nuts, cucumber, spinach, seeds, cumin, parsley, basil, coriander, olive oil, watermelon, lime, lemons, grapefruits, sprouts, pesto and guacamole.
Foods and drugs to be avoided include dairy, sugar, meat, tobacco, caffeine, wheat, saturated fats, white rice and pasta.
Alkaline and Cancer Claims
The principle behind the alkaline diet is that when the body's pH balance becomes too acidic, cancer risks increase. Advocates believe that acidic environments intensify the growth of tumors, while alkaline environments can slow or stop the growth of tumors. They suggest that altering the foods you eat adjusts these pH balance levels, thus preventing cancer or aiding in cancer treatment by changing the body's environment.
Changing Your pH
Doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital say it is not possible to adjust the alkaline levels in the body. Because our bodies are self-regulating and complex, our bodies on their own will correct high levels of acidity or alkaline by changing our breathing patterns or excreting the excess.
Studies
Test tube studies have demonstrated that tumors do tend to grow faster in an acidic environment than an alkaline environment. Furthermore, chemotherapy is more effective if the tumor is in an area that is more alkaline and less acidic. However, this phenomenon has not yet been studied in humans. There is no evidence that diet can actually have a sufficient long-term effect on changing the pH level in the body to achieve these effects, even if the same effects do occur in humans.
Can the Diet Be Harmful?
The alkaline diet excludes many foods that may help prevent or treat cancer. The fats and oils excluded from the diet help combat inflammation and maintain immunities necessary to withstand cancer treatments or fight cancer. Dairy products, also restricted on the alkaline diet, are an excellent source of vitamin D, which has been shown to potentially increase cancer survival rates. Beans and legumes, also prohibited, have immune boosting properties that help prevent certain cancers, especially colon cancer, and have high levels of protein that helps patients withstand chemotherapy treatments.
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