Malnutrition kills stricken patients.

• Position: Cancer

Some 20-40% of cancer victims die from causes related to malnutrition, not from the cancer itself, and 80% of cancer patients develop some form of clinical malnutrition, according to the National Cancer Institute, Washington, D.C. Unfortunately for patients, conventional medical advice suggesting an individual eat whatever he or she wants actually can feed the patient's cancer, promote malnutrition, and contribute to the person's inability to tolerate treatment. In addition, if the malnutrition is not addressed, it can lead to a condition called cachexia, defined as a wasting syndrome that results in compromised immunity, weakness, and a loss of weight, fat, and muscle.

"The current scientific consensus is that cancer cachexia results primarily from an underlying metabolic imbalance induced by the cancer, causing the body's metabolism to speed up," explains Keith Block, medical director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care, Evanston, Ill. "The malignancy generates the production of low-grade inflammatory molecules that break down lean muscle and can disrupt immune functioning. The heavy consumption of fats, refined flours, and sugars found in the traditional American diet can increase this inflammation, contributing to a lack of appetite, more debilitating weight loss, and actually promote the very disease the patient is trying to fight."

It is not just severe malnutrition that will impact a cancer patient's health. Even relatively small degrees of undernutrition are associated with a marked increased risk of hospital admissions and death. "Cancer may kill, in part, by causing starvation and conventional therapies may actually exacerbate this aspect of the disease. While these treatments can effectively attack the cancer, they may kill the patient in the process of doing so," cautions David Katz, associate professor of public health and...