Diet: Can A Bad Diet Lead to Oral Cancer? (Post #16)

Hi! Welcome back! This week we're going to talk about an interesting and relatively unknown topic: the link between diet and cancer.

I've heard my parents and grandparents often emphasize the importance of a good diet in staying healthy. Now, we all know eating sugar and junk food excessively can lead to a myriad of health problems like obesity, diabetes, etc. But can it lead to an issue as serious as cancer? Well, let's find out!

Oral and throat cancers are usually linked to tobacco, alcohol, or HPV, but that's not the whole picture. While these do make up a majority of the causes, there are definitely other ones too.

What we consume every day goes far past our energy levels and body fat percentage. It also affects how our body repairs damage, controls inflammation, and more. While diet is not known to be a DIRECT link to cancer, it can play a big role in shaping the conditions from which cancer develops.

Cancer, caused by cell mutations, doesn't occur suddenly. It's caused by repeated damage to cells, which as I mentioned before, can be influenced by diet.

One interesting fact is that poor nutrition, or not eating balanced, can increase something in the body called "oxidative stress".

• To put it simply, oxidative stress is a condition that may occur when there are too many unstable molecules in the body. These are called free radicals. When there are not enough antioxidants in the body to get rid of these free radicals, cells and tissue may get damaged.

This can lead to issues in cells' DNA and weaken the body's ability to repair the issues. If this keeps happening, the chance that cancer will occur gets higher.

However, there are some foods that can help lower the risk of this happening. For example, fruits and vegetables with Vitamins A and C. These usually contain a lot of antioxidants.

While diet can play a role in cancer formation, it has not been found to be a sole cause for cancer. A bad diet simply increases the chances of getting cancer in people who may drink, consume tobacco, or experience other things that are linked to oral and throat cancer.

On the other hand, having a good diet isn't a cure for cancer or other diseases. But, if a person has a healthy diet, it can reduce risk of getting diseases compared to someone with a bad diet.

So, to keep yourself healthy, it's important to ensure you eat balanced and healthy food. We all enjoy a sweet treat once in a while, but keeping your overall eating clean is a key part of keeping your body in top condition!

So, today we found that there is indeed a link between diet and cancer. While it may not be direct, it certainly plays a role.

Thanks for reading this week's post. I have year-end exams right now, so I won't be posting next Friday. Don't worry though, we'll have a double post featured the week after! See you soon!

Information Citations:

World Cancer Research Fund. “Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cancer: A Global Perspective.” World Cancer Research Fund, https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer

American Cancer Society. “Diet and Physical Activity: What’s the Cancer Connection?” American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/healthy/eat-healthy-get-active/eat-healthy

Perera, M., et al. “A Review of the Role of Diet in Oral Cancer.” Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine, vol. 47, no. 3, 2018, pp. 223–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/jop.12603

Farah, C. S., et al. “Diet and Oral Cancer: A Review of the Literature.” Australian Dental Journal, vol. 64, no. 3, 2019, pp. 244–250. https://doi.org/10.1111/adj.12678

Image Citations:

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