Professor, Dr. Le Thi Huong, Director of the School of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Head of the Nutrition Department of Hospital K and Hanoi Medical University Hospital.
NDT - Many people spread to each other Professor Ohsawa's method of treating cancer with macrobiotics according to the law of balancing yin and yang. However, Professor and Dr. Le Thi Huong affirmed that there are no studies proving that macrobiotics is good for cancer patients.
This is one of the contents of interest in the online exchange "Living with, living well with cancer" organized by Hanoi Medical University in collaboration with VietTimes e-magazine taking place this morning, July 20.
According to a macrobiotic diet, is abstaining from protein good?
Professor, Dr. Le Thi Huong, Director of the School of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Head of the Nutrition Department of Hospital K and Hanoi Medical University Hospital said that at Hanoi Medical University Hospital, many patients have been received using the Ohsawa method. There are patients who have followed this method for nearly 10 years, leaving them with only skin and bones. In particular, a diet lacking too many nutrients has caused patients to suffer from serious metabolic disorders.
"Some people argue that why are vegetarian monks still healthy? I researched and learned that these people have to eat a lot of rice, vegetables, sesame salt... Many vegetarians have to go to the hospital for examination because of signs of musculoskeletal problems, teeth, lips, tongue, vitamin deficiency... Therefore, for people with cancer, they should not follow the macrobiotic method but still have to eat like normal people. Up to now, there has been no research to prove that macrobiotics is applicable to cancer people", Professor Prof. Huong emphasized.
Therefore, according to Professor Huong, people with cancer need to eat enough nutrition. Vitamins, minerals... that food provides will participate in the body, if just one of those substances is missing, the whole body will be affected.
Leading experts in the field of cancer treatment participated in the exchange.
Regarding why people with cancer should eat less red meat, Dr. Huong said that people need to clearly distinguish that red meat is the meat of four-legged animals, not red meat. Therefore, instead of eating a lot of red meat, patients should eat a lot of poultry, chicken, and duck meat. In case the patient has an appetite, he or she can still eat red meat as recommended by the doctor. Besides, people should eat more meat, fish, shrimp, and seafood because they provide many nutrients such as omega 3, omega 6, minerals, vitamins, zinc, iron... In particular, people with cancer need to eliminate fermented foods such as pickles, pickled eggplants, sausages, sausages... which are not good for the body.
Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Trong Nghia, Head of the Department of Acupuncture and Nursing at the Central Traditional Medicine Hospital, visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Traditional Medicine, Hanoi Medical University, emphasized that the view that eating well will make the tumor grow faster than it currently is among many cancer patients is wrong.
When the body is poorly nourished, cancerous tissue still grows and takes nutrients from the body, even taking more nutrients from the body than other normal tissues, causing the patient to quickly become exhausted and have organ failure. "Patients undergoing cancer treatment need to limit the causes of cancer and increase exercise, not extreme restrictions on nutrition. On the other hand, patients should have a balanced menu, not too much food," Associate Professor Nghia said.
Many wrong methods cause loss of money and disability
At the seminar, experts also emphasized mistakes in treating cancer with nano or blood alkalinization methods.
Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Hong Thang, Deputy Head of Oncology Department, Hanoi Medical University; Head of Internal Medicine Department 4, K Hospital said that nanotechnology in cancer treatment is currently being researched and tested in a number of countries around the world. This research is currently only experimented on animals, there is no scientific and experimental evidence that it can be cured on humans, not to mention this method can affect other organs because of toxicity.
Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Hong Thang, Deputy Head of Oncology Department, Hanoi Medical University; Head of Internal Medicine Department 4, K Hospital.
Associate Professor Thang emphasized that new drugs require rigorous testing and proven testing to be allowed to treat patients. Patients should not believe in such drugs, they waste money, their health as well as waste the opportunity to treat according to scientifically proven regimens.
Regarding the blood alkalinization method, there is currently no scientific research confirming its effectiveness in cancer treatment. According to Dr. Vu Huu Khiem, Center for Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, Bach Mai Hospital, alkalinizing the blood is not a mainstream treatment method.
Dr. Khiem said that cancer cells often grow in an acidic environment, so some authors think that it can be alkaline to kill cancer cells. However, our body only has a PH level of 7.4. When the PH level reaches 8.5, it will cause a series of dangerous metabolic disorders in the body. "Up to now, it can be affirmed that the blood alkalinization method has no scientific evidence and has not been recognized. A treatment method will have to go through many stages to test and verify its effectiveness, toxicity and safety. When detecting unusual signs, patients should go to specialized facilities for timely examination and treatment and should not believe in treatment methods that have no scientific basis," Dr. Khiem recommended.
Leading experts in the field of treating this disease all affirm that with current scientific advances, cancer, like other diseases, can be cured. In fact, 1/3 of cancers can be prevented, 1/3 of cancers can be cured if detected early and treated promptly; And with scientific and technological advances and good treatment methods, it is possible to prolong life and improve quality of life for the remaining 1/3 of cancers.
To be able to detect cancer early, Dr. Vu Huu Khiem said, people need to have regular health checks to screen for cancer and other dangerous diseases. People with diseases at risk of developing cancer (hepatitis, gastric HP...) or families with relatives who have had cancer need to be screened more often.
Professor, Dr. Ta Thanh Van, Principal of the University of Medicine emphasized: "With current knowledge and medicine, cancer can be completely controlled, some types can even be completely cured if diagnosed early. That is the message we want to send to everyone, that people should know common medical knowledge to be responsible for the health of themselves, their loved ones, and the community."