Many people know that a healthy diet reduces the risk of cancer and plays a supporting role in treatment. But there is no evidence that diet alone can cure cancer. Yet this is suggested in the new documentary The Food Cure.
Tonight the film ‘The Food Cure’ will be screened for the first time in the Netherlands. The maker followed people with cancer for 5 years who hope to be able to beat their tumors with the help of a very strict diet. In two cases this turns out to be vain hope. At the end of the documentary, four patients seem to be heading in the right direction. But whether the extreme diet of lots of fresh juices, huge amounts of vegetables and a coffee enema three times a day has anything to do with this is still the question.
‘Misleading and downright dangerous’
The Dutch Cancer Society does not have a good word about the so-called Gerson diet. The film is misleading and downright dangerous for patients who are already dealing with so much uncertainty and fear, says spokesman Mischa Stubenitsky. “A healthy diet to supplement existing therapies is of course a great idea. But with such an extreme diet you limit the absorption of essential nutrients that your body desperately needs. And stopping the regular treatment is life-threatening.”
‘Gradually more and more convinced of the effect of the diet’
The Dutch Cancer Society therefore advocates a kind of disclaimer with the film to warn viewers against the one-sided image that is being sketched. The German filmmaker Sarah Mabrouk is not aware of any harm: “When I started the film I was out to expose charlatans who attract unsuspecting patients with dubious treatments, but as the production process progressed I became more and more convinced of the effect of the Gerson- diet.”
According to Mabrouk, far too little is invested in scientific research into the influence of nutrition in the fight against cancer: “An awful lot of time and money is invested in research into expensive medicines. In the end, there is often a lot of money to be made. The effect of food in cancer is hardly examined, because yes, you cannot apply for a patent for a broccoli or a bell pepper. ‘
Unsimilar picture
Professor Ellen Kampman has been researching nutrition and cancer for decades. She believes in the filmmakers’ good intentions warns, also online, for the simplistic image that ‘The Food Cure’ gives. “Patients with advanced cancer are often so desperate that they take every straw,” she says. “But there is no evidence that such a strict diet can cure cancer.”
She does not support the Gerson diet. Fortunately, there is now more and more research into nutrition and exercise during cancer treatment, for example you can get fewer side effects of chemo if you eat healthy. a very bad idea. “
