Refraining from eating and drinking for about 14 hours during Ramadan may make your iftar dinner highly enjoyable and even, for some, improve their appetite!

To savor different iftar experiences, many are seen indulging in the joy of breaking the fast in eatery stalls, restaurants or in hotels, where varied local dishes are on hand, allowing them to eat till they are full.

Imagine delicious sop buntut (oxtail soup), sate kambing (goat meat skewers cooked over coals) mouthwatering opor ayam (traditional dish of braised chicken in coconut milk), sop kambing (mutton soup), sambal goreng kentang & hati (spicy fried potato & liver), fried lobsters and other high nutrient or fatty foods.

The aforementioned dishes are, indeed, all tasty, which will please connoisseurs’ palates. But irrespective of the taste which can stimulate you to eat more at an iftar dinner, have you ever thought that there are foods that fuel the growth of cancer cells?

Wulyo Rajabto, gastroenterologist and Consultant of Medical Hematology Oncology at Mayapada Healthcare, South Jakarta, addressed the issue in a health talk, themed “Healthy and Right Lifestyle During the Fasting Month as Prevention of Cancer” in Jakarta recently.

Like in other countries, lung cancer and blood cancers are examples of cancers developed by both men and women. But breast cancer and cervical cancer are the most prevalent in women; while prostate cancer is most prevalent in men, according to Wulyo.

Wulyo dismissed a notion that every human body has cancer cell by birth. “Our body should be normal [cancer free] but it is possible that there is a cell mutated from a normal to an abnormal one. And as time goes by, triggered by particular types of foods or lifestyle, the mutated abnormal cells may turn to cancer cells,” he said.

The trend is that the number of cancer patients in Asia has been on the increase over the past couple of years, he said.

That’s why raising public awareness about cancer, the causes and how to prevent it is highly crucial, he said.

While fasting is medically believed to allow for cell rejuvenation, abstaining from drinking and eating also has other health benefits, one of which is to reduce the risk of cancer, according to Wulyo.

Red meat, heavily processed food products such as hamburgers, sausages and nuggets are among the foods linked with a higher risk of cancer. Most processed meat products contain chemical preservatives that make them appear fresh and appealing, but that can also cause cancer.

Both sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate have been linked to a significantly increased risk of colon and other forms of cancer.

High consumption of red meat has been correlated with increased incidence of certain cancers, specifically colorectal cancer, although red meat contains more vitamins and minerals.

When cooked or grilled at a high temperature, red meat can produce carcinogenic compounds.

Gorengan (crispy golden nuggets of tempeh or fermented soybean cake, cassava and tofu, as well as fried bananas, sweet potatoes, vegetables fritters made from shredded carrot, cabbage and bean sprouts and fermented soybean cakes), which are fried at a high temperature can also fuel the growth of cancer.

“But this does not necessarily mean that you are not allowed to eat them. You can eat them as long as you consume them in moderation,” he said.

The important thing to stay healthy and fit during and after Ramadan is “you maintain a healthy and balanced diet. This means you have a balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats,” he says.

“You will have health problems if, for example, your protein or cholesterol is too high or dominant in your body,” he noted.

Preventable

He also warned that with organic vegetables and fruit becoming increasingly scarce as chemical fertilizers are more commonly used, fruit and vegetables should be washed thoroughly to ensure they are free of pesticides prior to consumption.

Aside from foods, a higher risk of cancer is also linked with one’s lifestyle, such as smoking and drinking alcohol excessively, according to Wulyo.

However, he said, cancer is caused by a number of factors, which has been mentioned previously, but based on a study, in 90 percent of colon cancer patients, the disease was caused by the age factor. “Men over 50 years old are prone to colon cancer,” he said.

Cells that age are easy to mutate, and can turn to cancer cells. “The risk of cancer brought by the age factor cannot be prevented. But the cancer risk caused by food or lifestyle is preventable,” he said.

An expert explains at budwigcenter.com how cancer cells could multiply and spread throughout the human body and there are particular kinds of foods that can prevent the growth of cancer cells.

According to the expert, the new growth of blood vessels, called angiogenesis allows the cancer vessels to grow.

“When there is no formation of new blood vessels the cancer cells simply die off before they have a chance to multiply,” the research said. “That is why we need to consume foods that starve any cancer cells that might be lurking in our bodies,” he said.

Wulyo said consuming more fiber-dense fruits and vegetables could also inhibit cancer cells from developing. Fiber-dense vegetables include broccoli, carrots, spinach and string beans; while apple, avocado and strawberry are also dense with fibers.

He advises going to a hospital for screening and consulting with specialists in a particular type of cancer as an effective way of preventing cancer at an early age. “Prevention is better than treatment,” he said.

According to him, a girl with stage 1 or 2 cancer has a survival rate of between 80 and 90 percent. “However, a patient with stage 4 cancer that has spread throughout his/her bones has a survival rate of between 10 and 20 percent,” he said.

“The goal of treatment is not to cure but to stabilize the cancer that improves the quality of the patient’s life,” he said.

Mayapada Healthcare Group commercial director Arif Lim said that, with continually improved medical resources, facilities and technology, healthcare providers in Indonesia could compete with those in neighboring countries.

“We plan to introduce a new radiotherapy for Oncology in Mayapada Healthcare in Lebak Bulus,” he said, referring to the hospital’s series of committed plans relating to health services to the public.

The new technology and experienced medical specialists that Mayapada Healthcare provides would most likely attract more Indonesian patients, avoiding the need to go abroad, especially to neighboring countries, for treatment, Arif Lim said.

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