In another study on the affects of diet on cancer, those colon cancer patients who indulged in diets containing meat, desserts, fat and refined grains were three times more likely to have a colon cancer recurrence than those who shifted their post-cancer diet away from these unhealthy items.

Surprised? Shouldn't be -- diet and cancer are so closely related that eating foods with tons of saturated fats and chemicals can take a genetic predisposition to cancer and speed it along.

What's important here is that after cancer treatment (hopefully, successful), one should change their diet to one full of healthy options instead of bad nutritional choices. It's all up to each individual patient.

Many cancer patients and survivors I've talked to are know a bit about nutrition if they've successfully battled cancer (from lymph node cancer to skin cancer). I like these discussions, and I use them as fuel to speak about the benefits of a good diet to those who may be undergoing (or about to undergo) chemotherapy.

One of the more exotic diet choices for those just starting to study cancer diets is the "macrobiotic" diet. This diet includes items like organic whole grains, fruits and vegetables, soups made with vegetables, seaweed, grains, beans, and miso. Occasional servings of fresh whitefish, nuts, seeds and pickles. Some cancer specialists and naturopaths even suggest that this diet can exist with traditional cancer treatment or be a separate alternative treatment.

The foods above sound like a great diet for anyone alive if you ask me, but I can especially see the cancer patient benefiting from these dietary suggestions. What's your take on those foods? Are they in your diet at this time, and if so, why did you choose them?

There is a vaccine that Scripps Research Institute in California researchers are working with that shows positive results in slowing down a key hunger hormone that keeps rats from gaining weight regardless of how much the rats ate -- although they caution that just because it works in rats does not mean it will work the same way in humans or that it will be a safe vaccine for humans.

This is all relatively new science, as the hormone, called Ghrelin, the researchers are testing the vaccine on was just discovered about seven years ago. The researchers do know that the hormone controls appetite in animals and humans and the current research might prove valuable in discovering more about the connections between hunger and weight gain; how the body stores fat and how to influence the hunger hormone.

At this point in time, if you are a rat concerned about controlling your weight, it's good news. Long-term, if it does show the same benefit for humans, the researchers speculate a vaccine might be developed that helps people who struggle with weight gain and loss maintain a steady and healthy weight. You know it is only a matter of time before they discover and develop something along this line, as obesity is a major threat to health for a number of diseases including cancer.

Researchers are beginning to tell us that being overweight increases cancer risks for a number of cancers. But then being overweight increases our chances of developing a number of diseases. While there are all kinds of diets, and gurus who claim they know the way, the remedy for long-term weight loss isn't going to change -- it's all about moving more, and eating less.

But what if you are moving more and eating less and the pounds stubbornly refuse to fall away? Amy Paturel, an expert in nutrition and public health, recently reviewed the top ten reasons why when you do all the right things, you aren't getting the expected results. The ten reasons Paturel discusses that can prevent weight loss are lack of sleep, synthetic chemicals in the environment, weather effects in temperatures being too hot or too cold, not smoking, prescription medications, giving birth at an older age, natural selection and overweight parents having overweight children.

Of course, this doesn't mean you are doomed to weight gain or being overweight but it might mean that you will need to take a look at some of the possible causes of why you are experiencing weight gain and not experiencing weight loss.

Paturel goes into an explanation of each of these causes in Ten More Fat Factors: It's Not Just the Cupcakes.

The UK Bristol Cancer Help Centre conducted a survey and discovered that cancer patients are not given information about cancer prevention when it comes to diet. This does not surprise me. When I was newly-diagnosed with cancer and undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, no one discussed nutrition with me or how I might include cancer prevention foods in my menu planning. I had to research and educate myself about the benefits of eating healthy foods that would support my healing and long-term health.

In the survey of 1,288 cancer patients, the researchers found that 83 percent were not routinely given advice on nutrition by their healthcare team and 77 percent did not feel they could ask for it. In addition, 93 percent of the survey participants were not told where to find information about diet, even though 61 percent said they directly asked for information on the role of healthy eating.

Some of the cancer patients reported that when they did ask for advice on nutrition from healthcare workers, the answers they were given ranged from, "diet makes no difference, just eat normally" to "eat a healthy diet." Those answers are little help if there is no information provided defining what eat normally and healthy means. There is a mountain of research indicating that what we eat makes a difference to healing and health. This survey was not an eye-opener for me, but perhaps it will create an awareness in the healthcare community to the need for developing comprehensive educational materials on nutrition and diet for cancer patients and cancer survivors.  

Wisconsin University researchers conducted tests on mice to determine if fasting and a caloric restrictive diet could reduce breast cancer risks. According to the results of the study, there was almost an 80 percent reduction in breast cancer risk through the diet. For two days a week, the daily caloric intake was reduced to 600 calories. The remainder of the days, the caloric intake was normal. Wisconsin University researchers believe the regime, combined with eating normally the rest of the time, could provide a breakthrough in fighting breast cancer.

British researchers want to test out this theory, and are conducting six-month clinical trials to see if they come to the same conclusions. Researchers believe this type of diet may be as effective as it is because of evolution. The human body is structured to support a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, which means the body may work best if it is starved for short periods of time, a result of periodic food scarcity during the time of our ancestors.