Can Food Prevent & Cure Cancer?

Today is the first time we are talking about cancer on the show. It’s a topic that women going through menopause are concerned about, so I sought out an expert to help guide us in the world of nutrition for cancer. Dr. Krystle Zuniga is a clinician, educator, scientist, and science communicator in Austin, Texas with over 14 years of experience in nutrition and specifically nutrition for people who have cancer.

She completed her PhD in Nutritional Sciences and dietetic internship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Then she did her postdoctoral training in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

After that she became an Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Foods at Texas State University where her laboratory examined the relationship between diet quality, physical activity, and cognitive function in young adults, breast cancer survivors, and older adults.  

Dr. Zuniga then held a clinical role and faculty appointment at the Livestrong Cancer Institutes of the Dell Medical School at University of Texas at Austin.

Through all her experiences Dr. Zuniga saw that there was a gap in nutrition support for cancer survivors both during and after cancer treatment. So as a board certified oncology dietitian and owner of the private practice and social media account Cancer Nutrition HQ, she decided to combat misinformation, share the latest research in nutrition and cancer, and translate the science into everyday actions cancer survivors can take to support their health and quality of life with nutrition.

In addition to her private practice, she is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin and board member of Moving Beyond Cancer Collaborative, a non-profit that provides accessible integrative oncology health and wellness services.

Nutrition coaching and programs

STUDIES CITED:

Fasting mimicking diet as an adjunct to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer ⁠

Quality of life and illness perceptions in patients with breast cancer using a fasting mimicking diet ⁠

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Safe and Reshapes Metabolism and Antitumor Immunity in Patients with Cancer ⁠

Soy Foods & Breast Cancer Recurrence⁠

Soy Foods & Breast Cancer Risk (there have been many studies but here are some recent meta-analyses):

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33271590/ 

⁠https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36731160/⁠

AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations⁠

Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer Risk⁠

Hormone Therapy and Cancer Risk⁠

This paper discussed some of the challenges of targeting IGF-1R alone ⁠