37,000 people are diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer every year. That’s more than 100 people per day. Only an estimated half of those diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer will be alive in five years.
Guess how many people die from oral cancer every single day. 24 (Source: American Cancer Foundation.)
Guess how many of those 24 people could have saved their lives by eating better and exercising. 8.
That’s nearly 3,000 people every year who could have lived longer had they only made a few simple dietary and lifestyle changes.
This article from the American Cancer Society’s Journal states, “Evidence suggests that one third of the more than 500,000 cancer deaths that occur in the United States each year can be attributed to diet and physical activity habits, with another third due to cigarette smoking. Although genetic inheritance influences the risk of cancer, and cancer arises from genetic mutations in cells, most of the variation in cancer risk across populations and among individuals is due to factors that are not inherited. Behavioral factors such as smoking cigarettes, consuming foods along certain patterns of diet, and staying active across the lifespan can substantially affect one’s risk of developing cancer.”
Dietary Recommendations for the Prevention of Oral Cancer
Last week I was doing an externship at a rural dental clinic. During some down time, I picked up a copy of the February 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association. The article Diet and Prevention of Oral Cancer really caught my eye. My dad passed away from cancer when I was 17. I’ve always been worried that someday I would end up with cancer too, so the prevention of cancer is something that interests me.
The authors concluded that swapping your regular American diet for a plant-based diet with more whole foods can go a long way in lowering your risk for oral cancer. They state the following:
Evidence supports a recommendation of a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables as part of a whole-foods, plant-based diet, with limited consumption of meat, particularly processed meat. However, use of dietary supplements (including vitamins, minerals and other bioactive compounds) in the absence of deficiencies has not been shown to confer the same benefits as those of fruits and vegetables, and patients should not use them as a substitute for fruit and vegetable consumption.
The 2011 Cancer Prevention & Early Detection PDF Booklet from the American Cancer Society contains the following recommendations on page 17 that seem to echo the findings above. The booklet includes these suggestions:
- Consume a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant sources.
- Choose foods and beverages in amounts that help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
- Eat 5 or more servings of a variety of vegetables and fruits each day.
- Choose whole grains in preference to processed (refined) grains.
- Limit consumption of processed and red meats.
- Limit consumption of alcoholic beverages, if you drink them. (Have no more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 per day for men.)
In 2002, researchers looked at many of the different studies relating diet and oral cancer. They published their results in this paper. Here’s an excerpt of their findings:
On the basis of the findings from the listed studies, there is enough evidence to point to a preventive role of vegetable intake, including green vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, and yellow vegetables, total fruit intake, and citrus fruit intake in oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal cancer development. Yellow fruits are likely to be protective. Carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E are protective, most likely in combination with each other and other micronutrients. The role of vitamin A is not clear because of conflicting findings in the studies reviewed.
These three sources all seem to agree that foods from plant sources have a preventive effect on the development of oral cancer. However, there are some foods that can increase your risk of developing oral cancer.
What Foods Increase the Risk of Oral Cancer?
Here’s another quote from the article Diet and Prevention of Oral Cancer that I referenced above:
Researchers have found that consumption of salted meat, processed meat and animal fat increases the risk of developing oral cancer. The results of a study conducted by Peters and colleagues showed that high consumption of dairy products is a risk factor for head and neck squamous cell cancers.
Based on the study above, the following foods increase your risk of developing oral cancer:
- Salted Meat
- Processed Meat
- Animal Fat
- Dairy Products at a High Consumption Rate
Conclusion
In essence, foods that originate from plant sources help decrease your risk of oral cancer, and foods from animal sources increase your risk for developing oral cancer.
If your diet looks similar to foods below, you’re probably doing a good job of lowering your risk for developing oral cancer.
If oral cancer can be prevented so easily, isn’t it worth it to make some subtle changes to your diet?
Do you have any questions, comments, or concerns about how your diet can affect your risk of developing oral cancer? I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
I summarized that lecture in my first post ever on Oral Answers back in January 2010 entitled 
You’ve probably made a lot of New Year’s resolutions in your life — but I’m willing to bet that you’ve never made a New Year’s resolution for your teeth! Here are a few goals that will improve your oral health, as well as your overall health:
Let’s say you go out to the 
No, you don’t need to eat dessert before your regular meal and there are reasons not to, such as the possibility of spoiling your dinner. If you don’t want to eat dessert first, you might try drinking some water or anything non-sugary to get that 
There’s just one small problem: after they’re done eating, they need to use the restroom. Since there’s no toilet in your mouth, they just go on your teeth. All of this acidic waste can start to dissolve your teeth. Luckily, our 
To dispel these myths, I have created a tag on this blog called 
it states the following about the effect fibrous foods have on teeth:
1 – Whole Wheat Bread – The rise of processed starchy foods over the past few decades has no doubt caused many cavities. White bread with added sugar seems to now be a staple in many homes. Rather than reaching for something with lots of added sugar to get your carbohydrates, try some whole wheat bread – your teeth and your body will thank you. My wife makes this 
3 – Fresh Fruit – Yes, fruit does have sugar, but it also provides valuable nutrients for the body. Fresh fruit is a great choice because it is also fibrous, which makes it takes longer to chew, which releases more saliva which helps your teeth. This makes it a good match for a healthy mouth in spite of the sugars it contains. Canned fruit is also good, just make sure that it’s not soaking in a sugary syrup. If it has added sugar, it might be doing more harm than good.
6 – Cheese – Cheese is great for your teeth since it contains calcium, and phosphates. It also neutralizes 
8 – Nuts -Nuts are a great source of nutrition that won’t harm your teeth. Peanuts are a great choice. Watch out for peanut butter, as it can contain a lot of added sugar. Just make sure that you 
13 – Seeds like pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Make your own when you carve pumpkins this Halloween or buy some at the store. If you buy seeds pre-packaged, just check out the ingredients first to ensure that they aren’t sugar-laden.
