The Role of Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer in Traditional Persian Medicine

BACKGROUND: Cancer is the most important non-communicable disease and the chief cause of death in the world, which imposes a major burden on communities. It is expected that the number of new cancer cases will increase 70 percent worldwide in the next two decades. The exact cause of the disease is unclear in modern medicine. More than a third of all cancer cases are preventable and the other two third are treatable if detected early. Cancer is a type of swelling in traditional Persian medicine (TPM). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of cancer in TPM. METHODS: This study is a review-descriptive that was conducted based on traditional medicine books, including Al Canon fil tibb, Al-Hawi, Zakhireh-ye Khwarazm shahi and Exir-e-Aazam. RESULTS: From the viewpoint of TPM, swelling is any abnormal accumulation of material in organs that will make bulging and dysfunction. If the substance of the disease can be fully matured and eliminated in the early stages of swelling and the patients become stronger, the possibility of swelling creation with poor prognosis such as cancer will decrease. Cancer is a cold and melancholic (soda) swelling that can be created by burning of humors. Treatment of cancer is based on specific nutrition management and medicinal herbs. According to the study, eating moderate to moisture temperament foods that can decrease acuity of melancholy humor (soda), produce appropriate blood (e.g. lamb, goat, egg yolks) and avoiding foods producing melancholy humor are recommended. CONCLUSION: Swelling is a compound disease and cancer is a melancholic swelling. According to TPM, treating swelling in the early stages is possible and by observing the principles of nutrition, eating and drinking rules, and proper and early treatment of hot swelling and turning hot swelling into cold, cancer can be prevented.