Fueling For Your Future
March has been all about Fueling for Your Future. I think it is always important as you go through your days to analyze what you’re taking in and how it is going to get you to retirement or a long life. Let’s start off with some recent headlines and then I’ll break it down into nutrition for you!
Recent Health Related Headlines in the Aviation Industry
Higher cancer rates found in military pilots, ground crews
Aircrew may be more likely to get skin cancer
A few years back there was a study that showed aircraft and engine technicians, and the like had a cancer rate that was 600% the national average.
Why are our airline crews and support staff experiencing a higher rate of cancer and related disease?
I’ve wondered this over the years while working in my private practice as The Aviation Dietitian. After reading the articles linked above their summary includes possible causes due to
1. Cosmic ionizing radiation,
2. Circadian rhythm disruption, and
3. Ingestion of aeroallergens.
If you work in the airline industry, I’m sure you can remember the smell of jet fuel. It’s all around you. Have you ever wondered if the recirculated air is being tested for known substances? What about every time you fly and the exposure of cosmic radiation. The pandemic also made everyone very aware about how scarce nutrient dense food is in and around the airports.
Feel free to read the articles, they are all linked in the headlines above. Still there is no exact answer provided in any of the articles. Just generalized tips and sites leading to Center for Disease Control (CDC) and National Cancer Institute (NCI). At least the Pentagon is going to “pull data from registries to add to the total count” of our military that has been diagnosed with cancer. A 2021 bill was introduced to identify the carcinogenic toxins…finally? However, it has been two years and we’ve not seen those results posted.
So for now, all we can do is speculate. Why are some aircrew employees more likely to be diagnosed with cancer? Maybe it’s genetics? Could it be stress? Or environmental? I wish I had all the answers for you. The one answer I can share today is there are ways to combat the effects. And be thankful that more studies are looking at your industry…finally!
What can you do TODAY to help your overall health?
What I’d like to do for you today is teach you how to improve your daily intake so you can feel confident you’re doing everything you can to stay healthy.
Let’s GO!
One thing that has come to my attention after working with airline pilots, flight attendants, air traffic controllers and aircraft maintenance is the nutrient deficiency of their daily intake.
I jokingly say “that protein bar is not going to help you avoid cancer…” but I really am not joking about it. Therefore, I dedicated the entire month of March to teaching you about how to
Fuel for Your Future. Over on Instagram and Facebook I posted content around what foods will keep you working healthily up to your retirement date. I have scrolled through the hundreds of photos of foods that you post all these years. And what I see is something I can help place more urgency on today.
So, now as the month ends, it’s time to really buckle up and have a SERIOUS talk about your nutritional intake and your health. Every single day I learn about a pilot diagnosed with cancer,
a spouse going through another round of breast cancer, a pilot losing a FAA medical due to a condition the doctors just cannot pinpoint…or what’s worse? The news of losing one of your own way too soon.
NCI lists cancer risk factors:
– Age
– Alcohol
– Cancer-causing substances
– Chronic inflammation
– Diet
– Hormones
– Immunosuppression
– Infectious agents
– Obesity
– Radiation
– Sunlight
– Tobacco
That’s a mighty long list! One thing I can discuss is my expertise: Diet. Currently NCI states “studies of human populations has not yet shown definitively that any dietary component causes or protects against cancer.”
What I can tell you based on my education and experience is that antioxidants help to block free radicals (unstable molecules that cause chemical changes in cells to take place).
I do believe that cancer and disease is PREVENTABLE. If you remember one tip today, I hope that it is by increasing your intake of plants you can reduce oxidative stress, repair tissues, and reduce the radiation effects of your profession.
Plants & Antioxidants for your Health
First let me help you understand a few terms. Just what are antioxidants?
“Chemicals that interact and neutralize free radicals, preventing them from causing further damage. Your body makes some antioxidants, and many others are found in fruits and vegetables.”
Your best defense against cancer or any other disease state is to flood your body with as many plants as possible.
Why plants?
Each plant offers a unique mix of nutrients: fiber and vitamins. In the dietitian world, we call vitamins “phytochemicals.” Phyto means plant and phytochemicals are nutrients you will only find in plants. Phytochemicals have unique healing properties. Based on the colors in each fruit and vegetable your body receives a variety of health promoting nutrients.
Remember the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away?” Well, it is true! Each type and color apple houses unique healing properties for your body. I challenge each of you to start your week trying three new fruits and vegetables in three different colors. Don’t get stuck in what I call “apple, banana, carrot syndrome.” Try something new!
And what if you “cannot” carry fresh fruits and vegetables on trips? Well, you can substitute dried options. Or do the best you can at your overnight meals or at home. And if that doesn’t work, check out my March 2023 newsletter, where I have provided a resource that will help you fill your shopping cart with a few varieties of life saving nutrients. It is your best insurance policy against cancer until studies are published telling us exactly why many of you are getting sick.
