How to Prevent Cancer With Everyday Healthy Foods

What Is Cancer?

In this post we discuss How to prevent cancer with everyday healthy foods Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. Cancer is not just one disease, but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. For more information, visit the National Cancer Institute's What Is Cancer?

Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and breast cancer starts in the breast.

Some foods actually increase your risk of cancer, while others support your body and strengthen your immune system. By making smart food choices, you can protect your health, feel better, and boost your ability fight off cancer and other disease

Cancer Prevention Diet Tips

The best diet for preventing or fighting cancer is a predominantly plant-based diet that includes a variety of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. A plant-based diet means eating mostly foods that come from plants: vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and beans.

A comprehensive review of thousands of studies on diet, physical activity, and weight conducted for the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research pointed to the benefits of eating mostly foods of plant origin. Foods such as broccoli, berries, and garlic showed some of the strongest links to cancer prevention.

They're low in calories and fat and power-packed with phytochemicals and antioxidants that may help reduce your cancer risk.

Daily Food Tips

Add fruit and a few seeds or nuts to your whole grain breakfast cereal.In Lunch eat a big salad filled with your favorite beans and peas or other combo of veggies. Always order lettuce and tomato (plus any other veggies you can) on your sandwiches. Order whole grain bread for your sandwiches. Have a side of veggies like cut up carrots, sauerkraut, or a piece of fruit.

 Two Foods Must Use

There's a bit of evidence that tomatoes and tomato products may reduce the risk for gastric, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers.

Fresh fruit and vegetables. Grab an apple or banana on your way out the door. Raw veggies such as carrots, celery, cucumbers, jicama, peppers, etc. are great with a low-fat dip such as hummus. Keep trail mix made with nuts, seeds, and a little dried fruit on hand.

Use Fiber in Diet

Researchers in Sweden followed more than 61,000 women and discovered that those who consumed more than 4.5 servings of whole grains daily had a 35 percent lower risk for colon cancer. Because fiber speeds the passage of stool through the colon, cells have less exposure to potentially carcinogenic waste. Roughage may also sop up excess estrogen and insulin, two hormones linked to breast cancer.

Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In general, the more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fiber. There is no fiber in meat, dairy, sugar, or “white” foods like white bread, white rice, and pastries.

Helpful Foods

• Vegetables.Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and kale. spinach, dark green leafy vegetables, peas, artichokes, corn, carrots, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, potatoes These score high for containing many anti-cancer substances, such as isothiocyanates.

• Whole grains.Whole-wheat pasta, raisin bran, barley, oatmeal, oat bran muffins, popcorn, brown rice, whole-grain or whole-wheat bread
• 
  
• Fruit.Grapes, raspberries, apples, pears, strawberries, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, mango, apricots, citrus fruits, dried fruit, prunes, raisins

• Legumesvalign.lentils, black beans, split peas, lima beans, baked beans, kidney beans, pinto, chick peas, navy beans, black-eyed peas,garlic, onions, scallions, leeks and chives, for many anti-cancer substances including allicin, Green tea, for its anti-cancer catechins, a potent antioxidant.

• Eat fish.Eat fish once or twice a week good choices include wild salmon, sardines, herring, and black cod. But be conscious of mercury, a contaminant found in many types of fish.

• Drink  water. Water is essentially to all bodily processes. It stimulates the immune system, removes waste and toxins, and transports nutrients to all of your organs.

Avoid Foods

• Red Meat.While some red meat can safely be included in your diet (for instance, grass-fed beef, which contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that may help to fight cancer)5, there is evidence that eating a lot of red meat can increase your cancer risk. One such study found that eating red meat daily for 10 years (in an amount equivalent to a quarter-pound hamburger) increased men’s risk of dying from cancer by 22 percent, and women’s by 20 percent.( Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(6):562-571.)

• Refined Sugar. A high intake of refined sugar, also known as a high glycemic load, is associated with cancer of the breast and upper digestive tract.

• High Fat.Food with high butter fat and other animal fats such as whole milk or creams such as cheese, full fat yogurt, butter, sauces. They feed the cancers and can interfere with caroteniods absorption.

• Hydrogenated oils .Hydrogenated oils, such as stick margarine. Or foods that list hydrogenated oils in their ingredients.

• Fried Foods.Fried foods and not simply because of the calories and acrylamide.  When oil is heated and reheated, more free radicals are produced.  Most importantly, avoid fried foods when eating out - where restaurants frequently reheat the oil they use, or "top-off" the old oil rather than starting fresh.

• High Heat Cooking.Do not cook oils on high heat low-heat cooking or baking (less than 240 degrees) prevents oils or fats from turning carcinogenic.

• Kick the smoking habit.“I quit smoking, and right away joined a gym and started working out with a personal trainer. There was no way I could exercise and feel healthy if I kept lighting up.

• Potato Chips.Potato chips and other snack chips and French fries may contain high levels of acrylamide, another carcinogenic substance that forms when foods are heated at high temperatures, such as during baking or frying.

Some other Sources

What makes this somewhat difficult; however, is the fact that much of the modern food supply has become heavily tainted with pesticides and herbicides, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), artificial chemicals, and various other toxins that are directly linked to causing cancer. So in order to make this work, you will need to focus on obtaining 1) clean, organic, chemical-free fruits and vegetables for you and your family. Apples, lettuce, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, celery, and various other soft and porous produce items tend to retain the highest levels of chemical residues, so it is especially important to purchase organic varieties of these items.

Though not technically a "food," per se, 6) clean, fluoride-free, alkaline water, and lots of it, is vital for preventing cancer. Not only does your digestive system rely on a steady stream of clean water to dilute toxic compounds in the bowel and flush them from your system, but your cells also require water to stay hydrated. And since electrolyte compounds are necessary for both intracellular and extracellular hydration, adding a little bit of 7) trace mineral-rich sea salt and coconut powder to your water every day can help maximize hydration and optimize your body's physiological balance. 

For general cancer prevention in a far less regimented form, the Gerson Institute recommends abiding by its "Guidelines for General Nutrition from the Gerson Persepctive," which incorporates a diet that is 75 percent composed of fresh, organic vegetables and fruits, and to a lesser extent potatoes, whole-grain breads (if you are not allergic to wheat or gluten), and organic dairy products. The other 25 percent of the diet may include foods like grass-fed meats, fish, pastured eggs, nuts, and the occasional sweet treat.