Eating right can lower your chance of developing cancer. In fact, nutrition guidelines for cancer prevention are similar to those for preventing other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. These general guidelines can help reduce your cancer risk with your food choices.
Keep a Healthy Weight
Being overweight or obese is related to as many as one in five cancer-related deaths, but exactly how weight affects cancer risk is unclear. Weight in the belly is most closely connected with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and cancers of the pancreas and uterus and breast in postmenopausal women. Other cancers associated with obesity include:
- Esophageal
- Rectal
- Kidney
- Thyroid
- Gallbladder
- Live
- Ovarian
- Prostate
Limit Calorie-Dense, Nutrient-Deficient Foods
Reduce your intake of foods with added sugars and solid fats that provide a lot of calories but few nutrients. These foods include: sugar-sweetened beverages, processed snack foods and desserts. Calories add up fast with these sorts of calorie-dense foods, which can lead to weight gain and leaves little room for more healthful, cancer-preventive foods.
Eat Vegetables, Fruits, Whole Grains and Legumes
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, including beans, is linked with a lower risk of lung, oral, esophageal, stomach and colon cancer. At this point, it’s not clear which components in vegetables and fruits are most protective against cancer. So enjoy a variety of whole foods naturally-rich in nutrients. Fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, and make at least half your grains whole grains. Beans and peas may be counted as part of the USDA MyPlate Protein Foods Group or as a vegetable. Also, eating a diet rich in these plant-based foods can help you stay at a healthy weight.
Moderate Your Meat Portions
Some studies suggest a link between colon cancer and eating large amounts of red meat, especially processed meat such as ham, bacon and hot dogs. Your best bet is to enjoy protein in moderation and to include a variety of lean protein foods. Consider eating plant-based sources of protein such as beans more often and filling the rest of your plate with whole grains and vegetables.
Limit Alcohol
Evidence suggests all types of alcoholic drinks may increase your risk of a number of cancers, including cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, breast, colon and rectum. It’s unclear exactly how alcohol affects cancer risk. It is considered more harmful when combined with smoking. If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to no more than one drink daily for women and two for men. (A serving of alcohol is considered 1½ fluid ounces of hard liquor, 5 fluid ounces of wine or 12 fluid ounces of beer.)
Consume Less Salt (Sodium)
In cultures where people eat a lot of salt-preserved, salt-cured and salt-pickled food, the risk for stomach, nasopharyngeal and throat cancers may be higher. Although no evidence suggests that the amounts of salt used in cooking or flavoring foods affect cancer risk, it is known to raise the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, which is why reducing sodium intake is recommended. Most of the sodium in our diets comes from processed foods, rather than salt we add as a seasoning. Read food labels to learn exactly how much sodium is in a serving. According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, individuals should reduce their sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day (about 1 teaspoon of salt). Adults with hypertension or prehypertension should further reduce their sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams a day.
What about Supplements?
Whole foods are your best bet for reducing your risk of cancer, not supplements. Research suggests the synergy between nutrients found naturally in foods offers a protective effect. The best sources of nutrients for cancer prevention are nutrient-rich whole foods and healthful beverages. Talk to your health care provider before taking any supplements.
Source: www.eatright.org
