No one wants to hear the diagnosis of cancer and cancer cannot always be prevented. However, a diet rich in some cancer fighting foods can help your overall health and lower your risk for getting cancer. Anyone of these “cancer fighters” is not enough. You need to include a wide variety of these foods to unlock the health benefit.
The best diet for fighting cancer contains a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. There are over 4000 phytochemicals (also called phytonutrients) and these phytochemicals are found in plant foods.
Research shows that varied diet of vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains helps lower the risk for many cancers.
Foods That Lower Cancer Risk
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens contain phytochemicals called carotenoids, fiber and folate. Examples of leafy greens are: lettuce, spinach, mustard greens, broccoli, kale and chard. You can easily make salads, add greens to omelets and add to smoothies.
Blueberries & Goji Berries
Blueberries and goji berries contain antioxidants, vitamin C and beta-carotene.
Garlic & Onions
The antioxidants found in garlic and onions help repair DNA and decrease inflammation.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a spice. This spice is often used in curries and stir fries. Curcumin is found in turmeric and has been shown to be beneficial in fighting breast cancer.
Ginger
Ginger is an herb that is loaded with anti-inflammatories. Inflammation is often a precursor to cancer. You can add ginger to a wide variety of dishes and brew it as a tea. You can find ginger in the produce section of your grocery store.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, lycopene and beta-carotene. You can eat tomatoes fresh or cooked and still get a great health benefit.
Tea
All varieties of tea are good for your health. Teas contain antioxidants, catechins and flavonoids that protect cells from damage. Be conscience of how much sugar you are adding to your tea. Too much sugar is not good for your health. Tea is beneficial hot or cold.
Challenges
Most of us eat a wide variety of foods in differing amounts and combinations. However, when foods are researched they are often researched in isolation. This makes studying all possible nutritional interactions hard to interpret.
Food preparation also plays a roll in how healthy it is. For example, we know chicken fried is not as good for you as chicken grilled.
More research is needed to help us understand how diet impacts our health.
Conclusion
Getting proper nutrition and regular exercise promotes good health.
You also want to manage your weight and keep it in a healthy weight range to protect your health. Obesity increases your risk for many cancers. To know your unique ideal weight range try: Health Surgeon’s Ideal Weight Calculator
Adding some of these cancer fighting foods to your diet may help you set yourself up for the best possible health through out your life. There is no time like now to start taking better care of your health and reducing your overall risk for cancer.
Need an easy way to get more greens into your life? Green Spectrum captures a beautiful collection of 15 different superfoods and greens!
Sources:
https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/prevention-and-healthy-living/food-and-cancer-risk#:~:text=Plant%2Dbased%20foods%20researchers%20have,with%20a%20lower%20cancer%20risk
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/36-foods-that-can-help-lower-your-cancer-risk.h12-1592991.html
https://www.aicr.org/cancer-prevention/food-facts/
https://share.upmc.com/2019/03/six-foods-lower-cancer-risk/
