Food and cancer prevention
- Dietitian.Lauren Hmede
- Feb 20, 2019
- 3 min read
Fighting cancer by the plateful
No single food has a magical effect in fighting cancer instead a well-balanced diet that is made of food combination based on two third for plant based food and one third for animal source is the best for preventing many diseases including cancer.
Have a colourful meals:
Fruits and vegetables are packed with antioxidant that play a key role I fighting cancer in addition they can help you to lose extra weight which has been linked to for multiple cancers, including colon, oesophagus, and kidney cancers. Eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark green, red, and orange vegetables.
Enjoy your breakfast with:
Folate or B9 vitamin fights different form of cancers like the cancer of colon, rectum, and breast. You can find it in many meals at breakfast time. Fortified breakfast cereals and whole wheat products are good sources of folate. Moreover orange juice, melons, and strawberries are good source too.
Add more folate food
More good sources of folate are asparagus, eggs, beans, sunflower seeds, and leafy green vegetables like spinach or romaine lettuce. Healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and enriched grain products is the best way to get enough folate. Women who are pregnant need to take supplements of folate to prevent neural tube defect
Cut back on processed food:
Processed meat, ham and bologna in addition to meat with a lot of preservatives have been linked with high risk of colorectal cancer and stomach cancer. So cut back on them is really important to prevent cancer.
Cancer-fighting tomatoes
Tomatoes consumption has been linked with lower risk of prostate cancer but it is not clear if it is due to lycopene or other nutrient.
Tea's anticancer potential
According to studies done green tea has slowed or prevented the development of cancer in colon, liver, breast, and prostate cells. It also had a similar effect in lung tissue and skin. And in some longer term studies, tea was associated with lower risks for bladder, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. More research is needed to recommend consumption of green tea for fighting cancer.
Grapes and cancer
Purple and red grapes contains resveratrol that works as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory and have been shown lower risk of cancer more research is needed.
Limit alcohol to lower cancer risk
Cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, oesophagus, liver, and breast are all linked with drinking alcohol. Alcohol may also raise the risk for cancer of the colon and rectum. Women should drink no more than 1 cup and men should drink two cups.
Water and the bladder:
Water protects against bladder cancer and it dilute urine so it keeps agent away from contacting with the bladder.
Beans and cancer:
Beans contains several phytochemicals that fight cancer and slow growth of tumours.
Cruciferous vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bock choy, and kale. These members of the cabbage family make an excellent stir fry and can really liven up a salad. Some component is these vegetables fight against cancers such as colon, breast, lung, and cervix. More studies are needed
Enjoy dark green leafy vegetables
Dark green leafy vegetables such as mustard greens, lettuce, kale, chicory, spinach, and chard have an abundance of fiber, folate, and carotenoids. These nutrients may help protect against cancer of the mouth, larynx, pancreas, lung, skin, and stomach.
Add more spicies:
Studies have been shown that curcumin prevent the transformation, proliferation, and invasion of cancerous cells for a wide array of cancers. Research in humans is ongoing.
Choose the right cooking method
How you cook meat can make a difference in how big a cancer risk it poses. Frying, grilling, and broiling meats at very high temperatures cause chemicals to form that may increase cancer risk. Other cooking methods such as stewing, braising, or steaming appear to produce fewer of those chemicals. And when you do stew the meat, remember to add plenty of healthy vegetables.
Blueberries:
Ellagic acid is a powerful antioxidant in strawberries and raspberries and it may fight cancer in several ways at once, including deactivating certain cancer causing substances and slowing the growth of cancer cells. More research is needed.
Blueberries for health
Blueberries are rich in antioxidants that may help fight cancer by ridding the body of free radicals before they can do their damage to cells. But more research is needed. Try topping oatmeal, cold cereal, yogurt, even salad with blueberries to boost your intake of these healthful berries.
Pass on the sugar
Sugar replace many healthy food that fight cancer and cause excess calories and obesity and as a result increase risk of cancer.
Don't rely on supplements
Eating heathy diet is the best way to fight cancer so don’t rely on supplement and aim always to have diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Sources:
https://www.doctoroz.com/gallery/9-cancer-fighting-foods
Comments