The link between cancer and diet
Not all health problems are avoidable, but you have more control over your health than you may think. Research shows that a large percentage of cancer-related deaths are directly linked to lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking, a lack of exercise, and an unhealthy diet. Avoiding cigarettes, limiting alcohol, reaching a healthy weight, and getting regular exercise are a great start to preventing cancer. But to best support your health, you also need to look at your eating habits.
What you eat—and don’t eat—has a powerful effect on your health, including your risk of cancer. Without knowing it, you may be eating many foods that fuel cancer, while neglecting the powerful foods and nutrients that can protect you. For example, a daily serving of red or processed meat increases your risk of colorectal cancer by 21 percent, whereas eating whole soy foods such as tofu or edamame can help reduce your risk of breast cancer. Every 35 grams of dairy protein you consume each day can increase your risk of prostate cancer by 32 percent, while eating more fruits and vegetables can lower your risk for a variety of common cancers. By making small changes to your diet and behaviors, you can lower your risk of disease and possibly even stop cancer in its tracks.
The controversy over GMOs, pesticides and the risk of cancer
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are plants or animals whose DNA has been altered in ways that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding, most commonly in order to be resistant to pesticides or produce an insecticide. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the biotech companies that engineer GMOs insist they are safe, many food safety advocates point out that these products have undergone only short-term testing to determine their effects on humans.
Some animal studies have indicated that consuming GMOs may cause certain types of cancer. Since most GMOs are engineered for herbicide tolerance, the use of toxic herbicides like Roundup has substantially increased since GMOs were introduced. Some studies have indicated that the use of pesticides even at low doses can increase the risk of certain cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. However, research into the link between GMOs, pesticides, and cancer remains inconclusive.
If you're in doubt about GMOs and pesticides, buy organic or local foods
In most countries, organic crops contain no GMOs and organic meat comes from animals raised on organic, GMO-free feed. Locally grown produce is less likely to have been treated with chemicals to prevent spoilage.
For more, read Are Organic Foods Right for You?
Cancer prevention diet tip #1: Focus on cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables
Why fruits and vegetables are cancer-fighting powerhouses
It comes down to this: Fruit and vegetables have less fat, more fiber, and more cancer-fighting nutrients. These three elements work together to support your immune system and help your body fight off cancer. Currently, most people are falling short of the recommended daily minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables. In fact, most of us need to double the amount we currently eat to stay healthy and help prevent or fight cancer.
While there’s no single food you can eat to prevent or fight cancer on its own, a balanced plant-based diet filled with a variety of vegetables, fruits, soy, nuts, whole grains, and beans can help lower your risk for many types of cancer. Eating a colorful variety gives you the best protection. Plant-based foods are rich in nutrients that boost your immune system and help protect against cancer cells. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of antioxidants such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium. These powerful vitamins can protect against cancer and help the cells in your body function optimally.
There is also evidence that plant-based foods may be effective at preventing specific cancers. For example:
Diets high in fruit may lower the risk of stomach and lung cancer.
Eating vegetables containing carotenoids, such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, and squash, may reduce the risk of lung, mouth, pharynx, and larynx cancers.
Diets high in non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and beans, may help protect against stomach and esophageal cancer.
Eating oranges, berries, peas, bell peppers, dark leafy greens and other foods high in vitamin C may also protect against esophageal cancer.
Foods high in lycopene, such as tomatoes, guava, and watermelon, may lower the risk of prostate cancer.
The less processed these plant-based foods are—the less they’ve been cooked, peeled, mixed with other ingredients, stripped of their nutrients, or otherwise altered from the way they came out of the ground—the better.
How to add more cancer-fighting fruits and veggies to your diet
There are many ways to add plant-based foods to your diet. A nice visual reminder is to aim for a plate of food that is filled at least two-thirds with whole grains, vegetables, beans, or fruit. Dairy products, fish, and meat should take up no more than a third of the plate.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to go completely vegetarian. Instead, focus on adding “whole” foods, which are foods close to their original form. Just as important, try to minimize or reduce the amount of processed foods you eat. Eat an apple instead of drinking a glass of apple juice, for example. Or enjoy a bowl of oatmeal with raisins instead of an oatmeal raisin cookie.
Breakfast: Add fruit and a few seeds or nuts to your whole grain breakfast cereal (such as oatmeal).
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, which should be made with whole grain bread. Have a side of veggies like cut up carrots, sauerkraut, or a piece of fruit.
Snacks: 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.
Dinner: Add fresh or frozen veggies to your favorite pasta sauce or rice dish. Top a baked potato with broccoli and yogurt, sautéed veggies, or with salsa. Replace creamy pasta sauces with sautéed vegetables or tomato sauce made with healthy olive oil. Try replacing meat with beans or soy products.
Dessert: Choose fruit instead of a richer dessert. Or a single square of dark chocolate.
Cancer prevention diet tip #2: Fight cancer with fiber
Another benefit of eating plant-based foods is that it will also increase your fiber intake. Fiber, also called roughage or bulk, is the part of plants (grains, fruits, and vegetables) that your body can’t digest. Fiber plays a key role in keeping your digestive system clean and healthy. It helps keep food moving through your digestive tract, and it also moves cancer-causing compounds out before they can create harm. Eating a diet high in fiber may help prevent colorectal cancer and other common digestive system cancers, including stomach, mouth, and pharynx.
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.
Tips for adding more cancer-fighting fiber to your diet:
Use brown rice instead of white rice
Substitute whole-grain bread for white bread
Choose a bran muffin over a croissant or pastry
Snack on popcorn instead of potato chips
Eat fresh fruit such as a pear, a banana, or an apple (with the skin)
Have a baked potato, including the skin, instead of mashed potatoes
Enjoy fresh carrots, celery, or bell peppers with a hummus or salsa, instead of chips and a sour cream dip
Use beans instead of ground meat in chili, casseroles, tacos, and even burgers (bean burgers can taste great)
Drink plenty of water. Fiber absorbs water so the more fiber you add to your diet, the more fluids you should drink. Water is also essential for fighting cancer. It stimulates the immune system, removes waste and toxins, and transports nutrients to all of your organs.
Cancer prevention diet tip #3: Cut down on meat
Research shows that vegetarians are about fifty percent less likely to develop cancer than those who eat meat. So what’s the link between meat and cancer risk? First, meat lacks fiber and other nutrients that have been shown to have cancer-protective properties. What it does have in abundance, however, is fat—often very high levels of saturated fat. High-fat diets have been linked to higher rates of cancer. In the U.S., non-organic meat and poultry may also contain antibiotics and hormones and the animals may have been raised on feed containing GMOs. Finally, depending on how it is prepared, meat can develop carcinogenic compounds.
Making healthier meat and protein choices
You don’t need to cut out meat completely and become a vegetarian. But most people consume far more meat than is healthy. You can cut down your cancer risk substantially by reducing the amount of animal-based products you eat and by choosing healthier meats.
Keep meat to a minimum. Try to keep the total amount of meat in your diet to no more than fifteen percent of your total calories. Ten percent is even better.
Eat red meat only occasionally. Red meat is high in saturated fat, so eat it sparingly.
Reduce the portion size of meat in each meal. The portion should be able to fit in the palm of your hand.
Use meat as a flavoring or a side, not the main focus of a meal. You can use a little bit of meat to add flavor or texture to your food, rather than using it as the main element.
Add beans and other plant-based protein sources to your meals.
Choose leaner meats, such as fish, chicken, or turkey.
Avoid processed meats such as hotdogs, sausage, deli meats, and salami.
Select organic meat. Organic livestock must have access to the outdoors and be given organic feed, free of GMOs. They may not be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal-by-products.
See Good Ways to Get Quality Protein for more healthy meat and protein choices.
Cancer prevention diet tip #4: Choose your fats wisely
A major benefit of cutting down on the amount of meat you eat is that you will automatically cut out a lot of unhealthy fat. Eating a diet high in fat increases your risk for many types of cancer. But cutting out fat entirely isn’t the answer, either. In fact, some types of fat may actually protect against cancer. The trick is to choose your fats wisely and eat them in moderation.
Fats that increase cancer risk – The two most damaging fats are saturated fats and trans fats. Saturated fats are found mainly in animal products such as red meat, whole milk dairy products, and eggs. Trans fats, also called partially hydrogenated oils, are created by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid and less likely to spoil—which is very good for food manufacturers, and very bad for you.
Fats that decrease cancer risk – The best fats are unsaturated fats, which come from plant sources and are liquid at room temperature. Primary sources include olive oil, canola oil, nuts, and avocados. Also focus on omega-3 fatty acids, which fight inflammation and support brain and heart health. Good sources include salmon, tuna, and flaxseeds.
Tips for choosing cancer-fighting fats and avoiding the bad
Reduce your consumption of red meat, whole milk, butter, and other foods high in saturated fats.
Cook with olive oil instead of regular vegetable oil. Canola oil is another good choice, especially for baking.
Check the ingredient list on food labels and avoid anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which are usually found in stick margarines, shortenings, salad dressings, and other packaged foods.
Trim the fat off of meat when you do eat it, and avoid eating the skin on poultry.
Choose nonfat dairy products and eggs that have been fortified with omega-3 fatty acids.
Add nuts and seeds to cereal, salads, soups, or other dishes. Good choices include walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, pecans, and sesame seeds.
Use flaxseed oil in smoothies, salad dressings, or mixed in snacks such as applesauce. But do not cook with flaxseed oil, as it loses its protective properties when heated.
Limit fast food, fried foods, and packaged foods, which tend to be high in trans fats. This includes foods like potato chips, cookies, crackers, French fries, and doughnuts.
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.
Cancer prevention diet tip #5: Prepare your food in healthy ways
Choosing healthy food is not the only important factor. It also matters how you prepare and store your food. The way you cook your food can either help or hurt your anti-cancer efforts.
Boosting the cancer-fighting benefits of food
Here are a few tips that will help you get the most benefits from eating all those great cancer-fighting foods, such as fruit and vegetables:
Eat at least some raw fruits and vegetables. These have the highest amounts of vitamins and minerals, although cooking some vegetables can make the vitamins more available for our body to use.
When cooking vegetables, steam until just tender using a small amount of water. This preserves more of the vitamins. Overcooking vegetables removes many of the vitamins and minerals. If you do boil vegetables, use the cooking water in a soup or another dish to ensure you’re getting all the vitamins.
Wash all fruits and vegetables. Use a vegetable brush for washing. Washing does not eliminate all pesticide residue, but will reduce it. Choose organic produce if possible, grown without the use of pesticides or GMOs.
Flavor food with immune-boosting herbs and spices. Garlic, ginger, and curry powder not only add flavor, but they add a cancer-fighting punch of valuable nutrients. Other good choices include turmeric, basil, rosemary, and coriander. Use them in soups, salads, casseroles, or any other dish.
Tips for avoiding carcinogens
Carcinogens are cancer-causing substances found in food. Carcinogens can form during the cooking or preserving process—mostly in relation to meat—and as foods start to spoil. Examples of foods that have carcinogens are cured, dried, and preserved meats (e.g. bacon, sausage, beef jerky); burned or charred meats; smoked foods; and foods that have become moldy. Here are some ways reduce your exposure to carcinogens:
Do not cook oils on high heat. Low-heat cooking or baking (less than 240 degrees) prevents oils or fats from turning carcinogenic. Instead of deep-frying, pan-frying, and sautéing, opt for healthier methods such as baking, boiling, steaming, or broiling.
Go easy on the barbecue. Burning or charring meats creates carcinogenic substances. If you do choose to barbecue, don’t overcook the meat and be sure to cook at the proper temperature (not too hot).
Store oils in a cool dark place in airtight containers, as they quickly become rancid when exposed to heat, light, and air.
Choose fresh meats instead of cured, dried, preserved, or smoked meats.
Avoid foods that look or smell moldy, as they likely contain aflatoxin, a strong carcinogen. Aflatoxin is most commonly found on moldy peanuts. Nuts will stay fresh longer if kept in the refrigerator or freezer.
Be careful what you put in the microwave. Use waxed paper rather than plastic wrap to cover your food in the microwave. And always use microwave-safe containers.
Cancer prevention: The bottom line
Research shows that about a third of the most common cancers are preventable through changes in diet and lifestyle.
10 Ways to Reduce Your Cancer Risk
1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. Weight gain, overweight and obesity increases the risk of a number of cancers, including bowel, breast, prostate, pancreatic, endometrial, kidney, gallbladder, oesophageal, and ovarian cancers.
2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day. Physical activity decreases the risk of colon, endometrial, and postmenopausal breast cancer. As fitness improves, aim for 60 minutes or more of moderate, or for 30 minutes or more of vigorous, physical activity every day.
3. Avoid sugary drinks and limit consumption of energy-dense food. Foods that are high in fats, added sugars, and/or low in fiber, such as many fast and convenience foods, as well as sodas and energy drinks, promote weight gain that is associated with a higher cancer risk.
4. Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and pulses such as beans.
5. Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.
6. Limit alcoholic drinks. Limit consumption to no more than two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.
7. Limit consumption of salt and avoid moldy grains and cereals. Limit consumption of processed foods with added salt to ensure an intake of less than 2.4g sodium a day. Do not eat moldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes).
8. Where possible, aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone, instead of using supplements to try to protect against cancer.
9. It is best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for up to 6 months and then add other liquids and foods. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to be overweight as children or adults.
10. After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention. Follow the recommendations for diet, healthy weight, and physical activity from your doctor or trained professional.
Source: World Cancer Research Fund International
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