Diet and Cancer Prevention
Eating well can lower your chance of developing cancer. In fact, nutrition guidelines for cancer prevention are similar to thosefor preventing other diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Here are some general guidelines to help reduce your cancer risk with diet:
Keep a Healthy Weight
Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. Being overweight or obese is related to as many as one in five cancerrelated deaths. Exactly how weight affects cancer risk is unclear. Weight is most closely connected with cancers of the
*** in postmenopausal women, colon, endometrium, kidney and esophagus. A connection also exists with cancers of the
pancreas, gallbladder, thyroid, ovary and cervix.
Limit Calorie-Dense, Nutrient-Deficient Foods
Reduce your intake of foods with added sugars and fats that provide a lot of calories, but few nutrients. Calories add up fast with caloriedense foods leaving little room for more healthy, 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 naturallyrich in nutrients. Fill at least twothirds of your plate with vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans.
Also, eating a diet rich in these plant-based foods can help you stay at a healthy weight.
Limit Intake of Red Meats and Processed Meats
Red meat is an excellent source of protein plus several vitamins and minerals. But eating too much red meat may increase cancer risk, especially for certain types. Eat fish, poultry and beans more often. When you do eat meat, choose lean cuts and limit your intake to no more than 18 ounces (cooked weight) of red meat like beef, pork, lamb per week. Downsize your meat portions and flavorfully fill your plate with beans, 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, *** and colon. 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 2 to 3 drinks a day for men and 1 to 2 drinks a day for women.
Consume Less Salt (Sodium)
Besides affecting blood pressure, eating too much salt increases your risk of stomach cancer. 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 a product. Limit yourself to 2,400 milligrams a day
What about Supplements?
Whole foods are your best bet forreducing your risk of cancer, notsupplements. Research suggests the synergy between nutrients found naturally in foods offers a protective effect.