Enlist Your Diet to Help Prevent Cancer

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Do you ever find yourself wondering if you’ll develop cancer? Maybe you’re dealing with cancer right now. I probably think about this more than most people and if you’ve lost someone to cancer, you know what I mean. I watched my Dad suffer and die any ugly death from lung and bone cancer. Only a few months later, my brother found out he had malignant melanoma and died right after his fortieth birthday. I questioned the value of my career in nutrition. I had all of these degrees and years of education yet my knowledge couldn’t prevent the deaths of the people I loved the most.

Part of my passion for nutrition today stems from my past and the desire to help you live a healthy life, if at all possible, free from the devastation of diseases like cancer. Can I tell you that diet is the end-all be-all and that it will prevent cancer? No, I can’t. There are several factors at play here, one of which is your family history and genetics. But the American Cancer Society links one third of all cancers to diet and lifestyle such as lack of physical activity. A healthy diet can increase the odds in your favor of good health now and down the road.

The next time you grocery shop load up with many of these healthy, potentially cancer fighting foods. You’ve always heard to eat ‘a variety’ of foods but here’s a good reason why. Different foods appear to hone in on different types of cancer. When you eat a variety of foods, you get the synergistic effect from all the nutrients working together as a team which is more powerful than one food, one nutrient. More great news is that these foods have health benefits for the body beyond cancer prevention. They’re powerful players in day to day health.

Here are some specific anti-cancer foods to toss in your grocery cart:

1. The Vitamin D/Calcium combo: including low fat versions of milk, yogurt and cheese plus foods fortified with calcium and vitamin D such as orange juice and cereals.

2. Cruciferous veggies: this is the cabbage family including cauliflower, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage.

3. High fiber foods of all types: from whole grains such as whole grain breads and high fiber cereals to beans, lentils, fruits and vegetables.

4. Fruit and vegetables: don’t forget to choose tomatoes, tomato products, grapes and berries for the antioxidants and phytonutrients they contain such as lycopene, the red color in tomatoes.

5. Onions and garlic: you always knew those smells and taste had to be good for something!

6. Fish: such as salmon and tuna for omega-3s to fight inflammation

7. Tea: try black, green and other varieties such as red rooibos.