GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Many factors influence your risk of getting cancer. Diet, physical activity and body weight are all major risk factors for developing some types of cancer.
Studies do suggest that a healthy diet can fight cancer. I recommend a diet rich in a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grain and legumes, and low in red and processed meat.
Patients often ask this question, but truly there is no one food that is going to stop cancer from occurring. However, you can eat in a way that will help reduce overall risk.
When you see a list of "cancer-fighting foods," they are often plant foods loaded with phytochemicals, also called phytonutrients. Phytochemicals are compounds found in plants that can help prevent chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Beyond just a healthy diet, a healthy lifestyle can help fight cancer. Maintaining a healthy body weight and getting physical activity are two factors that can reduce your risk of cancer.
A good way to add variety to your cancer-fighting food list is to make sure you include a rainbow of colors. You can get the most protection by eating foods from all colors of the spectrum.
- RED: Red foods such as red peppers, tomatoes and watermelons contain the phytochemical lycopene, which can help boost heart health, nourishes your body with antioxidants and may help cut prostate cancer risk significantly.
- ORANGE: The color orange in foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes and butternut squash comes from a phytochemical family called carotenoids. Carotene is a powerful antioxidant to support your immune system and protect against lung and breast cancer.
- YELLOW: Yellow foods such as lemons, yellow peppers, mangoes and yellow squash deliver a high dose of flavanoids. Scientists have found that certain flavonoids have antihistamine, antimicrobial, memory-and even mood-enhancing properties, and help reduce inflammation in the body.
- GREEN: Dark green such as kale, broccoli and kiwi have high concentrations of a phytochemical called chlorophyll. This nutrient helps the liver and kidneys breakdown disease-causing compounds. Indoles also eliminate excess hormones and carcinogens to protect against breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.
- BLUE/PURPLE: Plums, blueberries, blackberries and eggplants have high concentrations of anthocyanins, which serve our hearts by inhibiting clot formation and reducing the risk of heart disease. Blueberries can help reduce risk of colorectal, mouth, pharynx, larynx and lung cancer.
Many people choose to eat organic foods because they are grown with fewer pesticides. Eating foods that contain pesticides could increase cancer risk slightly.
However, studies show that consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whether grown conventionally or organically, can lower your overall cancer risk.
Eating conventionally-grown produce is far better than not eating fruits and vegetables at all.
To learn more about how nutrition can help fight cancer, visit here.
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