Cancer can to some extent be prevented by dietary choices

27th October 2010

In high-income countries cancer is today right at the top of the list as leading cause of death together with coronary heart disease and stroke & other cerebrovascular diseases. While a hundred years ago cancer was rare, these days it is a common disease. Studying the causes of the increased cancer rates, the medical research has found out that the changes in our life style in the past 100 years, including diet, has contributed significantly to the cancer related deaths.

Health authorities in high-income countries report that as many as 30% of the cancer cases can be linked to poor diet, and therefore, could be prevented. Poor diet, after smoking, is mentioned as the second most important cause of cancer. The good news is that by making choices in our daily lives we could be preventing a medical condition, which in too many cases turns out to be fatal.

So, what kind of dietary choices can we then make to help prevent cancer? Interested in the topic, I have gone through several more and less official sources to find out. The consensus seems to be that:

1. One should eat 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables daily (9 is quoted as the level that can help to prevent cancer)

2. One should consume as little as possible processed meats and other processed foods

3. One should limit alcohol consumption, though an occasional glass of red wine can be somewhat beneficial

4. One should drink plenty of water

5. One should avoid sugar in any form

6. One should choose cooking methods, which do not cause formation of harmful chemicals on food (choose stewing, braising or steaming instead of frying, grilling and broiling)

Also, there seems to be a consensus that no single food can reduce one's risk of cancer, but the right combination of foods may help make a difference. The plate at mealtimes should constitute of 2/3 plant based foods and no more than 1/3 of animal protein.

For the ones interested, there are many lists available of specific "super foods", which have the capability of helping the body to prevent cancer, but the contents of the lists vary and there is a lack of medical evidence to form a foolproof list. But it doesn't do any harm to make a combination of the available lists, and try to incorporate the items in the diet! Below are some food items, which I have found:

tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, berries, tea (green and black), avocados, soy products like tofu and soy milk, carrots, figs, flax, chili pepers, jalopenos, pumpkin, garlic, onion, chives, leeks, dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, grapefruit, pineapple, apple, grapes, nuts, oranges, lemons, papayas, rosemary, curcumin, seaweed, mushrooms, fatty fish, wasabi, horse radish, dark chocolate (over 70% cocoa), whole grain foods, olive oil... and the list goes on...

The take home message seems to be that the important thing is to eat plenty of fresh produce, as little as possible processed foods and make sure that what we eat contains as little as possible harmful chemicals. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it :)