Healthy eating is just common sense, especially where cancer is concerned. Thankfully, there are proven cancer prevention recommendations for foods and drinks that can help lower the chances of cancer affecting you. By incorporating them into your daily life, you’ll not only feel healthier, but you will be less at risk of some cancers.
Eat more fruit and vegetables
Fruit and Vegetables contain natural substances that can destroy cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of developing digestive tract cancers (including the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach and bowel).
Reduce alcohol consumption
High levels of alcohol consumption can increase our risk of cancer. Limit your consumption to standards recommended by health physicians.
Avoid foods high in salt
Diets high in salt have been linked to an increase in stomach cancer, and can also lead to high blood pressure.
75% of our salt intake now comes from packaged and take-away foods.
Tips for eating less salt:
Eat low-fat foods
We often associate ‘fats’ with weight gain and unhealthy eating habits and are told that eating fatty foods could lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
However, certain fats are essential to our health and provide the following benefits in terms of cancer prevention:
Supplies essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acid) that our body cannot produce. These fatty acids are essential for brain and eye development in children and also maintain good skin health for adults.
Enhances absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (e.g. vitamin A, D, E and K).
Supplies energy
Provides protection for internal organs
Insulates the body for warmth
Satisfies hunger when a moderate amount of fats are included in a meal
It is widely known that one should limit saturated fats and cholesterol intake minimises the chances of high blood cholesterol and is a powerful tool for cancer prevention. High cholesterol and saturated fat foods include fatty meats, offal, skin, full-fat dairy products, butter, coconut and palm oils and fried foods. Conversely, unsaturated fats are actually good for our hearts by lowering bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein - LDL) and triglycerides, and also increasing good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein - HDL).
Two Major Types of Unsaturated Fats Include:
Oil: corn, sunflower and soybean oil
Fatty fish: mackerel, salmon, sardine, swordfish
Soy products: tofu, soy milk, bean curd
Oil: canola and olive oil
Seeds & nuts: almond, hazelnut nut, sesame & pumpkin seeds
Avocado, olive
Tips to Increase Your Good Fats
Click here to download our cancer information booklet on diet and cancer.
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