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Will I get cancer? This question makes us anxious. In our life span, we have a 50 % chance to develop cancer. It isn’t a question of how but more of a when. It isn’t a doomsday prediction though. We may be lucky with a 50% chance of living our life without cancer. With that kind of luck we better prepare. Call it an insurance policy.
Functional Foods
Our greatest weapons to fight cancer are functional foods. They’re easily at our disposal. Berries such as strawberries, cranberries, blackberries and raspberries have superb cancer fighting phytonutrients. We’ve known that broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, turnips and kale are awesome cancer fighters. Carrots, squash, pumpkin, cantaloupe, oranges and sweet potatoes are carotenoid –rich foods that help stave off growth of cancer in our bodies.
Dark green, leafy vegetables like spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens, lettuce and kale help fight those cancer cells too. Don’t forget the fish, purple and black grapes, that green tea and mushrooms. They’re excellent in winning that cancer battle.
Flavorful spices in the allium family are great cancer busters. They include onions, garlic, shallots, chives and leeks.Nuts and seeds notably walnuts, Brazil nuts, flaxseed and quinoa, and whole grains check cancer growth. Don’t overlook that sunny delicious tomato that is rich in cancer fighting nutrients.
These functional foods transform our bodies into a barren environment for cancer. Cancer cells will have a tough time taking root, replicate and evolve into develop weird cancer tumor masses. Eating these potent functional foods results into lesser general inflammatory processes. They’re naturally rich in phytonutrients that induce apoptosis, combat angiogenesis and inhibit cancer cell proliferation.
This is a good start. But food alone doesn’t protect us against cancer. A healthy lifestyle is the best way to take our luck further.
Recommendation of the American Institute for Cancer Research
The American Institute for Cancer Research published its recent food, nutrition and activity recommendation to help us prevent cancer. Here are 8 easy tips to put into action:
1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
2. Be as physically active as you can. Exercise at least 30 minutes every single day.
3. Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods particularly processed foods high in added sugar, low in fiber or high in fat.
4. Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes.
5. Limit your consumption of red meat such as beef, pork and lamb and avoid processed meats.
6. If consumed at all, limit your alcoholic drinks to two glasses for men and one glass for women daily.
7. Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium).
8. Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer.
Bottom Line
If we have a 50% chance of getting cancer we better prepare for it. Let’s do as what the American Cancer Society advices. Let’s consume 5 to 10 servings of fruits and veggies every day. Let’s be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day. Protecting ourselves isn’t that difficult. Let’s make this our goal.