Do you have questions like ‘do I get cancer from drinking hot drinks? Do I get cancer from eating red meat? or can I get cancer from cooking my food in the microwave? What should you or shouldn’t you eat to reduce the risk of cancer? Diet can increase or decrease your risk of cancer. Although we don’t always know how nutrition affects your risk of cancer, we do know for certain foods or nutrients:
- Fruits and vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals that reduce your risk of cancer;
- Red meat (for example, beef, lamb and pork) and processed meat (meat that has been preserved by smoking, drying, salting or by adding preservatives, such as luncheon meat) increase the risk of cancer.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to good health and fight cancer is simply to follow an appropriate diet. The conclusion is actually quite logical, namely to eat less cancer-causing food or just put it aside and go for the healthy. By having a healthy diet, we can already prevent many ailments. You may have heard that garlic, broccoli, walnuts and red fruits may lower the risk of cancer. Indeed it is. Yet there are many more other cancer-fighting foods, far more than we think. Naturally, heredity, smoking and obesity also play a role in cancer. Research has shown that 30% of it is caused by smoking. So make sure you quit smoking, do not consume too much high-calorie food and not too much salt, because a large amount of salt can in turn damage cells in our body and cause cancer. Too much alcohol is also a major culprit, do not drink more than 2 glasses a day.
Good nutrition and cancer fighting foods are important during cancer treatment. What can you pay attention to with nutrition during the treatment?
Nutrition before the start of the treatment
It is important to be as fit as possible before the start of treatment. This allows the body to handle the treatment better. Good food and sufficient exercise contribute to this.
Nutrition during treatment
Good and adequate nutrition is very important during treatment. Food cannot cure, but it does support treatment. As a result, you can suffer less from side effects and recover faster from surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Below is a list of foods that are considered as the best cancer fighting foods:
1. Cruciferous plants: just think of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli. These cruciferous plants are rich in fiber and contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals that can aid in the prevention of stomach cancer. They also contain isiothiocytes and indoles. These ingredients reduce inflammation and Eating healthy help prevent damage to our DNA.
2. Carrots: They are high in beta carotene. Beta carotene is an orange colorant that is also found in spinach, kale, squash, and fruits such as apricots and tangerines. Beta-carotene is converted in the body into vitamin A. It ensures good resistance. Eating carrots reduces cancer in the throat, mouth, lungs, stomach, bladder, chest and prostate.
3. Tomatoes: contain a large amount of vitamin C, so antioxidants. It also contains lycopene, a natural red dye in tomatoes, which reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
4. Shiitake: an edible fungus that grows in China and Japan. The shiitake are available in Asian shops. They are dried, so before you can cut them, it is best to soak the mushroom in the water about half an hour beforehand. This mushroom strengthens your immune system due to the polysaccharides, a kind of carbohydrates. The protein lectin contained in the mushroom fights cancer cells and prevents the cancer cells from multiplying.
5. Seaweed: also contains beta-carotene, protein, vitamin B12 and fatty acids that work against breast cancer.
6. Oranges and Lemons: Contain limonene which stimulates the lymphocytes to fight cancer.
7. Papaya: Contains Vitamin C which acts as an antioxidant. Papaya cures us of worms, some viruses, fungi and the growth of cancer cells.
8. Rosemary: Not only does it add a strong flavor to the food, it also helps detoxify the body through its source of antioxidants. It works well against breast cancer and tumors in animals.
9. Green tea: According to studies, green tea reduces the risk of cancer of the stomach, lung, colon, pancreas, liver and rectum. It also stops cancer cells from multiplying.
10. Fatty fish: Contains omega-3 that are anti-inflammatory. It stops the production of proto-oncogenes. You can read about what are proto-oncogenes on the internet. Research has shown that for various cancers it is the case that there is less risk of cancer if people eat more fish than meat. Laboratory research has also shown that there is a beneficial effect of omega-3 fatty acids on cultured cancer cells, sometimes only inhibiting growth, sometimes it kills the cells and that makes it tumor-reducing.