Cancer Prevention and Diet

Does my diet affect my chances of getting cancer?

Many cancers have unknown causes. However, there are changes you can make in your diet to lower your risk of cancer. For most people the most important things to do are:

• Don’t smoke.
• Keeping a healthy weight through diet and physical activity.

Being overweight increases your risk for cancers such as breast, colon, kidney, and esophagus cancer. The risk for prostate, gallbladder, pancreas, and ovarian cancer is also probably higher.

The link between diet and cancer is complicated. There is still much to be learned. However, there is strong evidence that the simple guidelines given below will help decrease your risk. Many of these guidelines can help you avoid being overweight or obese.

What are the dietary guidelines for prevention of cancer?

• Eat a variety of foods.
• Eat at least 5 cups of fruits and vegetables every day.
• Eat more whole-grain breads, pastas, and cereals.
• Eat more calcium-rich foods, such as skim dairy products, leafy greens, and beans.
• Eat less fat. When you eat meat, trim off the fat and skin. Use nonfat or low-fat dairy products. Remember that many desserts are usually high in both fats and calories.
• Eat more fish and white meat from chicken and turkey. Eat less red meat (beef, lamb, pork). Also eat less smoked and processed meat and fish.
• Change how you cook. Grilling, broiling, and frying meat at a high temperature creates chemicals that may increase your cancer risk. The same meat cooked in a stew or steamed, poached, or microwaved is safer.
• Drink alcohol moderately if at all. Too much alcohol increases your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, breast, and liver. Women should have no more than 1 drink a day. Men should have no more than 2 drinks a day.
• Ask your healthcare provider about vitamin and mineral supplements, including vitamin D, (now being studied for its possible benefit in cancer prevention) if you don’t drink fortified milk or get much sunlight.
• If you are overweight, talk to your provider about losing weight.

Do any specific foods help prevent cancer?

No foods are guaranteed to protect you from cancer, but doing things like eating a healthy diet and keeping a healthy weight may help prevent some cancers. Fruits and vegetables have nutrients that have a role in preventing cancer.

• Fiber is a plant material in our diet that is not digested. Although eating more fiber has not been directly linked to cancer prevention, it keeps food moving through the bowel and can help you keep a healthy weight by making you feel full on fewer calories. Eating more whole-grain breads and cereals, beans, nuts, seeds, fruit, and vegetables are good ways to get more fiber.
• Vitamins C and E are antioxidants. Antioxidants help prevent or repair damage to cells caused by pollution, sunlight, and normal body processes.
  • Excellent sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits, papayas, strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and peppers.
  • Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, seeds, nuts, avocados, many fortified breakfast cereals, leafy green vegetables, and tomato products.
• Vitamin A and folate help cells develop normally.
  • Vitamin A is present in liver, fortified dairy products, and eggs. Plant sources include carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and leafy green vegetables.
  • Broccoli, asparagus, leafy green vegetables, beans, and fortified cereals are good sources of folate.
• Phytochemicals are natural chemicals that give plants their color, flavor, smell, and texture. They are promoted for the prevention of many health conditions, including cancer. Some phytochemicals may help block the action of cancer-causing agents or keep cancer cells from developing. Phytochemicals are found only in plants, so it is important to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and whole grains.

Diet and lifestyle changes can help you take control of your health. Make healthy choices about regular physical activity, weight, alcohol, smoking, and the foods you eat. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have questions or special concerns about your risk of cancer.