Nutrition for Cancer Prevention

The things you eat—or choose not to eat—will have a considerable impact on your physical health, and this includes the prevention of cancer. While you may not know it, you could be eating certain foods that increase your risk of cancer and avoiding others that could protect you from this dreaded disease. By paying attention to your diet, you can reverse the situation, and your health will improve considerably.

The ideal diet for combating or preventing cancer is mainly plant-based, and it includes an abundance of whole grains, vegetables, fruit and nuts. When you are shopping for these items, keep the following points in mind:
● Commercially grown produce may contain suspected carcinogens, the cancer-causing agents found in food, because of the pesticides they contain.
● Organic produce does not contain pesticides.
● It is less likely that produce grown locally has been sprayed with preservative chemicals.

Including plant-based foods in your diet will automatically increase the amount of fiber you consume, which plays a major role in helping your digestive system to run properly by removing cancer-causing elements before they become harmful.

Also, while research indicates that vegetarians are less prone to developing cancer, there is no need to eliminate meat from you diet completely. The key here is to choose meat that is healthier, including turkey or chicken, and to reduce the size of the portions you consume. Also, carcinogens can form while you are cooking meat in unsanitary conditions, and dried, cured, smoked and charred meats should be avoided because of the carcinogens they contain.

Canola oil, olive oil, avocados and nuts are the primary sources of unsaturated fats, which are preferred for good nutrition. In addition, include omega-3 fatty acids in your diet to promote brain and heart health and counteract inflammation. They can be found in flaxseed, tuna, salmon and other sources.

The importance of good nutrition for patients being treated for many different cancers cannot be over-emphasized. By eating a healthy diet, they can regain weight that they have lost or maintain their present weight. This also enables them to do the following:
● fight infection,
● counteract the side effects of radiation, chemotherapy or surgery, and
● help to improve prognosis

For more information about good nutrition for cancer prevention visit: http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_cancer_prevention.htm.