Anti-Cancer Diet

Making the right food choices could help reduce colon-cancer risk by 75%, breast-cancer by 50% and lung-cancer by 30%. The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer research reviewed the research, more than 4,500 studies and came up with new dietary recommendations. Eat 10 servings of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every day. A serving is 1/2 cup cooked and 1 cup raw. Worried about pesticides? The benefit far outweighs the risk.

Eat 2-3 leafy vegetables (spinach, romaine lettuce, kale, watercress, curly endive, mustard greens, beet greens, collard greens), 1 citrus (oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, kumquats, tangelo), 1 cruciferous. (vegetables- broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, radishes). 5-6 yellow, orange or red (carrots, cantaloupes, red bell peppers, tomatoes).

Other fruits and vegetables- umbeliferous vegetables- (long vegetables with a leafy bead)-(celery, carrots, fennel) Vegetables with strong flavors- garlic, onions leeks, shallots. red grapes and berries -(strawberries, blueberries, raspberries). Stone fruits- peaches, apricots, and nectarines.

Eat 7-10 servings of whole grains (brown rice, whole grain bread, oats, bulgar, barley). (and see whole grains on this website), legumes (tofu, black, lentils, garbanzos, kidneys.) and potatoes or 1 tuber (potato, turnips, beets, parsnips) or other root vegetables. A serving is 1/2 cup cooked or the equivalent of a slice of bread.

Cut dietary fat to 15·20 % of total calories. Limit red meat to 3 oz daily; better yet eat poultry or fish

Avoid alcohol or restrict to one drink/day. Pass up food high salt, which may increase the risk of stomach cancer. Use herbs and spices instead such as black pepper, turmeric, rosemary, mustard, cloves, and thyme.

Limit refined sugar intake.

Don't eat charred meat (eating grilled meat or broiled over an open flame may increase the risk of stomach, colon and rectal cancers). The toxic substances are called heterocyclic amines (HCA's). If you grill, marinate first. It is shown to reduce HCAs. Also precooking releases some of the meat juices that may turn into HCAs.

Drink tea (black, green, and oolong).

Vitamin Supplements and Chemo or Radiation Therapy

New research indicates that cancer patients who take antioxidant vitamins through radiation and chemotherapy may be making a mistake. Research from Sloan- Kettering in NYC found that tumor cells consume vitamin C. Researchers feel that once in the tumor the vitamin C could inhibit the treatment?s cancer killing abilities. Another study from the University of Chapel Hill in North Carolina found that vitamin A and E might help cancer cells thrive. They compared brain tumors in mice on either a normal diet or one without the vitamins. They found that the mice without the vitamins had smaller tumors and more damaged and diseased celled killed off that those that were treated with the vitamins.

Soy and Breast Cancer

A prevailing thought has been that compared to Americans, Asians eat soy and have less breast cancer. For those with breast cancer or a family history this be dangerous. The reason is that the isoflavones in soy are phytoestrogens and that they may act like the estrogens that are naturally produced by premenopausal women or the estrogen pills taken by many postmenopausal women. Estrogen is implicated in breast cancer.

It may also be that the phytoestrogens in soy are protective- in otherwords they compete and bind at estrogen receptor sites and decrease the body?s ability to pick up the natural hormone.

In test tubes genistein, the major isoflavone (phytochemical) in soy either stops the cancer cells from growing or makes them grow. It depends on the kind of cells.

Two studies have researchers worried - One study found that women who got a daily beverage with 38 grams of soy beverage and 38 mgs of genistein showed an increase in cell proliferation- anytime cells multiply rapidly there and increase risk of cancer. In the second study British investigators gave 60 grams of soy protein with 45 mgs of isoflavones a day for two weeks prior to breast biopsy, again soy stimulated breast cell proliferation.

In rat studies, animals given genistein soon after birth or in early puberty got fewer tumors when treated with carcinogens later in life. They seemed to have lifelong protection from cancer.

Play it safe eat soy in moderation and avoid soy supplements e.g. genistein if you have breast cancer or a family history of the disease.

Donna Tinnerello, MS, RD, CD/N is a registered dietitian, living in Manhattan, with more than 10 years experience in HIV and nutrition. Her subspecialties are cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal disease, diabetes and weight management.
Donna is available for private consultation by referral only. Ms.Tinnerello has donated time and articles to our web site at always your choice and we sincerely appreciate her contributions.