A person’s lifestyle and dietary habits can have a direct influence in the risk of developing cancer. Incorporating foods into your nutritional program that are “chemopreventive” is an important way to nutritionally arm yourself and help prevent cancer. According to J. Robert Hatherill, Ph.D., author of Eat to Beat Cancer, these foods have been called the Super Eight Food groups:
Onion Group – onion, garlic and asparagus
Cruciferous Group – broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage
Nuts and Seeds – pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and walnuts
Grass Group – oats, corn, rice and wheat
Legume – soybeans, tofu, peas, green and wax beans
Fruit – berries, citrus fruits
Solanace Groups – tomatoes and potatoes
Umbelliferous Group – Carrots and celery
Meat, poultry, fish and dairy now account for between 60-80% of the pesticide and organo-chlorine chemical residues in the American diet. (Potent immune system poisons such as PCB and dioxin.) Purchase organic, free range meat and eggs free from antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants. Never eat organ meats like liver and kidney.
Most of us have heard of the importance of dietary fiber in our diets, yet many of us are still fiber deficient. Fiber binds up toxic bile acids, which some believe can attribute to some cancers. It dilutes intestinal contents and reduces the formation of more toxic secondary bile acids. Dietary fiber has been shown to inhibit intestinal tumors.
The way food is prepared can have an impact on the amount of cancer-producing chemicals that are formed in foods. The recommended method of cooking to prevent chemicals forming in food is steaming, poaching, light oven broiling, low temperature roasting, baking or light boiling. Avoid charbroiled, fried foods and foods subjected to high cooking temperatures.
What you eat is a major deterrent for diseases such as cancer and heart disease, which are the most common causes of pre-mature deaths. It is important to purchase foods free of chemicals and additives. Organic produce contains more phytochemicals, which play a role in preventing disease. It has been shown to contain up to five times more minerals and trace elements than commercial produce. There are fewer herbicides, insecticide and fungicide residues as well as fewer toxic metals and nitrates in organic produce.
Educating yourself is the first step in cancer prevention. Utilizing resources such as Center for Science in the Public Interest, Americans for Safe Food and International Food Information Council will assist in further education on food safety.
