The Anti-Cancer Diet

Food is amazing. It sustains us, comforts us, helps us entertain others, and can even contribute to cancer prevention. Here are seven simple dietary habits that can help you prevent cancer:

1. Eat at least five servings of vegetables daily and at least two servings of fruit—the more colorful the better because that means they contain more health-enhancing flavonoids.
   

2. Eat organic whenever possible to avoid harmful preservatives, pesticides, hormones, and other cancer-causing substances; new research also indicates that organic foods have higher nutritive value.
   

3. Drink more pure water and green tea and less alcohol and sugary sodas.
   

4. Choose essential fatty acids and avoid saturated and trans fats.
   

5. Reduce or avoid simple sugars, refined carbohydrates, and sodium.
   

6. Spice up your diet with herbs such as turmeric, garlic, rosemary, and cayenne; these herbs, especially turmeric (also known as curcumin) and garlic have important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
   

7. Supplement your diet with anti-cancer nutrients. It’s also very important to be active. Consistent exercise will strengthen the immune system, improve circulation, enhance digestion, and increase energy and vitality—the same things that also help prevent cancer.
   

Cancer is not just an immune system deficiency as previously thought...

Cancer develops by attacking one or more of these five pathways in the body: immune; inflammatory; hormonal; insulin; digestion (including detoxification & elimination).

The key to preventing cancer is to enhance all five pathways through diet and dietary supplements. The most exciting news in the area of cancer prevention involves dietary supplements that support one or more of the five pathways. Some of our old favorites and some new stars continue to receive positive attention from the scientific community.

There are several anti-cancer nutrients and herbs gaining significant momentum in the research community:

Vitamin D Recent studies demonstrated that vitamin D may help prevent breast, colon, prostate, and ovarian cancers. Other studies show vitamin D can also help prevent lymphomas, bladder, esophagus, kidney, lung, pancreatic, rectal, stomach, and uterine cancers. Vitamin D can be taken safely up to 2,000 IU per day. 

Curcumin This pigment from turmeric has been demonstrated to kill prostate cancer cells. Other research has shown that curcumin can also kill pancreatic cancer cells, and that curcumin works to reduce cancer risk.  Get 600 mg curcumin twice daily or eat 2 teaspoons of turmeric. 

Essential fatty acids Recent studies, including human clinical trials, show that these acids are promising for the prevention of breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. Take an omega-3 product that has 300 mg DHA and 500 mg EPA daily. Combine this with curcumin to enhance absorption. 

Resveratrol This potent flavonoid, found in red grapes, has been shown to target specific tumor pathways to help prevent and treat cancer. Take 40 to 80 mg per day.