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Anti-Cancer Foods

By Jennifer Lyall January 23, 2009 - 3:00am
 
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What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease process where your cells will grow or reproduce out of control. In a normal cell life cycle, your cell will be born, it will grow and it will die. In a cancerous cell, there is a signaling error where the cell refuses to die. The cell then grows or reproduces out of control, and eventually it causes a tumor.

What are the most common types of cancers for men and for women?
The most common cancer for women is breast, and for men is prostate. The most deadly type of cancer is lung cancer, which is primarily caused by smoking.

What is the cancer incidence rate for men and women?
Women have a 1 in 3 chance of getting cancer and 1 in 2 men will get cancer. So men, in particular need to take better care of themselves.

A good approach to decrease the likelihood of getting cancer is to focus on a cancer prevention diet. The objective is to prevent gene damage and free radical damage. Essentially, you want to prevent anything that could cause a mutation of genes and trigger the cancerous process. The best choices include:

Cruciferous vegetables: These include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. For women, it helps your body eliminate the bad estrogen, and in turn, decreases your risk for breast cancer. Men also benefit from eating cruciferous vegetables.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes decrease your risk of getting prostate cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer. They contain lycopene.

Garlic: Stimulates your immune system and decreases your risk of gastric cancer and colon cancer.

Green Tea: JJ recommends 3 cups of green tea per day. There have been lots of studies on green tea and the number of cancers it has an impact on.

Black Tea and Oolong Tea: These teas are also very good for you. Oolong tea has been shown to decrease the rate of ovarian cancer.

Berries: Berries have been shown to decrease prostate cancer cell linings.

Oils: Olive oil and fish oil are good for reducing the risk of colon cancer and gastric cancer. All essential fatty acids are good choices.

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We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

Jennifer Lyall View Profile Send Message

Jennifer has had a personal interest in health and wellness for the last seven years. She learns something new every ...

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