There is no doubt about it, eating the right variety of food does contribute to your overall well-being, but it can also lower your risk for developing serious diseases such as cancer and heart disease and help prevent obesity. While no single food or diet is a magic bullet to keep you cancer-free, eating a healthy diet combined with regular physical activity does lower your overall risk.
Here are my Top 10 Foods for Cancer Risk Reduction
1. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower are all brassica vegetables. Although non-conclusive, large population studies suggest that people who eat more raw brassica vegetables have a lower risk of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and they can reduce the effects of aging.
2. Tomatoes contain a powerful antioxidant, Lycopene, giving this fruit its rich color. Studies show tomato-rich diets appear to lower the risk of certain types of cancers, especially of the lung, stomach, bladder, cervix, skin and prostate. Tomatoes are the most concentrated lycopene food source, although apricots, guava, watermelon, papaya and pink grapefruit are significant sources.
3. Spinach is known as the "gold standard" of green leafy vegetables. Packed with lutein, vitamin E, and powerful antioxidants, spinach helps ward off cancer of the liver, ovaries, colon, and prostate.
4. Garlic, a pungent member of the onion family, has been hailed for its therapeutic benefits in lowering blood cholesterol and confers protection against cancer development and progression, and boosting general immunity.
5. Berries get their rich color from plant chemicals called anthocyanins. These compounds are super antioxidants. In laboratory studies, anthocyanins inhibited growth of lung, colon and leukemia cancer cells without affecting growth of healthy cells.
6. Pumpkins and carrots—along with red, yellow and deep green vegetables—contain beta-carotene, a vitamin that acts as an antioxidant. Research suggests that vitamin A (from plant sources) is able to alter cancer cells and may prevent normal cells from becoming cancerous.
7. Olive oil, perhaps one of the healthiest types of fat, is high in phytochemical antioxidants (non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties) and vitamin E. Olive oil may prevent breast and colon cancers.
8. Pineapple, rich in the key enzyme bromelain, has shown to banish inflammation as effectively as drugs. It reduces swelling, helps against sore throat, treats arthritis and gout, and speeds digestion of proteins. New research shows pineapple to be highly effective at cancer prevention and treatment.
9. Hot peppers are known fat-busters. Peppers containing capsaicin suppress the appetite, reduces calorie intake and speeds up metabolism, burning extra calories. Capsaicin also has an anti-cancer effect, blocking cancer and slowing tumor growth.
10. Shiitake mushrooms, an edible fungus native to Asia, contain several compounds with health benefits including stopping or slowing tumor growth and lessening the side effects of cancer treatment. The mushrooms also lower cholesterol by blocking it from being absorbed into the bloodstream.
Azsunshinegirl, aka Lynette Summerill, is an award-winning journalist who lives in Scottsdale. In addition to writing about cancer-related issues, she writes a blog, Nonsmoking Nation, which follows global tobacco news and events.