The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the same way the journey to a life free from cancer is possible with our every day diet and lifestyle. The popular saying you are what you eat is not at all far fetched as the American Cancer Society 1996 Advisory Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer Prevention supports previous findings that dietary practices among other factors plays a vital role in the prevention of cancer and cancer death.
It is therefore imperative that adequate attention, purposeful and informed planning be made towards a well structured dietary plan to reduce risk for different types of cancer and other chronic diseases.
The following are useful practical hints to healthy dietary choices:
- Incorporating plant based foods rich in antioxidants (vitamins A, C and E) into your daily diet helps strengthen the immune system and fight cancer cells thereby reducing lifelong cancer risk. Examples include oranges, dark leafy vegetables, carrots, tomatoes, watermelon, etc.
- Make it a point of duty to add fruits and vegetables to every dish of the day; breakfast, lunch and dinner. Consider fruits such as cucumbers, apples, nuts, etc. for snacks and desserts also.
- Fats are generally feared to be unhealthy for health, but not all. The Trans fat found in cakes, French fries, fried chicken and cookies are harmful to health and should be avoided. The unsaturated fats on the other hand contribute to cerebral and cardiovascular health and should therefore be added to diets. They include the cod liver oil from fish, olive oil, nuts, etc.
- Red meat and processed meat foods such as sausages, hot dogs and bacon should be avoided as much as possible as numerous studies have linked them to higher risk of cancer. Other safer protein substitutes such as poultry, fish, soy, etc. should be considered.
- Food preparation modalities too play a major role in the preservation of essential food nutrients needed to boost immunity and keep cancer and other diseases away. Fruits and vegetables are best eating raw, and if need be, minimal steaming should be applied to vegetables.
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