By Margot C. Lester
Contributing Writer
The headlines are hardly helpful these days:
“Papaya is Tasty Way to Fight Cancer and Poor Digestionâ€
“Eggs, bad? Multi-grain bread, good?â€
“Fava Beans: Great for Hormone Replacement With Anti-Cancer Potentialâ€
Every time you turn a page, it seems there’s another study touting or decrying a relationship between certain foods and cancer – and sometimes they contradict each other. What’s a cancer-conscious eater to do?
The short answer is: Cozy up to some produce.
“It’s estimated that at least one third of all cancers in the U.S. could be prevented by making changes in diet and lifestyle,†says Aimee Shea, outpatient oncology dietitian at the N.C. Cancer Hospital on the UNC campus. “From a nutrition standpoint, really the most important thing people can do is eat more plant food like fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds.â€
Shea suggests shooting for at least five servings per day – minimum – of fruits and vegetables.
“Make sure you have a fruit and/or veggie at every meal and try to use them as snacks as well,†she counsels.
A weighty matter
Plant foods are preferred in part because they’re relatively low in calories, which can help achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Managing your waistline may help reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. In fact, Marci Kramish Campbell, a professor in the department of nutrition at the UNC School of Public Health, suggests one dietary way to lower your odds of getting cancer is to cut calories by 100 to 200 per day to avoid weight gain.
“The strongest evidence is that obesity is a risk factor for a number of cancers, like colon cancer,†Campbell explains. “And weight gain in women, which is common after menopause, is a risk factor for breast cancer.â€
Plant foods also are jam packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber – all of which are believed (though not yet proven) to regulate cell cycles, keep cancer cells from turning into tumors and help the body defend itself against cancer cells and other intruders.
When we try to isolate specific vitamins or compounds in foods and see if those are protective, the studies mostly do not show a protective effect,†Campbell says. “For example, epidemiological studies indicate that people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of certain cancers; but then if you do a study supplementing with beta-carotene, you don’t see a change in risk. In fact, some supplement studies show an increased cancer risk. In general then, eating less calorically dense foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, less red meat and more low-fat dairy is probably a healthy pattern for general cancer and chronic-disease prevention.â€
Let’s get fresh
All this means you need to spend more time hanging out in the produce department or at your local farmers’ market. And while most fruits and vegetables are available year round these days, eating with the seasons (noshing on what’s currently growing locally) often gives your body just what it’s craving during each period of the year.
“It’s a great idea to eat with the season,†Shea says. “It’s better for the environment and probably cheaper.â€
Here are some in-season foods that may help reduce cancer risk. You can find most of them at your local farmers’ market:
Leafy greens: spinach, collards, arugula
Fresh berries: strawberries; blackberries are on the way
Crucifers: broccoli, cauliflower, pac choi
Beans: sugar snaps, fava
If you want to slap some protein on the grill, pick up some white meat; or if you’re really hankering for beef, seek out the leanest cuts available.
Conventional or organic?
While it’s clear that plant foods are preferable, the jury’s still out on whether you should only buy organic.
“Organically grown foods are better for the planet, but we don’t have any evidence that they are cancer preventing,†Campbell asserts. “It makes sense to avoid a lot of pesticides, but organic foods can also be very expensive.â€
If money’s no object, looking for the organic label is never a bad idea, Shea notes.
“However, since most people can’t afford this 100 percent of the time, I emphasize that it is more beneficial to eat the fruits and veggies – whether conventional or organic – than to skip them and choose a cupcake instead,†she continues.
“And just because something doesn’t have an organic label, doesn’t mean it’s bad for you. Oftentimes, small, local farmers are unable to afford an organic label, but they basically practice organic farming methods. This is one more reason to check out the farmers’ markets, where you can get to know the farmers and find out how food is prepared.â€
I have been telling people for many years to give up meat and all animal products. I have seen so many people with bad health due to awful dietary choice. These foods should have been banned years ago. Maybe now people will start to listen before they get ill.