In an article published online on the Cleveland Clinicwebsite, Ohio-based cancer dietician Joseph Dowdell has explained what iscurrently known about the importance of diet in preventing the risk of cancer.
He says, The first things that tend to pop up are lists offoods you should eliminate because they cause cancer to grow. But we shouldntbe fearful of food. Instead, take a step back and look at the big picture. Thatwill allow you to focus on the diet changes that will have the most impact.
In general, food has not been shown to prevent cancer butdiet does play a key role in the prevention of certain cancers.
The American Cancer Society says obesity is one of the riskfactors for many cancers, including breast, colon, endometrial, esophagealcancer, kidney, liver, ovarian cancer, pancreatic, stomach, and thyroidcancers.
It has been found that at least 18% of all cancers and 16%of cancer deaths are due to obesity, physical inactivity, poor nutrition,sedentary lifestyle, and alcohol consumption.
Dowdell says, Food can help prevent many of the chronicconditions that increase your risk of cancer. Genetics and other healthconditions can impact cancer prevalence as well, but those are usually out ofour control. Obesity is something we can control through food and exercise.
So, to reduce the risk of cancer, Dowdell says it isimportant to maintain a healthy weight.
He recommends going Mediterranean, eating at least five to nineservings of fruits and vegetables each day, limiting added sugars, cutting downon alcohol, reducing salt intake, and taking vitamin D supplements.
Dowdell also suggests starting small if your diet iscurrently more fast-food fodder than plant-based paradigm. He adds, Making anychange is difficult. But setting small, achievable goals makes big goals mucheasier to accomplish.
The cancer dietician advises reducing unhealthy foodincrementally. He says, If youre used to drinking four sodas a day, shoot forone a day for the next week, and then the following week, shoot for one everyother day and see how that goes. Slowly cut down even more. You can makedrastic health impacts without feeling deprived.
However, Dowdell says it is important to know thateveryones body reacts to food differently. Whileall of these are healthy guidelines, nutrition should be individualized. If youhave digestive issues, for example, you should seek medical help, he adds.And always use reliable sources of information like the American Academy ofNutrition and Dietetics, the American Heart Association and the American CancerSociety.
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Cancer Dietician Explains the Connection between Diet and Cancer Risk - Myhealthyclick
