It is difficult to measure the impact that diet plays in preventing cancer. There is some evidence that diet is a factor is some cancers. While the relationship between cancer and diet is not well understood, it makes common sense to eat a well balanced and nutritious diet.
* Maintain a desirable weight. For people who are obese, losing weight may lower their cancer risk. This can be done by reducing the intake of total calories, and increasing exercise.
* Eat a varied diet. Eating many different foods in moderation offers the best hope for lowering cancer risk.
* Make sure to include many different fruits and vegetables in the diet. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables may decrease the risk of lung, prostate, bladder, esophogeal, colorectal, and stomach cancers.
* Cut down on fat intake. A diet high in fat may be a factor in the development of certain cancers. Breast, colon, and prostate are three of these. Keep total fat intake to 30 percent or less of total calorie intake.
* Eat high-fiber foods such as whole grain cereals, breads, and pastas, and vegetables and fruits. Increasing fiber intake may reduce the risk of colon cancer.
* Limit alcohol intake. Heavy drinking, especially when combined with smoking cigarettes or smokeless tobacco increases the risk of many cancers. These include cancer of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus, and liver.
* Limit the intake of salt-cured, smoked, and nitrite-cured foods. Where these are eaten frequently, there is a higher incidence of cancer of the stomach and esophagus.
Ask your healthcare provider about vitamin and mineral supplements. These can be expensive. Most folks probably get what they need from the foods they eat. By eating a healthy diet you may decrease your risk of cancer. You will feel your best, and you will enjoy the added benefit of decreasing your chances of heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses.