Provided Courtesy of Nutrition411.com
Eating to Prevent Cancer:
How a Healthy Diet and
Physical Activity May Help Keep
You Cancer Free
Review Date 9/13 G-1502
Relationship Between
Lifestyle and Cancer
It is possible to prevent:
• 35% of cancers by:
– Following a healthy diet
– Maintaining a healthy weight
– Having regular physical exercise
• 30% of cancers by:
– Not using tobacco
Relationship Between
Lifestyle and Cancer (cont’d)
• Many foods and nutrients are linked to
cancer prevention
• For cancer prevention, focus on an overall
healthy diet, rather than specific foods or
nutrients
American Cancer Society®
Guidelines
• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight
throughout life
• Keep physically active
• Eat a healthy diet, with an emphasis on
plant foods
• If you drink alcohol, limit your intake
Achieve and Maintain
a Healthy Weight
Overweight and inactivity account for
one-third of the worldwide cases of these
cancers:
• Esophagus
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pancreas
Colon and rectum
Breast (after menopause)
Endometrium (lining of the uterus)
Kidney
Thyroid
Gallbladder
Achieve and Maintain a
Healthy Weight (cont’d)
• Stay as lean as possible throughout life
without becoming underweight
• Avoid excessive weight gain at all ages
• Know that losing even a small amount of
weight has health benefits
Maintain a Healthy
Weight
Know your body mass index (BMI):
•
•
•
•
Below 18.5=underweight
18.5 to 24.9=normal weight
25.0 to 29.9=overweight
30.0 and above=obese
Tips for Maintaining
a Healthy Weight
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Limit simple sugars (cakes, cookies, pies,
candies, and sweetened drinks)
• Eat smaller portions of everything
• Add physical activity to your life
Stay Physically Active
• Adults: Get a least 150 minutes of moderate
intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity
activity each week, spread throughout the week
• Children and adolescents: Get 60 minutes/day
of moderate to vigorous physical activity each
day, with vigorous activity at least 3 days/week
Eat a Healthy Diet
Emphasis on Plant Foods
• Examples include:
– Fruits
– Vegetables
– Legumes
• Packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants,
and other substances that work together to
lower risks of several cancers
Cancers Associated With
Low Intake of Plant Foods
•
•
•
•
•
Lung cancer
Mouth cancer
Esophageal cancer
Stomach cancer
Colon cancer
Eat a Healthy Diet:
Emphasis on Plant Foods
• Eat at least 2½ cups of fruits and
vegetables each day
• Choose whole grains over processed
(refined) grains and sugars
• Limit consumption of processed red
meats
Fruits and Vegetables
• Choose colorful fruits and vegetables for
the most nutrient content
• Select a variety of fruits and vegetables
• Enjoy fruits and vegetables prepared and
served without added fat or sugar
Alcoholic Beverages
• Limit consumption if you drink alcoholic
beverages
• Drink no more than one drink/day for
women and two drinks/day for men
• A drink is 12 fluid ounces (fl oz)
of regular beer, 5 fl oz of wine, or
1.5 fl oz of spirits
Cancers Associated
With Alcohol Intake
•
•
•
•
•
•
Oral (mouth)
Pharyngeal (throat)
Esophageal
Laryngeal (voice box)
Breast
Liver
Food Components That May
Prevent Cancer
• Antioxidants:
̶ Vitamins A, C, and E, carotenoids, and
selenium
̶ No evidence supports taking antioxidant
supplements to prevent cancer
Food Components That May
Prevent Cancer (cont’d)
• Dietary fiber:
̶ The link between fiber and cancer is weak
̶ Foods that contain fiber are high in other
nutrients that may prevent cancer
Food Components That May
Prevent Cancer (cont’d)
• Phytochemicals:
̶ Compounds made by plants that may prevent
cancer, such as lycopene in tomatoes
̶ No evidence that phytochemical supplements
prevent cancer
Food Components That May
Prevent Cancer (cont’d)
• Vitamin D:
̶ Growing evidence shows that vitamin D may help
to prevent colorectal cancer
̶ In some cases, supplements are recommended
for good health, but not necessarily for cancer
prevention
Do These Foods Prevent
Cancer?
• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower,
and cabbage):
̶ These vegetables may contain phytochemicals
that reduce cancer risk
̶ A wide variety of vegetables is recommended,
not just cruciferous vegetables
Do These Foods Prevent
Cancer? (cont’d)
• Soy foods:
̶ The phytochemicals that they contain may fight
cancer (based on animal studies)
̶ Soy-based foods, such as tofu, may lower the risk
of cancers of the breast, prostate, or endometrium
̶ Evidence does not support the use of isolated soy
phytochemical supplements to reduce cancer risk
Do These Foods Prevent
Cancer? (cont’d)
• Tea:
̶ Some research (animal studies) suggests that
tea may have antioxidant properties and
prevent cancer
̶ Studies in humans are less conclusive
̶ Drinking tea is not shown to prevent cancer in
humans
Do These Foods Prevent
Cancer? (cont’d)
• Garlic:
̶ The health benefits of garlic are widely
publicized
̶ Not enough evidence exists to support garlic
as a food to prevent cancer at this time
Things That Do Not
Cause Cancer
•
•
•
•
•
•
Irradiated foods
Bioengineered foods
Aspartame
Coffee
Dietary fat
Pesticides and herbicides (wash food
thoroughly)
The Bottom Line
• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight
throughout life
• Stay physically active
• Eat a healthy diet, with emphasis on plant foods
• If you drink alcohol, limit your intake
• Focus on the overall content of your diet, rather
than specific nutrients
• At this time, no strong evidence is available to
suggest that you should take vitamin
supplements to prevent cancer
References
Cancer prevention overview (PDQ®). National Cancer Institute Web site.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/overview/healthprofession
al. Accessed September 11, 2013.
Healthy weight—it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle! Centers of Disease Control and
Prevention Web site. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight. Accessed September
11, 2013.
Kushi LH, Doyle C, McCullough M, et al; American Cancer Society 2010
Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. American Cancer
Society Guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention:
reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. CA
Cancer J Clin. 2012;62(1):30-67. doi:10.3322/caac.20140.
References (cont’d)
Obesity and cancer risk. National Cancer Institute Web site.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesity. Accessed
September 11, 2013.
Recommendations for cancer prevention. American Institute for Cancer
Research Web site. http://www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancerrisk/recommendations-for-cancer-prevention. Accessed September 11, 2013.