Include these 10 foods in your diet to reduce your risk of cancer

If you follow the right diet and a healthy lifestyle then your chances of getting a major ailment are few. In fact, just eating right does half the job. Experts suggest that if your diet is loaded with healthy options then you can even diminish your risk of cancer.

Although cancer prevention diets can differ from person to person, there are certain anti-cancer foods that everyone should eat. Dr Anjali Hooda, MBBS, MD (Internal, obesity, functional medicine, USA) and director at LiveNutrifit and Center for Obesity and Longevity, also believes that food is an important aspect in preventing cancers.

Your diet monitors your gut environment. And so foods that are alkaline, prebiotic or probiotic in nature will be more beneficial for preventing cancers. Sugar, simple starches, processed foods, packet foods are detrimental for our body. So it’s much better to have vegetables and fruits in their most natural form. This is beneficial in changing your gut microbiome.

Say no to sugar and yes to proteins to prevent cancer

Cancer cells love sugar, and when you starve them by not eating sugar they are killed naturally by the body’s own defence mechanism. Antioxidants from coloured vegetables and fruits that are low in sugar favour the immune system.

Proteins, which are important for the formation of antibodies and are called antigens, are essential when it comes to preventing cancer. Any foods that contain natural growth hormones like milk are again setting up your body to grow cancer cells.

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Our body harbours some basic cancer cells, and how you modify your diet and lifestyle will decide whether those cancer cells will grow or not. The toxins from the environment like food or air or even stress can cause a nidus of cancer cells.

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“Stress eating or having any behavioural overeating habits contribute to the intake of toxins from food. We sometimes end up eating in a stressful situation not realising the source of the food, which may be higher in sugar, can cause toxic damage to our cells. No matter how many antioxidants we use, they will never be able to counter the effects of overconsumption,” says Dr Hooda.

Foods rich in good fats make for great cancer preventing foods. They are crucial for the prevention of cancer as they don’t spike insulin and work on the cell membrane as a protective lipid layer. On the other hand, fried foods are extremely oxidant in nature and do contribute to early cell death.

Here is a list of 10 anti-cancer foods that can be beneficial for cancer prevention

• Berries of all kinds, in fresh or frozen form
• All vegetables in steamed or raw form. Even starchy vegetables are alright as long as they are not the dominant part of your diet
• Dark chocolate which has at least 70% cacao
• Nuts of all kinds
• Omega 3 food sources
• Curcumin
• Olive oil
• Legumes
• Resveratrol, a plant-based antioxidant which is found in grapes and peanuts
• Green tea

So, ladies, it’s never too late to reshape your lifestyle. Start with these cancer preventing foods today and thank us later.