Preventing cancer is easier than curing it, and a diet with essential nutrients is crucial to avoid creating the perfect environment for cancer to grow. Consuming unhealthy foods can encourage cancer development. Let’s look at which foods to avoid and which superfoods to include in your diet for optimal cancer prevention.
Foods to Avoid
- Trans fatty acids: Found in margarine, French fries, processed foods, and greasy foods with a long shelf life.
- Polyunsaturated oils: Includes corn oil and canola oil.
- Foods that feed cancer cells and/or microbes in the cancer cells and body: Refined sugar, refined flour, soda pop, etc.
- Foods that may cause a low-level immune hypersensitivity, reducing your ability to fight cancer: Beef, turkey, chicken, lamb, pork, processed meats, and sea-bottom dwellers.
To maintain or improve your health, base your diet on fresh salads, vegetables, juiced grasses, and sprouts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Include plenty of raw whole foods, unrefined complex carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats from vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains (careful with breads), nuts, and seeds.
List of Superfoods with Cancer-Fighting Properties
- Asparagus: Rich in glutathione, an essential detoxifying compound that helps break down carcinogens and other harmful compounds like free radicals.
- Almonds: High in fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants that may help reduce the risk of developing certain cancers.
- Beets: Contain betaine, a natural anti-inflammatory agent that may help reduce the risk of cancer.
- Berries: Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are packed with antioxidants that protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals.
- Broccoli: Rich in cancer-fighting nutrients like sulforaphane and indoles.
- Cabbage: Contains cancer-fighting compounds, including glucosinolates and flavonoids.
- Carrots: Rich in antioxidants like vitamin A and beta-carotene, which may help protect against cancer.
- Cauliflower: High in antioxidants and cancer-fighting compounds such as isothiocyanates and indoles.
- Chlorella and spirulina (blue-green algae): Rich in antioxidants, chlorophyll, and other cancer-fighting nutrients.
- Citrus fruit juices: Oranges, lemons, and limes contain cancer-fighting compounds, like vitamin C and limonoids.
- Green tea: High in antioxidants, especially catechins, which may help prevent cancer cell growth.
- Garlic: Contains cancer-fighting compounds, such as allicin and selenium.
- Grapes (purple): Rich in resveratrol, an antioxidant that may help prevent cancer development.
- Lentils (beans and peas): High in fiber and protein, which may help lower the risk of certain cancers.
- Oats: Rich in fiber and antioxidants, which help reduce cancer risk.
- Omega-3 oils: Preferably from flaxseed oil; may help reduce inflammation and cancer risk.
- Onions: Contain cancer-fighting compounds like quercetin and allicin.
- Peppers: Contain capsaicin, a compound that may help prevent the development of tumors.
- Pineapples: High in bromelain, an enzyme that may help break down and eliminate cancer-causing substances.
- Pumpkin seeds: Rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, and other cancer-fighting nutrients.
- Spinach and other leafy lettuces: High in cancer-fighting antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin.
- Sprouts: Wheatgrass, barley grass, and other sprouted grains contain high levels of antioxidants and other cancer-fighting nutrients.
- Tomatoes: Rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that may help protect against certain types of cancer.
- Walnuts: High in antioxidants, healthy fats, and other cancer-fighting compounds.
- Wild salmon: Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may help reduce inflammation and cancer risk.
- Yogurt: Farm-fresh plain yogurt contains probiotics, which support a healthy gut and immune system, helping your body fight off cancer-causing agents.
Adopting a well-rounded, nutrient-dense diet that includes these superfoods can significantly lower your risk of developing cancer. Prioritize consuming a variety of whole foods that offer different cancer-fighting properties to give your body the best chance at preventing this devastating illness.
