Skip to main content

Food as Medicine

It can be very tempting to follow the latest headlines claiming that certain foods will prevent disease, make you live longer or get you to your perfect pants size. Unfortunately the science of nutrition just doesn’t work that way. This October as pink pops up everywhere and talk focuses on prevention, treatment and finding a cure for breast cancer, what do we actually know about food and cancer?

Antioxidants: Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are credited with many health benefits, including the possibility of reducing cancer risk. One possible reason is the presence of antioxidants such as beta-carotene, lycopene, and vitamins A, C, and E. Antioxidants have the ability to protect us from damage by free-radicals that could lead to cancer. Our bodies don’t produce enough antioxidants on their own, so we need to get them from food. The results around antioxidant supplements, however, are not so good. In some cases, risk of cancer actually increased with supplements. Eating more whole plant foods is a relatively safe and delicious approach that may help to reduce cancer risk.

Tea: Tea is one of the most popular drinks around the world, and also one of the most studied. Tea contains catechins, a type of polyphenols, which are thought to be responsible for tea’s health benefits. Catechins, like the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, have antioxidant activity. The evidence for tea’s role in cancer prevention isn’t strong enough to put it in the category of an official recommendation. The risks of drinking tea, especially green tea with its high catechin and low caffeine levels, however, are low. To keep the risks even lower, choose green or white teas more often and drink them between, instead of with, meals.

Garlic: Garlic belongs to the Allium family of plants, which also includes onions, chives, leeks, and scallions. Garlic contains a variety of bioactive compounds which may be beneficial to health. Like other foods, the evidence for garlic’s benefits in fighting cancer are inconclusive, but shows some potential. Eating garlic, as opposed to taking a supplement, has few risks beyond the telltale garlic breath.

While we may be able to improve our overall health and possibly help to reduce our risk of cancer with what we eat, it is important to remember that getting regular medical care with appropriate screening tests is still key.

RESOURCES: 1. Risk Factors – Diet. National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Accessed July 28, 2017 at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD.
October 2017
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eat Right Live Well - December 2014

Post a Comment
Read more

Fish For Your Heart?

Cutting back on red meat is a common recommendation for both health and sustainability. What’s less clear is what we should replace the meat with. A recent study looked at this and the results may surprise you. If not red meat, what? Red meat appears on many lists of foods to eat less of due mostly to its saturated fat and cholesterol content, and the fact that we tend to eat too much of it. A recent study looked at what we should consider substituting for red meat when we follow the advice to cut back. Of all of the substitutions the study looked at, one stood out as the best choice – fish high in omega-3s. The fatty fish showed more benefits for heart health than poultry, unprocessed meat and even lean fish. Is fish safe to eat? Fish, especially the kind that gives us omega-3s, has long been considered a healthy choice. Warnings related to contamination by mercury and other toxins has left many people wondering if fish is safe to eat. For most people, the benefits of eating fish far ...
Post a Comment
Read more

National Nutrition Month 2017: Plant Power

If you follow food trends, you’ve surely noticed that plant-based foods, recipes and restaurants have been getting a larger share of the spotlight lately. Does this mean that more of us are becoming vegetarians? Should we be? Why more plants? Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts and seeds are key features of some of the healthiest diets in the world. Plant based foods are a common theme in the Mediterranean Diet, the DASH Diet and most dietary guidelines. The balance of health promoting nutrients with moderate calories and less of the stuff we should be limiting make plant based foods an easy fit for most people. Looking beyond personal health, to the health of our planet, plant based foods tend to more sustainable and less taxing on the environment. What is a flexitarian? Or a pescatarian? With the expansion of plant foods on our plates has come an expansion of how we refer to the way we eat. Vegetarian still refers to people who don’t eat meat, fish or poultry, but the...
Post a Comment
Read more