Foods That Fight Cancer

Plant Foods

A plant based (not necessarily plants only) diet is highly associated with a reduced overall cancer risk. Try making half your plate at meals veggies, snack on fruit throughout the day and have a legume (beans, chickpeas, lentils etc) based meal at least once or twice a week.

Plant foods are naturally less calorie dense for the most part, making it easier to feel full and attain a healthy weight- another indicator for reduced cancer risk particularly with breast and prostate cancers.

Add Cruciferous Veggies Throughout The Week

Cruciferous Veggies are cancer fighting powerhouses, add a variety throughout the week by swapping light coloured greens with arugula and kale and adding brussel sprouts, broccoli or cabbage as a side to your meals. I aim for at least 4-5 times per week to make sure I get the most from my meals.

Include Alliums

Like the crucifer family above, alliums have shown much promise in anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer ring in smaller studies. Add garlic, shallots, onions, and scallions to your dishes for extra anti-cancer oomph. For an added boost, let your garlic sit for 5 minutes after chopping or pressing before cooking , this allows a chemical reaction to happen that pumps up the anti-oxidant content. Add them to sauces, raw in salad, or blended in to salad dressings and dips.

Reduce or Eliminate Packaged Foods/Choose Whole Foods

Packaged foods contain poorer quality ingredients, will have some nutrient loss during their shelf storage and often have additives that may contribute to cancer risk over time like trans fats and carrageenan. While no direct links have been made on a large scale, we know that higher intakes of processed foods are correlated with cancers of the digestive tract and some ingredients, like carrageenan, show substantial inflammatory effects in test tube studies. Read your labels to find products without these additives, and choose fresh whole foods as much as possible. For example try whole grain rice flavoured with spices or herbs instead of flavoured instant rice.
Whole foods will have the most nutrients and least additives. Not to mention that if you buy what's local and in season from stores or local markets its often cheaper per serving than the processed stuff. Winter squashes abound at the moment, and make a cheap and cheerful veggies side or addition to the main course.