Healthy Platter- Prevent Cancer

Focus on cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables :-

·         Diets high in fruit may lower the risk of stomach and lung cancer.

·         Eating vegetables containing carotenoids, such as carrots, may reduce the risk of lung, mouth, pharynx, and larynx cancers.

·         Diets high in non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and beans, may help protect against stomach and esophageal cancer.

·         Eating oranges, berries, peas, capsicum, dark leafy greens and other foods high in vitamin C may also protect against esophageal cancer.

·         Lycopene rich fruits & vegetables , such as tomatoes, guava, and watermelon, may lower the risk of prostate cancer.

·         Breakfast: – Add fruit and a few nuts to your whole grain breakfast cereal (such as oatmeal)

·         Lunch:-  Eat a big salad filled with your favorite beans and peas or other combo of veggies. I / you are fond of sand witches always order lettuce and tomato (plus any other veggies you can) on your sandwiches, which should be made with whole grain bread.

·         Snacks:-  Fresh fruit and vegetables. Grab an apple or banana on your way out of the door. Raw veggies such as carrots, celery, cucumbers,  peppers, etc. are great with a dash of lemon juice. Keep trail mix made with nuts, seeds, and a little dried fruit on hand for people who crave for munchies.

·         Dinner:- Add fresh or frozen veggies to your favorite pasta sauce or rice dish. Top a baked potato with broccoli and yogurt, sautéed veggies, or with salsa. Replace creamy pasta sauces with sautéed vegetables or tomato sauce made with healthy olive oil. Try replacing meat with beans or soy products. Reduce the amount of oil to minimal with diet.

·         Dessert:-  Choose fruit instead of a richer dessert. Or a single square of dark chocolate. Prefer a fruit mix over ice cream or desserts high in calorie count.

Fight cancer with Fiber:-

-Eating a diet high in fiber may help prevent colorectal cancer and other common digestive system cancers, including stomach, mouth, and pharynx.
-It also prevent constipation by adding bulk of food.-Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In general, the more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fiber. There is no fiber in meat, dairy, sugar, or “white” foods like white bread, white rice, and pastries.

·         Use brown rice instead of white rice.

·         Substitute whole-grain bread for white bread or multigrain bread over white bread.

·         Choose a bran muffin over a croissant or pastry.

·         Snack on popcorn instead of potato chips or dry fruits would be even healthier.

·         Eat fresh fruit such as a pear, a banana, or an apple (with the skin).

·         Have a baked potato, including the skin, instead of mashed potatoes.

·         Enjoy fresh carrots, celery, or bell peppers with a salsa, low fat salad dressing or lemon juices, instead of chips and a sour cream dip.

·         Use beans instead of ground meat in sandwiches, pakoras  and even burgers (bean burgers can taste great).

·         Drink plenty of water:- Fiber absorbs water so the more fiber you add to your diet, the more fluids you should drink. Water is also essential for fighting cancer. It stimulates the immune system, removes waste and toxins, and transports nutrients to all of your organs.

High-fiber, Cancer-Fighting foods
Whole grains	Whole-wheat pasta, barley, oatmeal, oat bran muffins, popcorn, brown rice, whole-grain or whole-wheat bread, multigrain bread.
Fruit	Raspberries, apples, pears, strawberries, bananas, blackberries, mango, apricots, citrus fruits, dried fruit, raisins
Legumes	Lentils, black beans, split peas, baked beans, kidney beans, chick peas, black-eyed peas
Vegetables	Broccoli, spinach, dark green leafy vegetables, peas, corn, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts.

Cut down on Meat : –  High meat diet or meat rich diet has a toll on health if you have a sedentary lifestyle. Moreover, red meat has been linked to gut cancer.  You can cut down your cancer risk substantially by reducing the amount of animal-based products you eat and by choosing healthier meats.

·         Keep meat to a minimum Try to keep the total amount of meat in your diet to no more than fifteen percent of your total calories. Ten percent is even better.

·         Eat red meat only occasionally. Red meat is high in saturated fat, so eat it sparingly better to avoid it.

·         Reduce the portion size of meat in each meal. The portion should be able to fit in the palm of your hand.

·         Use meat as a flavouring or a side, not the main focus of a meal. You can use a little bit of meat to add flavour or texture to your food, rather than using it as the main element.

·         Add beans and other plant-based protein sources to your meals.

·         Choose leaner meats, such as fish, chicken, or turkey.

·         Avoid processed meats such as hotdogs, sausage, and salami, ready to eat meat products.

·         Select organic meat.  If you have access to it. Organic livestock must have access to the outdoors and be given organic feed, free of GMOs. They may not be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal-by-products.

Choose your fats wisely

Eating a diet high in fat increases your risk for many types of cancer not just cancer , poses risk of cholesterol issues. But cutting out fat entirely isn’t the answer, either. In fact, some types of fat may actually protect against cancer & cholesterol issues. The trick is to choose your fats wisely and eat them in moderation.

How to decide :-Fats solid at room temperature are considered bad for you.

·         Fats that increase cancer risk – The two most damaging fats are saturated fats and trans fats. Saturated fats are found mainly in animal products such as red meat, whole milk dairy products, . Trans fats, also called partially hydrogenated oils, are created by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid and less likely to spoil—which is very good for food manufacturers, and very bad for you.

·              Fats that decrease cancer risk – The best fats are unsaturated fats, which come from plant sources and are liquid at room temperature. Primary sources include olive oil, canola oil, nuts, and avocados. Also focus on omega-3 fatty acids, which fight inflammation and support brain and heart health. Good sources include cod liver oil (available in capsule from the market) salmon, tuna and flaxseeds.
   Prepare your food in healthy ways:-

Choosing healthy food is not the only important factor. It also matters how you prepare and store your food. The way you cook your food can either be a healthy platter or health splatter.
Boosting the cancer-fighting benefits of food

Here are a few tips that will help you get the most benefits from eating all those great cancer-fighting foods, such as fruit and vegetables:

·         Eat at least some raw fruits and vegetables- These have the highest amounts of vitamins and minerals, although cooking some vegetables can make the vitamins more available for our body to use.

·         When cooking vegetables, steam until just tender using a small amount of water. This preserves more of the vitamins. Overcooking vegetables removes many of the vitamins and minerals. If you do boil vegetables, use the cooking water in a soup or another dish to ensure you’re getting all the vitamins.

·         Wash all fruits and vegetables. Use a vegetable brush for washing. Washing does not eliminate all pesticide residues, but will reduce it. Choose organic produce if possible, grown without the use of pesticides or GMOs.

·         Flavor food with immune-boosting herbs and spices. Garlic, ginger, and curry powder not only add flavor, but they add a cancer-fighting punch of valuable nutrients. Other good choices include turmeric, basil, rosemary, and coriander. Use them in soups, salads, casseroles, or any other dish.

·         Use salad dressing made by olive oils instead of plain salad. This enhances the taste as well as nutritive values.

Tips for avoiding carcinogens

Carcinogens are cancer-causing substances found in food. Carcinogens can form during the cooking or preserving process—mostly in relation to meat—and as foods start to spoil. Examples of foods that have carcinogens are cured, dried, and preserved meats (e.g. bacon, sausage, burned or charred meats; smoked foods; and foods that have become moldy. Here are some ways reduce your exposure to carcinogens:

·         Do not cook oils on high heat. Low-heat cooking or baking (less than 240 degrees) prevents oils or fats from turning carcinogenic. Instead of deep-frying, pan-frying, and sautéing, opt for healthier methods such as baking, boiling, steaming, or broiling.

·         Go easy on the barbecue. Burning or charring meats creates carcinogenic substances. If you do choose to barbecue, don’t overcook the meat and be sure to cook at the proper temperature (not too hot) or pre tenderise by pressure cooking & then grilling reduces charring of food.

·         Store oils in a cool dark place in airtight containers, as they quickly become rancid when exposed to heat, light, and air.

·         Choose fresh meats instead of cured, dried, preserved, or smoked meats.

·         Avoid foods that look or smell moldy, as they likely contain aflatoxin, a strong carcinogen. Aflatoxin is most commonly found on moldy peanuts. Nuts will stay fresh longer if kept in the refrigerator or freezer. Better would be salt roasting of nuts.

·         Be careful what you put in the microwave. Use waxed paper rather than plastic wrap to cover your food in the microwave. And always use microwave-safe containers. Use microwave safe glass wares instead of plastic containers.

Become 10 pounds Lighter:-
Being overweight or obese accounts for 20% of all cancer deaths among women and 14% among men, notes the American Cancer Society. (You’re overweight if your body mass index is between 25 and 29.9; you’re obese if it’s 30 or more.) Plus, losing excess pounds reduces the body’s production of female hormones, which may protect against breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. Even if you’re not technically overweight, gaining just 10 pounds after the age of 30 increases your risk of developing breast, pancreatic, and cervical, among other cancers

Pay attention to pain :-
If you’re experiencing a bloated belly, pelvic pain, and an urgent need to urinate, see your doctor. These symptoms may signal ovarian cancer (in case of women), particularly if they’re severe and frequent. Women and physicians often ignore these symptoms, and that’s the very reason that this disease can be deadly. When caught early, before cancer has spread outside the ovary, the relative 5-year survival rate for ovarian cancer is a jaw-dropping 90 to 95%.