Our media are frequently abuzz with reports about anti-cancer foods. Each time a study suggests that a particular berry, nut or spice may have anti-cancer properties, journalists hail it as a new wonderfood and everyone rushes out to buy it.
As a nutritionist, I welcome information that heightens the public’s awareness about healthy eating. However, when recommendations are contradictory or confusing they can become counterproductive.
After years of being told to eat five fruits and vegetables each day, for instance, health-conscious eaters were stunned to learn recently that these foods apparently offer only scant protection from cancer. Similarly, while some research suggests that eating soy may have a cancer-protective effect, other investigations haven’t backed this up. Indeed, some observers warn that soy foods, which contain estrogen-like compounds, may actually stimulate estrogen-sensitive tissues and could thereby promote, rather than prevent, cancer.
It’s not surprising that many people feel overwhelmed when trying to figure out what they should eat to help prevent – or recover from – cancer. Indeed, because health advice seems to keep changing, many people decide to ignore it all and eat what they want.
"Millions of people who might be prepared to change their lifestyle do not do so because they don't have enough trust in the advice they are getting," Richard Evans, spokesman for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) noted recently on the BBC.
When putting together my Anti-Cancer Eating Plan, therefore, I decided to base my program on the most unambiguous and reliable data I could find: the WCRF's Expert Report published in 2007, which analyzes tens of thousands of studies into the food-cancer link and offers practical recommendations based on the findings.
At first sight, the WCRF’s recommendations may seem a little conservative. For instance, their researchers could not find clear evidence that soy, green tea or turmeric – widely touted as anti-cancer foods – are in fact cancer-protective. At best, the WCRF concluded, “there is limited evidence suggesting that pulses, including soy and soya products, protect against stomach cancer and prostate cancer”. Green tea and turmeric were mentioned only in passing. The WCRF report does not say that we should not consume these foods; it simply notes that there is not enough evidence to say that they offer protection from cancer.
What appeals to me about the WCRF’s recommendations, however, is that they are realistic and achievable for almost anyone. Anti-cancer diets involving exotic, unfamiliar or expensive ingredients may suit some people, but most of us, when faced with excessively challenging dietary change, give up and go back to our previous eating habits. Smaller but realistic steps in the right direction may be more effective and sustainable than drastic changes that don’t last. Besides – to some people, implementing just one or two of the WCRF’s recommendations will feel plenty drastic!
My Anti-Cancer Challenge Eating Plan will thus be based on the following dietary recommendations issued by the WCRF:
- Avoid sugary drinks and limit consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar, or low in fiber, or high in fat)
- Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and pulses such as beans
- Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) to no more than 500 g (cooked weight) per week, and avoid processed meats
- If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day
- Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium); do not eat more than 6 g salt per day (about 1 teaspoon)
- Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer (exceptions being women planning to conceive (folic acid); vitamin-D-deficient people, and people whose low appetite (illness) or low calorie needs (the elderly) restrict their nutrient intake (a good multivitamin).
Other suggestions and practical tips from the WCRF include:
- Balance your plate: 2/3 of your plate should be of plant origin and 1/3 of animal origin.
- Fish is a healthy alternative to red meat; eat it regularly. Some limited evidence has shown it may help to protect against bowel cancer.
- Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck – skinless where possible) and other lean meats such as rabbit and venison are healthy alternatives to red meat.
- Cooking methods: baking, boiling and steaming are healthy cooking methods; other high-temperature cooking methods may alter the make-up of foods, especially meat. It is prudent not to consume burned or charred foods frequently or in large amounts.
In order to tailor the Anti-Cancer Challenge Eating Plan to my family’s needs I added a few more items:
