To BE healthier, you have to EAT healthier. There’s no getting around that fact. Food is so powerful – so influential to your overall health – that it can even help you prevent cancer naturally!
Eating right has gotten harder to do with food labels becoming increasingly complex, contradictory information from “knowledgeable” sources, and GMOs slipping into the food supply.
You really don’t know what to think when you walk into the store anymore.
Cancer-Fighting Diet on a Budget
There are many foods, easily available in any grocery store, which are naturally delicious and easy to serve in a variety of ways. They also have strong cancer-prevention properties.
Did I mention they’re inexpensive? You may be surprised to learn about these overlooked superfoods and the benefits to your health when you include them as a regular part of your diet.
Prevent Cancer Naturally with 5 Food Favorites
1. Melons contain high amounts of both vitamin A and C. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), states that vitamin C may protect against oral, esophageal, stomach, breast and lung cancer. It may also lower your risk of developing rectal, pancreatic, or cervical cancer.
All of that from a delicious serving of cantaloupe or watermelon! Not only are they tasty, melons are naturally low in sugar, calories, and contain hardly any natural fats.
Agriculture Research magazine published a report stating that watermelon contains just as much, if not more lycopene than tomatoes. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant useful in the treatment of skin, bladder, and prostate cancer.
2. Chocolate is always a happy surprise. Yes, certain types of chocolate in moderation is excellent for your health! This delicious treat has been around for at least two thousand years. Known as the ‘food of the gods’ to the Mayan people, it was valuable enough to be used as currency between the Mayans and the Aztecs.
Scientists have learned that we can buy health benefits with chocolate. Specifically dark chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the better it is for you. Look for at least 70% cacao in the ingredients for maximum benefit.
A Cornell University study found that cacao is full of antioxidants that help prevent cancer naturally. A recent animal study found that cacao could help prevent colon cancer.
Keep in mind that this isn’t a free pass to eat every candy bar in sight. Many chocolate bars are packed with refined sugars and other ingredients, which can offset their health benefits. Make sure you read those labels!
3. Citrus fruits are popular the world over. Delicious, visually appealing, and a satisfying snack – they’re packed with vitamin C. Guavas, kiwis, papayas, and oranges are loaded with it.
Eat a Mandarin orange if you want some beta-cryptoxanthin and hesperidin, both shown to inhibit tongue, lung, and colon cancers according to the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.
A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry showed that peaches contain high levels of certain antioxidants shown to kill cancer cells while leaving the normal cells around them unharmed. The beta-carotene in peaches can also help protect DNA, inhibiting cancer’s uncontrolled cell growth.
The skin of grapes are full of resveratrol, an antioxidant with the capacity to slow the development of cancer cells, as well as inhibit formation of tumors breast, prostate, colon, lung, liver, and skin cells. Red wine is an excellent source of resveratrol – be sure to use in moderation.
4. Berries are another quick and easy treat loaded with vitamin C and phytochemicals. These little health helpers are easy to add to your morning cereal or to take as an on the go snack. They aren’t just another cancer-fighting food – they can lower your risk of many deadly diseases from heart disease to diabetes.
The flavonoids, the compounds that give blueberries their color, have been shown to reduce free radical damage to your DNA. Scientists continue to link free radical damage to disease – especially the development of cancer.
Studies focusing on the cellular level have indicated that the compounds in strawberries – particularly ellagic acid – inhibits growth of cancerous mouth, breast, colon, and prostate cells.
5. Walnuts are not often included in lists of healthy foods, let alone foods that can prevent cancer naturally. Testing at the University of Texas Health Science Center showed that walnuts can significantly inhibit the development of prostate cancer.
A separate study indicated that consuming the equivalent of two handfuls a day could cut the risk of breast cancer in half as well as reducing tumor growth by fifty percent.
Walnuts are so healthy that in 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to a company that sells a popular brand stating that they could no longer describe the benefits on the packaging.
To do so, walnuts would have to be reclassified as a drug. Oddly, the FDA has no issue with potato chip manufacturers describing their product as ‘heart healthy.’
Better Health Doesn’t Have To Be Hard
These foods are inexpensive, easy to find, and most importantly, shown to be foods that prevent cancer naturally. You can eat them separately, combine them in a smoothie, or use them as supplements to healthier meals.
Eating and becoming healthier can be an easy job.
It should also be a tasty one.
REFERENCES
https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/br/watermelon/index/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4616874/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/citrus-fruit-benefits
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-reasons-to-eat-berries
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/dark-chocolate/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/health-benefits-of-walnuts-2018081314526