Cancer. First: the good news on the cancer front: Death rates for all cancers combined, and for the leading cancers among men are declining, and for women, have stabilized. According to the National Cancer Institute, this is true across the 15 most common cancers for all races and ethnicities combined. Still, it is estimated that 35% of all cancers are tied to our nutrition habits. We hear a lot about fat these days, and how much of it is really good for you. I want to share a quote with you:
“Obesity-related cancer is now an official definition used by both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. But this does not mean that other cancers are not related to obesity, only that there is currently not enough evidence because the cancer is either not well studied or rare. Only lung cancer has so far not been linked to obesity, probably because of its strong association with smoking and air quality status.”
Well, as recently as April 9, 2014, a large, published study of over 330,000 women living in 10 European countries who were followed for over 11 years, concluded that high saturated fat and high total fat intake were associated with a higher risk of Breast Cancer. So it all comes down to basics: what should we be eating to provide the best opportunity to lower our risk of cancer? Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduces your risk of death of cancer at any point in time by 25% compared to eating less than one portion, according to a new study published by University College in London on March 31, 2014. And, eating 3-5 portions of fruit and vegetables daily decreased death risk by 19%.
And, a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013, found that people who ate a daily serving of nuts were significantly less likely to die from any cause than those who never ate nuts.
The message is clear – eat healthfully – plenty of fruits and vegetables, all of which are rich in antioxidants, moderate amounts of saturated fat (not too much meat or full fat dairy) and modest servings of healthy nuts and monounsaturated fats, and you’ll give your body the best ammunition possible to fight cancer