A healthy diet is a basic requirement to enjoy good health and prevent the onset of several diseases that affect the human body. And as any oncologist or cancer-specialist will tell you, a healthy diet can also prevent the onset of cancer.
The following guidelines will help in this regard.
Consume plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, berries, and legumes for good health.
Adults should consume 5 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit per day.
Pregnant women should consume a little more while children a little less than this recommendation.
Vegetables can either be cooked or raw. And in case you are traveling or access to fresh produce is limited, you can also consume tinned, frozen, or dried fruits and vegetables.
Eat fruits and vegetables of different colours. These colours are due to various nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants present in them. Mix and match for good results.
Dietary fibre prevents the onset of colorectal cancers. It is present in fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, and whole-grains.
Avoid foods that contain refined wheat flour (maida) while you can limit the use of refined grains. Since polished white rice can’t be avoided, incorporate unpolished brown rice into your diet once in a while.
Incorporate oats, broken wheat, broken brown rice, and millets into your diet. They pack crunch and taste along with the fibre. Use bread made of sooji (Rava) or whole wheat. Avoid or limit consumption of white bread, biscuits, cakes, pasta, and any home-made snack that is made from maida.
Red meats such as mutton, beef, pork, and game meat, as well as processed meats like salami, ham, sausages, and deli meat increase the risk of colorectal cancers. Limit the consumption of red meat and avoid processed meat altogether.
Incorporate more poultry, fish, and seafood into your diet.
Dietary fat is necessary for various processes in the body and also plays a role in fighting cancer.
Your dietary fat should come from cold-pressed oils of seeds, nuts, and vegetables such as sunflower oil, coconut oil, groundnut oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, and olive oil.
Avoid or limit the use of fats made from animal protein, such as lard. However, dairy products are good to consume.
Incorporate milk, curd, paneer (cottage cheese), and clarified butter (ghee) into your diet.
Avoid or limit consumption of butter, cream, and cheese.
A word of caution about dietary fat: do not overdo it. This can raise your weight and lead to obesity. And obesity itself is a risk factor for cancers of the kidney, pancreas, bowel, breast, endometrium, and oesophagus.
Limit the consumption of any variety of salt, in your diet. A high-salt diet increases the risk of stomach cancer.
Avoid or limit consumption of pickled foods, snacks, processed foods, cheese, and branded butter (as against home-made butter) which are all loaded with salt.
Water is required for various processes in the body and good overall health.
Drinking an adequate amount of water may reduce the risk of cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon.
A simple test to know if you are consuming enough water is the color of your urine. It should always be colorless or pale yellow.
Consuming alcohol frequently or excessively (more than 2 drinks a day) can increase the risk of cancers of the liver, mouth, oesophagus, larynx, breast, and bowel.
Those undergoing treatment for cancer will be asked to abstain from alcohol completely. If you drink regularly, cut down on the frequency and drink-size.
Fruit drinks, sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks are all loaded with sugar. These can lead to weight gain and obesity which is a risk factor for several cancers.
Avoid them altogether. Consume fresh fruit juices without added sugar.
While cigarette smoking is known to cause lung cancer, chewing tobacco as raw leaves or products such as ghutka increases the risk of mouth and oesophageal cancer.
Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.
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It is crazy how we underestimate the importance of a good diet. Thank you for the reminder.
A healthy diet is a foundation for a healthy living Thanks for the article..
Very useful articles
Thanks for sharing great information. It is really helpful to me. I am certain that the majority of people would benefit from this.
many say to avoid dairy products
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