Six Lifestyle Changes That Help Prevent Cancer 

Making healthy selections at the grocery store and for your meals can go a long way toward improving your health and meeting your goal of cancer prevention. Though research findings differ, no informed cancer specialist would argue against the benefits of a healthy diet. Here are some guidelines for making good choices:

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Your diet should consist primarily of fruits, vegetables and other foods from plant sources, including whole grains and beans. Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and kale are considered beneficial for cancer prevention. These score high for containing many anti-cancer substances, such as isothiocyanates.
• Limit fat. Choose fewer high-fat foods. High-fat diets tend to be higher in calories and might increase the risk of overweight or obesity which can, in turn, increase cancer risk.
• Avoid these foods. Avoid all charred food, which create known carcinogens. Little or no red meat is best. It’s also best to avoid sugar, both white and brown, and heavily salted, smoked and pickled foods, which can lead to higher rates of stomach cancer. It’s a good idea to avoid soft drinks, French fries, chips and snack foods that contain trans fats, and food and drink additives such as aspartame.
• Drink alcohol only in moderation. The risk of various types of cancer, including breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver, increases with the amount of alcohol you drink, and with the number of years you’ve been a drinker.