Useful Diet for Cancer Prevention and Treatment

Diet plays very vital role in prevention and treatment of all types of cancers.
Following are the most important points while planning the diet:-
1. All dietary requirements must be fulfilled through normal food intake and by natural means.
2. Dietary supplements available in market must be taken only on expert medical advice.

 

Substance	Food Source	Effect on Cancer
Antioxidant	Vegetables, fresh fruits, carrots,	Negate effect of cell damaging free radicals in body. These damaged cells can become cancer cells. Clinical trials are yet to prove conclusive usefulness. All the same food sources giving antioxidants are very useful for general health
Beta-carotene	Brightly colored fruits and vegetables,	Good for general health, role against cancer is yet to be proved. High dose in form of dietary supplement can be even harmful.
Lycopene	Tomatoes: vegetables of red family	Lycopene strong antioxidant is claimed to be useful in stopping cancer progress in Breast, lung, endometrial and mainly prostate cancer.
Calcium	Yogurt, cheese, milk, dark green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils and peanuts. Dairy products should be low/non fat so as to reduce intake of saturated fats.	Calcium is likely to have some useful effect of colorectal cancer but high doses have bad effect in case of prostate cancer. For an adult up to 1Gm per day as supplement along with normal diet is recommended.
Vitamin E	Wheat germ oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, nuts and nut oils, palm oil	Very powerful antioxidant and is claimed to be effective in slowing prostate cancer.
Vitamin D	Milk, cereals, fish oils. Produced naturally in body of exposure to sunlight.	It is likely to have positive effect in Breast, colon, pancreatic and prostate cancer.
Vitamin A	Liver oils, carrots, broccoli,  sweet potatoes , spinach, butter, animal liver	This vitamin is useful for general health, eye sight, skin and body resistance but the usefulness in cancer is not proved
Vitamin C	Oranges, Lemons  Call citrus fruits) grapefruits, leafy vegetables	Vitamin C is very strong antioxidant. Its role in reducing cancer tumor is conclusive proved in many clinical studies. It also boosts body’s resistance power.
Omega 3 Fatty acids	Fish, fish oils, krill, Perilla, linseed, eggs and meat	Studies show that these fatty acids retard cancer growth and also stop tumor formation. Omega 3 fatty acids have excellent effects on heart and circulatory system.
Folate	B vitamin source found in vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains.	These are proved to be useful in reducing cancer risk and also useful for maintenance of general body health
Cruciferous vegetables	Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels sprout	Conclusively proved to be useful against cancer mainly mouth, larynx, esophagus and stomach. These help in improving enzyme system in body that is useful in fighting cancer cells.
Beans	Lentils, Peas, Soybeans	These contain phyto-chemicals such as saponis, protease inhibitor, phytic acid. These chemicals protect cells from getting damaged and also slow down growth of tumors.  These are also good fiber source.
Garlic	Garlic and other from Onion family	Some studies are inconclusive about benefits of garlic in treating cancer but some studies, Chinese medicine and Ayurveda claim that garlic is useful in tumor of prostate , bladder, stomach and colon
Turmeric	Indian/Asian spices made from turmeric rhizome	Contains Curcumin , which is very strong antioxidant. Turmeric also has strong anti-inflammatory properties. It is useful in treating tumors of mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, breast and skin.
Fluids	Water, juices	Drinking sufficient quantities of water and juices lower the risk of bladder cancer but diluting the cancer causing agent and by regularly flushing those out.
Vegetarian diet	Vegetarian diet are normally high in fibers, phytochemicals, vitamins and low in saturated fats. Those opting for vegetarian diet for long time have lower incidences of various cancers as compared to those having non-vegetarian diet.