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Other Great Cancer Prevention Foods

By Jill Place, MA, RD

If you've already read the page about fruits and vegetables, you're may be thinking that all you have to do is to eat alot of them to keep from getting cancer. Why do we always tend to overdo when we think something might be good for us? Don't we wish it was all so simple as a carrot a day keeps cancer away?

But health is about balance. And the best way to prevent cancer is to balance fruits and vegetables with other healing foods like fish, beans, whole-grains, nuts, and vegetarian protein like soy. Here's some other foods that may help prevent cancer:

Legumes

2/3 to 1 cup a day of beans and other legumes will give you protein, complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, copper, and tons of fiber. Include your soyfoods in the total if you're eating them

Any Type of Dried or Canned, No-Preservative, No-Salt-Added Bean, including, adzuki beans, black beans, brown beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas (garbanzos), red beans, fava beans, Great Northern beans, kidney beans, lima beans, navy beans, pinto beans, and soybeans)

Other legumes, including lentils (red, green, and brown), black-eyed peas, and split peas(green and yellow)

Serving Suggestions:

You don't have to soak beans overnight if you bring beans to a boil, turn off flame, and let them sit for 20 minutes. Then cook as directed. Or pressure-cook for 30 minutes.

Add to soups, stews, and casseroles.

Eat more chili and baked beans.

Make bean, lentil, or split-pea soup with low-sodium canned or homemade vegetable or chicken broth. Or buy the canned, low-sodium kind.

Serve cold in salads.

Make or buy dips or sandwich fillings such as hummus or baked falafel.

Soy Products

At least 1 serving a day. Soy has those wonderful healing isoflavones. Attention those who have had female hormone-related cancers, such as breast cancer! Soy has a weak phytoestrogen effect, so please be sure to ask your doctor if you have positive estrogen receptors. If you do, have some whole soy products but don't overdo.

Edamame (fresh beans)	Miso	Soybeans	Soy Cheese
Soy Flour	Soy Grits	Soy Nuts	Soy Yogurt
Tofu	Tempeh	Soymilk

Serving Suggestions:

Use soymilk like dairy milk.

Use tofu in place of eggs; scramble or make into "egg" salad.

Use soy cheese on sandwiches.

Use tofu or tempeh in place of ground beef.

Cube up some baked, flavored tofu available at most Health Food Stores, stir-fry up some fresh or frozen vegetables, add a homemade or bottled sauce, and you have a healthy, delicious five-minute meal.

Try some packaged tofu puddings or make a scrumptious tofu pie. Tofu combined with sweet ingredients has the same smooth consistency as custard.

There are SO many uses…try The Book of Tofu by Shurtleff or The Whole Soy Cookbook by Greenburg and Hartung, two of many great soy cookbooks.

Nuts and Seeds

At least 1 serving (1 ounce [1 handful]) of raw unsalted nuts a day. A good source of vitamin E, magnesium, zinc, and selenium, nuts also have a lot of fiber, protein, and healthy fat that helps prevent tumor growth.

Brazil nuts and almonds: make sure you have a few every day because of their high selenium content

Other fresh nuts:cashews, filberts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts (very high in Omega-3 fatty acids)

Flaxseed: the meal or oil is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are a cancer preventive (flaxseed contains lignans, which have a phytoestrogen-like effect and therefore may not be appropriate in large amounts for women with positive estrogen receptors from hormone-related cancers.)If you are using flaxseed or oil, use about 1 Tablespoon a day.

Other fresh seeds: pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

Nut and seed butters: (preferably raw): almond butter, cashew butter, hazelnut butter, pistachio-date butter, tahini (sesame seed) butter, walnut butter

Nut and seed milks:almond (prepared or homemade), cashew, walnut, pecan, sesame

Serving Suggestions:

Eat whole as snacks.

Add to salads, entrees, and vegetables.

Use nut butters in sauces or as spreads in sandwiches or on crackers.

Grains

At least 6 to 11 servings a day. Grains have B vitamins, magnesium, iron, zinc, and vitamin E as well as protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber.

Whole grains: amaranth, barley, brown rice, buckwheat, corn, kamut, millet, oats, quinoa, rye, spelt, wheat, wild rice

Whole-grain products: breads, crackers, flours (whole wheat, rye, rice), pasta, unsalted air-popped or low-fat low-sodium microwave popcorn

Cereals: whole-grain hot or cold with no added sugar or fruit-juice-sweetened

Brans: oat, rice, wheat

Germs: wheat, rice

Serving Suggestions:

Cook up a bunch of grains and have on hand for salads, casseroles, soups, or vegetarian entrees.

For some extra zip, cook grains in vegetable or nonfat chicken broth with a little sautéed onion and garlic.

Serve grains with fish, chicken, turkey, vegetables, or beans

Buy whole-grain tortillas, breads, or pasta.

Dairy

Atleast 1 serving per day if tolerated. Dairy products are a great source of calcium and have a lot of protein but many people have difficulty digesting lactose. If dairy is okay for you to eat, stick to the low-fat (1% milkfat) or non-fat varieties because we get half of your unhealthy saturated fat from full-fat dairy products. Also, you want to eat yogurt, acidophilus milk, and kefir with LIVE CULTURES, which will keep your gut healthy.

Yogurt: low-fat, nonfat, plain, flavored

Milk: 1%, nonfat, low-fat or non-fat buttermilk, acidophilus, kefir

Cottage cheese: nonfat, 1% milkfat

Serving Suggestions:

Use yogurt to top casseroles or as a sour cream alternative.

Use yogurt and milk as a base for shakes and smoothies.

Use cottage cheese as an alternative to other protein foods, such as fish and chicken.

Dairy Products

Use sparingly. If you can digest dairy, stick to the low-fat or non-fat varieties of the items below. If you're lactose intolerant or would like to eat less dairy, replace dairy products with soy, rice, and nut alternatives, such as milk, cheese, non-dairy frozen desserts, and the like. Many dairy alternatives are also calcium-fortified.

Cheese	Cream cheese	Ice cream/frozen yogurt
Sour cream	Evaporated or condensed milk

Serving Suggestions:

Add to sauces and soups or make low-fat white sauces.

Use low-fat or fat-free sour cream on baked potatoes and tostadas.

Use low-fat or fat-free cheese as a condiment in tacos, casseroles and pasta dishes instead of the mainstay of the meal.

Animal Protein

12 to 16 ounces of fatty fish a week along with some lean poultry. If possible, buy organic or free-range. If you must eat red meat, definitely buy organic. Most red meat is full of antibiotics and hormones, which might cause cancer and deplete your immune response.

Skinless fresh poultry: turkey, chicken, chicken and turkey products

Cooked fish: especially fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines

Eggs: whole, whites, egg substitute

Serving Suggestions:

Use small amounts of fish and poultry in salads, sandwiches, soups, or stir-fries.

Marinate fish in citrus or other juices, soy or teriyaki sauces, and/or some fresh herbs and broil, grill, or poach.

Add hard-boiled eggs to salads and sandwiches.

Use in eggs in sauces, omelets. rice dishes, and casseroles.

Seasonings

Use liberally.When you begin to cook low-fat and low-salt, things can taste bland for awhile until your taste buds adjust. Zip up your meals with salt-free spice blends such as Parsley Patch, Pioneer, Spike, and Nile Spice. Or use individual herbs and spices, like some of these below:

Fresh herbs and spices

Dried spices (some of the herbs and spices above also come dried)

Allspice	Caraway seeds	Cayenne	Cloves
Cumin	Cloves	Curry powder	Fennel
Oregano	Pepper	Rosemary	Sage
Savory	Tarragon	Thyme	Turmeric

Condiments

Bragg's Liquid Aminos	Barbecue sauce	Butter substitutes	Hot pepper sauce
Mustard	Nutritional yeast	Salsa	Seaweed
Soy sauce	Taco sauce	Vegetable broth	Vinegar

Fats and Oils

Use sparingly. Some cancers are linked to a high intake of animal protein and fat.It's important to have some fat, about 20 to 25% of your daily intake, with very little of that coming from animal sources. You must have some fat, at least 15%, to get enough essential fatty acids to make your body work right. The two essential fatty acids are linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. Evening primrose, borage, and flaxseed oils have a lot of linoleic acid, Alpha-linolenic acid is present in canola and walnut oils. Olive oil has many natural antioxidants and is less likely to oxidize and make cancer-causing free radicals.

Another consideration with fats is to get more Omega-3 fatty acids from fish and flaxseed oil and meal, and less Omega-6 fatty acids from other plant oils. So don't overdo on the on the oils with a *.Attention those with female hormone-related cancers, such as breast cancer. The lignans in the oil have a weak phytoestrogen effect and aren't good to have in large quantities if you have positive estrogen receptors. So use only about 1 Tablespoon of this oil a day if you have or have had those cancers. Also, for any hormone-related cancer, including prostate cancer, cut the fat in your diet to 15 to 20%.

The bottom line is to use less fat overall. Use small amounts of light mayonnaise (egg yolk, eggless, or tofu varieties) or low-fat or non-fat dressings made with the oils below. A good alternative for mayo and other spreads is avocado.If you just can't do without bread spread, try Olive-It. a commercial spread made with olive oil and butter.

Canola oil	Flaxseed oil
Grapeseed oil*	Nut oils (walnut, almond)
Olive oil	Salad dressings made with above oils
Olive-it

Beverages

As desired. Below are some dairy alternatives, good beverage choices, and some choices, like green tea, that have phytonutrients and may prevent cancer.

Coffee substitutes: Cafix, Postum, Roma, chicory, or roasted barley drinks

Herbal teas: caffeine-free in individual flavors like rosehip, ginger, ginseng, or mint and herbal blends

Tea: Chinese green and black teas have EGCG, a potent anitoxidant that kills cancer cells

Rice milk and other grain beverages

Almond milk

Filtered or distilled water

Fruit nectars: apricot, peach, and pear

Mineral Water: plain or flavored

Vegetable juices: carrot, tomato, and vegetable juice blends

— © Copyright 2002 Jill Place, MA, RD