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Table of Contents
- Eating Well to Stay Well
- Why So Many Veggies?
- The New Skinny on Fats
- Tea for More Than Two Reasons? (report on green tea)
- Can Garlic Ward Off Cancer?
- Don't Forget Your Calcium
- Fiber Options
- Tomato: A Fruit With a Powerful Punch
- Lose Weight by Snacking? Here's How
- Fast Food Tips
- Differences May Boil Down to Home Cooking
- Dietary Guidelines
Eating Well to Stay Well
- Leaner meats, especially turkey and chicken
- More fish
- Baked, roasted and broiled instead of fried foods
- Cholesterol-free oils instead of solid shortenings for cooking and most other uses
- High-fiber carbohydrates, including whole-grain cereals and pastas, brown rice, dried peas and beans
- More fruits and vegetables--at least five a day!
- 50% less cancer of the colon and rectum
- 25% less breast cancer
- 15% less cancer of the prostate, uterine lining (endometrium) and gallbladder
- Eat a variety of foods daily. Recommended are two to four servings of fruits, three to five servings of vegetables, and five or more servings of whole-grain breads, cereals, rice and pastas, plus a total of five to seven ounces of foods with protein--lean meats, poultry and fish, dried peas and beans, and low-fat dairy products.
- Maintain desirable weight. Obesity is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and some cancers. Strive to maintain a healthy weight for your age and body type.
- Limit your fat intake. A diet of no more than 30% of total daily calories from fat may reduce your risk of the most common cancers. Such a diet will probably be low in cholesterol and saturated fats (limit them to 10% of calories per day), so it may reduce your risk of heart disease as well. Food labels now list calories from both saturated and unsaturated fats.
- Eat enough fiber. This means more fruit, vegetables, whole-grain breads and cereals, pasta and rice, and dried peas and beans. A high-fiber diet may reduce the risk of colon and rectal cancer. And to lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure and prevent heart attacks, all sources of fiber (not just oat bran) are helpful.
- Use sugars and salt sparingly. Sugary foods are often high in fat and calories and low in vitamins and minerals. Too much salt may contribute to high blood pressure, especially for people with a family history of this condition, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease.
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so only in moderation. Heavy alcohol consumption is linked to cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver. Cancer risk is especially high for heavy drinkers who smoke. Alcoholic drinks are also high in calories and low in vitamins and minerals. Even moderate use of alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer, studies show. Research does indicate that a glass of wine or two a day reduces the risk of heart disease, however, so discuss your risks and needs with your doctor.
Heredity,
age and sex all affect your health risks. But despite things you can't
change, you can reduce some of these risks by what you put into your body.
Your daily diet can prevent or control common problems such as heart disease
and high blood pressure. A high-fiber diet with plenty of vegetables and
fruits can also help prevent certain kinds of cancer.
Prevention is the key word when it comes to cancer and nutrition. Some dietary supplements and unusual diets, such as the "macrobiotic" brown-rice diet, have been advocated as alternative cancer "treatments." Yet there is no evidence that any diet, vitamin or other food supplement can stop a human cancer once it starts. In contrast, this approach may harm patients if they stop medical treatment in the false belief that diet is enough.
However, growing data shows that long-term eating habits can reduce or increase the risk of getting cancer in the first place. Between 30% and 40% of all cancers are associated with dietary elements, according to a recent report by 15 scientists from universities and cancer centers coast to coast. They reviewed 4,500 studies focusing on nutrition and cancer.
Moderation in your daily diet, both in specific foods and total calories, is advice most physicians, scientists and nutritionists agree on. They also concur that with a few exceptions, fats in the diet are major culprits.
Good additions to your meals include:
Why So Many Veggies?
-
A "typical" American diet--high in fats with fewer than five
servings of vegetables or fruits a day--has been linked to cancers of the
colon, rectum, prostate, uterus and possibly many others as well. Research
has shown that eating more fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of both
digestive and respiratory cancers.
Reasons
for this protection may be that most fruits and vegetables are high in
fiber, vitamins and other beneficial compounds but low in fat and calories.
Overweight alone is one diet-related factor associated with some cancers,
as well as with heart disease and diabetes. Along with vitamins and minerals,
cancer-fighting phytochemicals-compounds found in foods from plants--include
flavonoids. Some of these compounds can counteract the effects of cancer-causing
chemicals in the body. Others cause a temporary halt in cell reproduction,
so cells can repair genetic damage or mistakes.
Like some vitamins, especially C and E, and beta-carotene (which the liver converts to vitamin A), flavonoids in food are also antioxidants. These substances help neutralize cell-damaging molecules known as "free radicals, which promote chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer."
Fruits and vegetables
generally contain many more antioxidants than plain vitamin supplements.
Tests by U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists indicated that �
cup of cooked kale neutralized as many free radicals as 599 milligrams
of vitamin C, even though the kale serving contained only 40 milligrams
of the vitamin.
Kale is one of a large vegetable family that seems especially useful. It is known as cruciferous for its cruciform, or cross-shaped, flowers. These vegetables range from broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower to collard and mustard greens, kale, radishes, turnips and watercress.
If all Americans adopted and maintained a low-fat, high-fiber diet, the National Cancer Institute estimates that by the year 2000 there would be:
Snack: Have a fruit or vegetable every day.
Stock up: On dried, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables to prevent running out mid-week.
Visibility: Keep fruits and vegetables within easy reach on counter tops, tables and in the refrigerator.
Microwave: The fast way to prepare vegetables, with less vitamin loss than boiling.
The New Skinny on Fats
-
Many scientists and nutritionists now recommend olive oil or
other liquid, cholesterol-free oils for cooking. Olive oil has been shown
to lower artery-clogging cholesterol levels by reducing low-density lipoproteins
(LDLs) and raising protective high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). Margarine
and other solid cholesterol-free vegetable shortenings are processed in
a way that may reverse this effect, due to trouble-making trans
fatty acids.
For bread, a sprinkle of flavored olive oil is becoming popular. Or use soft margarine in a tub or liquid margarine in a squeeze bottle. Also consider reduced-fat butter, which substitutes buttermilk for part of the cream but tastes like the real thing with less fat and fewer calories than butter or margarine.
Best for your heart are monounsaturated fats-the kind in olive, canola and peanut oils-and polyunsaturated fats-corn, safflower and soybean oils. New findings from the Nurses Health Study show that women whose fat intake came mostly from monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oils had below-average rates of heart diseases.
The ongoing study has surveyed more than 80,000 healthy women about their diet, starting in 1980. The same report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Nov. 4, 1997), said that women who ate a lot of saturated fats (largely from animal and dairy products) or trans unsaturated fats increased their risk of heart problems.
Monounsaturated oils may benefit women most, according to a January 1998 report by Swedish researchers. In a four-year study of more than 61,000 women, those whose fat intake was highest in monounsaturated fats had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer.
Tea for More Than Two Reasons?
Green
tea-the kind often served in Chinese restaurants-has received some headlines
lately as a "health" food, though it's been Asia's most popular tea for
centuries. Research journals have reported that people who have routinely
drunk this beverage may have lowered their risk of colon, rectal and pancreatic
cancers and perhaps cancer of the esophagus.
Note that green tea is not an herbal tea. Like the black teas popular in Europe and the Americas, it is the dried leaf of a shrub called Thea sinensis or Camellia sinensis. The difference is that black teas are crushed before being fully dried while green tea is steamed and rolled before drying. As a result, their final chemical make-up is different.
The secret is plant compounds called polyphenols. Green tea is especially rich in these compounds. One, known as EGCG, is found primarily in green tea and is reputedly a more powerful antioxidant than vitamins C or E.
Both green and black teas contain caffeine-less than half the amount in brewed coffee. They also contain enough fluoride to help prevent tooth decay (green tea has twice as much fluoride as black). Studies in animals have borne out the cancer-protecting effect of green-tea polyphenols. You needn't give up black teas, however. A study in Japan suggests that drinking black tea may protect against hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, heart disease and possibly stroke.
The evidence for protective effects is not clear-cut, however. The studies in humans have relied on their own reports, so the amount of tea and other elements of the diet have not been carefully calculated More research is necessary.
Can Garlic Ward Off Cancer?
-
Garlic, a mainstay of Italian and many other cuisines, is being
explored as a cancer preventive. The Internet and health-food books abound
with optimistic reports about laboratory studies in test tubes or animals.
Still, it's too early to say if garlic might prevent cancer in humans.
Be skeptical
of health claims for "odorless" garlic products. They may lack the very
compounds that might give garlic a preventive effect. Two such compounds
being studied are called DATS and DADS for short. They occur only in fresh
garlic and preparations using the garlic's oil, which gives it its flavor
and odor.
A garlic clove or two and other herbs will add zest to many dishes-such as chicken with the fatty skin removed or vegetables without butter or margarine. Try mashing potatoes with skim or low-fat milk, thyme, minced garlic, onion, salt and pepper to taste.
Don't Forget Your Calcium!
-
The National Institute of Medicine issued new guidelines in
August 1997 increasing the recommended daily calcium allowance for adults
and teens. The new recommendations were prompted by studies showing that
most Americans do not get enough calcium to promote the strongest bone
growth in adolescence or to prevent bone loss and bone fractures in old
age. At Fox Chase Cancer Center and elsewhere, research is also under way
to determine whether increased calcium intake may help prevent breast cancer.
Earlier studies have suggested this possibility.
| Age | Milligrams of Calcium |
| 0-6 months | 210 |
| 7-12 months | 270 |
| 1-3 years | 500 |
| 4-8 years | 800 |
| 9-18 years | 1,300 |
| 19-50 years | 1,000 |
| 51 years and older | 1,200 |
| Pregnant Women | 1,000 |
| Breast-Feeding Women | 1,000 |
-
Excellent sources of calcium include
not only low-fat or fat-free dairy products but also canned sardines, broccoli,
kale and other leafy green vegetables in the cruciferous family (see "Why
So Many Veggies?"). The calcium in some grains and vegetables, such
as spinach, sweet potatoes and beans, is hard for the body to absorb, however.
A variety of foods is the key. Add a calcium supplement on days when your
diet lacks foods with calcium.
| Food (in ounces) | Milligrams of Calcium |
| Cheddar Cheese (4 oz.) | 800 |
| Sardines (3 oz.) | 372 |
| Yogurt (8 oz.) | 400 |
| Calcium-Fortified
Orange Juice (8 oz.) |
300 |
| Low-Fat / Skim Milk (8 oz.) | 300 |
| Whole Milk (8 oz.) | 290 |
| Tofu (3 oz.) | 128 |
| Turnip Greens (4 oz.) | 150 |
| Broccoli (4 oz.) 100 mg. | 1,000 |
| Frozen Yogurt or
Ice Cream (8 oz.) |
150 |
Fiber Options
-
Studies show that a high-fiber diet may reduce the risk of
colon and rectal cancer by as much as 40% percent. But the evidence doesn't
suggest that a bowl of bran cereal for breakfast or a fiber supplement
is enough to do the job. Rather than fiber alone, the cancer-inhibiting
compounds found in vegetables and fruits could be responsible for reducing
the cancer risk.
Fiber is important, however. It may help dilute carcinogens in the intestine, including cancer-promoting byproducts of fats and other substances that result from frying or grilling foods. Still another possibility is that fiber helps push cancer-causing materials through the intestine more rapidly.
A Fruit With a Powerful Punch
Speaking
of antioxidants, the fruit that most people use like a vegetable provides
a rich source of one of these disease fighters, lycopene. A recent report
from a national study of the diets of 48,000 male health professionals
suggests that the risk of prostate cancer goes down by half among men who
eat 10 or more servings a week of tomatoes and tomato products, including
pizza sauce. Tomato sauce had the most impact, but tomato juice had none.
Other research shows that the body does not absorb lycopene from tomato
juice well.
Lose Weight by Snacking? Here's How
Nutritionists
and dietitians now advise overweight clients not only to eat less at a
meal but also to eat more meals. Research shows that six small meals a
day instead of three large ones can make a difference in how well people
succeed in losing or controlling weight.
This "grazing" approach to weight control seems to work because it keeps blood-sugar levels consistent, reduces hunger pangs and may even help reduce fat storage and control cholesterol levels.
When planning menus, build in healthy snacks or mini-meals: fresh fruit, yogurt or cottage cheese, and low-fat packaged snacks such as air-popped corn or pretzels. Keep plastic bags of ready-to-eat carrot and celery sticks and other fresh vegetables in your refrigerator.
Fast Food Tips
Most fast-food chains offer crisp ready-made salads or salad bars with at least one fat-free salad dressing option. For burgers, you can eliminate up to 270 calories and 20 grams of fat by asking the server to leave off the special sauce or mayonnaise and instead use mustard, catsup or the fat-free mayo offered by some chains.
Differences May Boil Down to Home Cooking
Cultural differences that affect diet and lifestyle appear to influence cancer rates more than other differences among nationalities. Studies of ethnic groups immigrating to the United States show changes in diets and cancer risks by the second generation.
Japan, for example, has high rates of stomach cancer, which is fairly rare here, but low rates of breast and colon cancers, common in the U.S. However, breast and colon cancers increase and stomach cancer decreases among children of American immigrants from Japan.
Such statistics first raised the issue of whether dietary fat boosts the risk of breast cancer. Compared to the U.S., the rate of this cancer is 25% lower in Japan, where the traditional diet has only 20% of calories from fat. In Canada, a study determined that women eating the most fat have a 35% greater likelihood of breast cancer than those who eat the least amount of fat.