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Cancer

Preventing cancer & improving survival

Packed with antioxidants, high in dietary fiber, and low in saturated fats, whole plant foods can reduce our risk of many types of cancers, especially hormonal cancers of the breast and prostate. We can also use diet together with conventional cancer therapies to improve the immune system’s ability to fight cancer.

Normal healthy cells grow, divide, and eventually die to make room for new cells, but cancer cells grow uncontrollably and invade body tissues and organs.

A small percentage of cancer is linked to the gene mutations we were born with, but most cancer is brought on by outside forces — our environment and lifestyle. The field of epigenetics is demonstrating that external factors can affect how cancer genes are expressed, so we can’t always blame “bad genes.”

There is strong evidence to suggest that whole food, plant-based nutrition can help prevent cancer and reduce the risk of recurrence for cancer survivors, but diet alone is not enough to eliminate risk.

Cancer is a complex disease that develops and progresses through many pathways. Food works in countless ways to either prevent or promote cancer, contributing to either DNA damage or repair.

Perhaps most critically, chronic inflammation is an underlying driver of cancer, and a whole food, plant-based diet works to reduce inflammation throughout the body, whereas many compounds in animal-based, processed, and fried foods contribute to inflammation.

What can I do to prevent cancer?

  • Eat colorful fruits and vegetables to increase antioxidant levels. Antioxidants, including vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and flavonoids, have anti-cancer properties that may neutralize free radical cells. Free radicals are unstable molecules that contribute to cell damage.
  • Eat plenty of fiber to remove excess hormones and toxins from the body. Consuming fiber reduces our risk of many cancers, including colorectal cancers. 
  • Eat whole carbohydrate foods like whole grains, broccoli, and leafy greens. Healthy carbs provide energy to all cells; while low-carb ketogenic diets are increasingly being studied for cancer, they do not offer whole-body wellness, instead contributing to heart disease.
  • Center your diet on whole plant foods that are naturally lower in calories to help achieve a healthy weight, as excess weight is linked to many types of cancers.
  • Eat soy, such as whole soybeans, edamame, tempeh (fermented soy “cakes”), or tofu (which is minimally processed soy). Soy consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer, contrary to popular opinion, because soy’s plant estrogens interfere with the ability of animal-based estrogens to fuel cancer cell growth. 
  • Incorporate a tablespoon of ground flaxseed into your daily diet. In addition to being a great source of fiber, flaxseeds have high amounts of lignans (a plant estrogen) which, like soy, inhibits cancer.
  • Minimize salt consumption, as salt is linked to cancers of the stomach and kidneys.
  • Refrain from drinking alcohol — at any level, alcoholic beverages increase cancer risk.
  • Avoid smoking.
  • Consider medically-supervised water-only fasting.

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