Cancer refers to a wide range of related conditions that result when cells divide uncontrollably and spread into surrounding tissues. Cancer originates by abnormal changes to DNA in different areas of the body. The main differences come from the location where cancer first appears. For example, bone cancer and skin cancer behave very differently, but they, and other types of cancers may produce similar symptoms (i.e., weight loss, fatigue, formation of a lump or tumor, etc.).
While cancer is often genetic or carcinogenic in nature, there are certain dietary and lifestyle habits that can help prevent cancer development. Let’s examine a handful of superfoods that are known to protect against cancer
1. Walnuts
Sources of omega-3 fatty acids such as the humble walnut offer a rare non-animal based source of this important nutrient. But it also provides us with a compound called urolithins. This substance can actually bind to estrogen receptors. It’s thought that this explains walnut’s impressive anti-cancer property. Whether this is the case or not, we do know one thing. Walnuts appear to improve the efficiency of the cancer fighting genes found in all of our bodies
2. Legumes
Lentils and other beans are the most famous cancer preventing foods. This category also encompasses its green cousin, the common pea. We often associate this class of food with fiber. And it’s this compound in particular which seems to fight cancer. It offers a high level of protection against colorectal cancer. But on top of this it also appears to offer some protective effect against breast cancer. While legumes, like lentils, might appear like a rather bland meal choice; there’s a huge wealth of options to incorporate lentils and similar foods into a delicious meal. Cancer support groups online will often have a lot of examples to add to everyone’s recipe book
3. Berries
We usually think of these as delicious treats. And that’s also one of their strong points in the fight against cancer. Both cancer and cancer treatments tend to deaden people’s sense of taste. It takes a lot to power through that issue and provide something that doesn’t taste like cardboard. But a berry often has enough natural flavor to still be appealing even for people with an impaired sense of taste. Even the best HCC liver cancer treatment center will stress how important tasty food is to cancer treatment and prevention. On top of this berries contain a wide variety of nutrients. Most types of berry contain antioxidants which can help fight against cancer. And some, like blackberries, contain additional cancer fighting elements. Blackberries have been shown to lower biomarkers associated with colon cancer, while blueberries have been shown to inhibit the growth of some types of breast cancer
4. Cruciferous vegetables
Broccoli is the most famous member of this larger family of vegetables. However, this class also encompasses kale and cauliflower. The plant family is a powerhouse of nutrients. But it also delivers something called sulforaphane. It’s unclear exactly what it can do for various types of cancer. At the moment we’re still waiting for more studies to pinpoint the best way to leverage sulforaphanes. But we do know that it can inhibit the growth of some types of cancer cells. And it can even directly destroy cancerous cells in the colon. Iron found in this food also makes it a good pair with the standard metastatic melanoma treatment options
5. Fatty fish
Fatty fish have been shown to protect against colon, prostate and colorectal cancers. What’s more, there’s some evidence that this is directly linked to the fish oil that’s so abundant in this dish. Taking fish oil through a supplement rather than directly in a meal seems to offer just as much protective effect. However, more research is still needed to verify that supplements work as well as a real fish dinner. Eating fish as part of a meal also provides the nutrients we’d traditionally expect. This includes a wide range of vitamins and minerals. On top of this we can also get omega-3 fatty acids from fish. This compound is proven to help us stay healthy through a wide variety of different mechanisms