How to eat an anticancer diet

Whoever coined the phrase, "Heredity is destiny" missed the New York Times best-seller, "Anticancer, A New Way of Life," by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D. After fifteen years of research, Dr. Servan-Schreiber, a brain cancer survivor, provides us with a way to eat that cheats cancer of what it needs to survive. While all of us have cancer cells in our bodies, with the right food choices some of us won't develop the disease. Cancer thrives on an inflammatory, high-sugar environment. It also needs its own blood supply, which it creates by a process called angiogenesis. Anti-cancer foods have properties that prevent this process because they have antioxidants, a known cancer deterrent.

Things You'll Need

• The Anti-Cancer Cookbook by Julia B. Greer, MD, MPH
• A book of glycemic index values

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Instructions

Don't feed it sugar/don't feed yourself fats

• 1

  The whole grain, like nature intended it.

  Avoid foods that turn to sugar quickly in the body. The list includes sugar-filled products, white potatoes, sweetened cereals, white rice, pasta and baked goods made from white flour. Eat whole grain and sourdough breads, sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pastas, quinoa, oats, millet and buckwheat, as these take longer to break down into glucose. Have oatmeal, Special K, Muesli, Kashi and All-Bran cereals for breakfast.

• 2

  Green tea hot or cold warns cancer to stay away.

  Stay away from jams and jellies for their added sugar. Do eat all kinds of berries. Drink water flavored with lemon, thyme or sage in place of sweetened drinks like soda and juices. An important addition: green tea combats cancer directly. Cook with garlic, onions and shallots. These help prevent spikes and dips in blood sugar.

• 3

  Poultry weighs heavily in the fight against diseases like cancer.

  Stick to olive oil or canola oil when cooking. Stay away from margarine, partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated fats. Use butter sparingly. Make pork a special occasion dish only. Eat only 95 percent or more lean beef and limit to once a week. Make chicken, fish, vegetables and grains the mainstay of your diet.

• 4

  Get your Omega-3's from eating fish or taking oil capsules

  Eat fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids. These include tuna, salmon, sardines, bluefish, raw herring and mackerel. Take fish oil supplements if fish does not appeal to you. Eat low or non-fat dairy products. Include milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheeses for their calcium and Vitamin D.

Fight back with these powerful anti-cancer foods

• 5

  You won't miss other sweets when you make these part of your diet

  Eat foods high in antioxidants. Berries of all kinds have phenols, which slow the growth of cancer. Blueberries rate highest in cancer-fighting properties. Use citrus fruits which contain Vitamin C and antioxidants: oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, pink guava, papaya and watermelon, which also have quercetin, limonoids, pectin and luteolin. All have anticancer properties, according to "The Anti-Cancer Cookbook."

• 6

  Make your plate colorful with red, yellow, orange and green vegetables

  Feast on lots of the cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and bok choy. Buy yellow and orange vegetables for their Vitamin C and quercetin. Include a variety of carrots, yams, squash and sweet potatoes. Remember to eat lots of apples, pears, peaches and plums and leafy green vegetables and tomatoes.

• 7

  Nuts and seeds have lots of protein and antioxidants, but watch those calories

  Include beans and legumes in your diet for their cancer-fighting compounds. Choose lentils, peas, limas, pintos, black-eyed peas, garbanzos and kidney beans. Eat soy beans raw or cooked or as tofu, tempeh, miso, edamame and soy milk. Keeping in mind the high fat content in nuts. Add them sparingly to your diet, along with pumpkin and sunflower seeds for protection against breast cancer.

• 8

  A glass of red wine or a handful of red grapes deliver a hefty dose of antioxidants

  Have a couple of ounces of dark chocolate a few times a week. The cocoa has many health benefits. Drink red wine in moderation. Get the same protective properties from eating red grapes.