The Coeliac Society of Ireland has published a guide to how you can change your diet to reduce the risk of developing cancer.
The guide, ‘Six Simple Steps: Eating to Reduce The Risk Of Cancer’, has been developed by leading dietitian and nutritionist Sarah Keogh.
“Whether you are coeliac or not, there are certain foods that you and your family can include in your diet that will help reduce the risks of developing certain diseases including cancer.
“There are lots of things that can affect risk of cancer: genetics, pollution, exposure to hazardous chemicals, even just getting older. How we live our lives can have an impact as well – smoking, alcohol, diet, and exercise all play a role in our risk of cancer.
“While there is no guaranteed way to prevent the disease, the good news is that there are quite a few foods and nutrients that we know can help to reduce our overall risk. In fact, some experts think that people can reduce their risk of cancer by 30-50 percent by making lifestyle changes,” Ms Keogh asserted.
Six Simple Steps
Eat more fruit and vegetables - everybody knows these are good for us, but did you know experts have worked out that getting your five-a-day from fruits and vegetables can give you an 11 percent reduction in the risk of cancer? Fruit and vegetables have lots of nutrients and plant compounds that help your body protect itself from cancer. Vitamin C, fibre, and phytonutrients (antioxidants ) have all been shown to be protective against cancer. Vitamin A, folic acid and vitamin K can also help. Try to make sure that fruit and vegetables make up at least one third of your plate at breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.
Increase your fibre - eating fibre can reduce risk of cancer by up to 17%. The big problem is that most people in Ireland do not hit targets for fibre. We need 25g of fibre a day – and we know this reduces risk of bowel cancer in particular. Find fibre in fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and lentils and choose high fibre or wholegrain gluten free breads and cereals.
Mix up your protein - protein foods are meat, chicken, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts. Processed red meat (bacon, ham etc. ) does increase risk of colon cancer and these are foods we should limit. On the other hand, fish, beans, and lentils all help to reduce cancer risk and are great foods to include. Large amounts of red meat may increase your risk of cancer, but small amounts of unprocessed red meat are fine to have 2-3 times per week. Best advice? Have some chicken on some days, fish on other days, beans, and lentils now and again and limit red meat. Vegetarians are already eating lots of beans and lentils which are great sources of fibre too.
Does dairy cause cancer - there are lots of myths that dairy causes cancer, but the science tells a very different story. Did you know that people who eat milk, cheese and yoghurt reduce their risk of colon cancer? Huge cancer studies that have followed 500,000 people for more than 25 years have found that dairy has no effect on cancer risk except to decrease risk of colon cancer.
Limit (or avoid ) alcohol - the bad news is that there is no safe level of alcohol when it comes to cancer. Alcohol is linked to an increased risk of mouth, breast, liver, and colon cancer. 1 standard drink per day is associated with a 9% increase in breast cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund advises that, when it comes to alcohol “Less is good, and none is better”.
Be careful with wine – most people don’t realise how much alcohol there is in wine, and it is easy to go over the limits, especially if you use large wine glasses. Remember, there are seven standard drinks in a bottle of white wine and eight to ten standard drinks in a bottle of red wine (depending on the strength ). Keep it to 2-3 drinks at most when you do drink and have lots of alcohol-free days each week.
Drink coffee - if you are in need of some good news, then this will help. Coffee helps to reduce the risk of cancer, especially liver and endometrial (womb lining ) cancer. Benefits are seen in people who drink 1-2 mugs of coffee per day. Tea (green and black ) is protective too.
