Cancer prevention is a top research priority and the best approach to reduce the financial and emotional costs of the disease. Many known cancer risk factors can be avoided by changing one’s food and behavior. obesity, inactivity, smoking, alcohol, and toxins in foods are only a few of the risk factors. Scientists believe that cigarette smoking accounts for approximately 30% of all cancer deaths in the United States.
Cancer prevention, according to the National Cancer Institute, entails adopting a healthy lifestyle, avoiding known cancer-causing substances, and increasing protective factors that may reduce a person’s risk of developing cancer. Cancer is caused by a variety of genetic mutations that can occur as a result of exposure to environmental, nutritional, and lifestyle risk factors, as well as infectious pathogens.
Alcohol consumption has been associated with an increased risk of oral cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and an increased risk of liver cancer. Physically active people have a decreased risk of some cancers than those who are not, according to many studies. Obesity has been associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
Diet has been identified as a primary cause of cancer in many studies. Dietary patterns, foods, nutrients, and other dietary ingredients are known to be intimately linked to the risk of multiple types of cancer, with dietary factors potentially accounting for up to 40% of malignancies. In Western countries, dietary factors are responsible for roughly 30% of all cancers. Diet is only second to tobacco as a cancer-causing factor that may be avoided. It is predicted that a healthy lifestyle and simple dietary changes can prevent 30% to 40% of all cancers.
Cancer risk has been linked to the following dietary components: preserved meat and red meat increase the risk of colorectal cancer, high salt intake may increase the risk of stomach cancer, and hot drinks and foods may increase the risk of the oral cavity, pharyngeal, and esophageal cancers. High-fat diets have been linked to an increased incidence of colon and rectum cancers, as well as prostate cancers. Food aflatoxins induce liver cancer. Aflatoxins are a type of toxin produced by fungi that live on crops like maize, peanuts, and tree nuts.
There is no single food that can protect you from cancer on its own. However, studies show that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and herbs can help reduce the risk of developing many cancers. Several minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals have been shown to have anti-cancer properties in laboratory studies.
Many dietary components have been shown to have some cancer-prevention benefits. Phytochemicals found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, culinary and medicinal herbs include carotenoids, flavonoids, organosulfides, anthocyanins, isothiocyanates, lutein zeaxanthin, and phenols, which may protect against certain cancers. Observing people who consume mostly plant-based diets has provided much of the existing evidence on the benefits of phytochemicals. Certain types of cancer and heart disease are found to be much lower in these persons.
as a result of the high sulfur concentration, Garlic consumption has been linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, and a 50% reduction in prostate cancer risk. The health benefits of allium compounds found in the garlic and onion family have been widely emphasized.
Consumption of cruciferous vegetables has also been linked to a lower risk of a variety of cancers, including lung, stomach, breast, colorectal, bladder, and other cancers. Several laboratory research has revealed that cruciferous vegetable aid in the regulation of a complex system of body enzymes involved in cancer defense. Components of these vegetables have been shown to stop cancer cell growth in a variety of tissue and animal models.