You Become What You Eat:
Nutrition and Cancer

More than 2000 years ago, Hippocrates (460–377 BC) advised, "Food shall be your remedy." He recognized that some diseases could be treated or prevented by diet, an idea that has gathered modern momentum as science uncovers more and more evidence connecting dietary factors to disease prevention.

An article in Scientific American magazine in 1892 noted that "cancer is most frequent among those branches of the human where carnivorous habits prevail." It is generally recognized that cardiovascular health is related to dietary habits, and more recently researchers have begun to make the connection between the foods we eat and our chances of contracting cancer.

The factors that affect the incidence of cancer the most are diet and smoking. There is evidence linking nearly a third of all cancers with diet. Another third can be related to smoking. So for nonsmokers, regulating their diet is the single biggest method of preventing cancer. Diet has been related to cancer of the stomach, colon, liver, prostate, breast, uterus and ovaries, among others.

Chemoprevention is an attempt on the part of scientists, physicians, and many others to use both natural and synthetic chemical compounds to intervene in the very early stages of cancer, even before the disease begins. Currently the National Cancer Institute is investigating more than 400 such compounds. These substances may prevent or stop genetic mutations that lead to cancer or they may disrupt biochemical processes that lead to excessive replication of damaged cells. Many of these substances occur naturally in foods. Such substances are called phytochemicals.

Most studies have correlated incidence of cancer with certain kinds of diets, and although few studies suggest exclusive cause-and-effect relationship, the nutrition guidelines published by the American Cancer Society agree strongly with those published by most other major health and nutrition agencies. The American Heart Association and the USDA both publish nutrion guides that concur (see links below). There is strong and growing evidence that you can increase your chances of avoiding major diseases like cancer, as well as heart disease, by including certain nutrients in your diet.

Among the most widely agreed-upon broad guidelines are these:

• Chose as much of your diet as possible from plant sources.
• Eat a varied diet.
• Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
• Include grains, which are rich sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
• Limit your intake of foods that are high in fat content.
• Limit consumption of alcohol.
• Limit foods that are salt-cured, smoked, or nitrite-preserved.