Feeding Our Body! - How Our Food Choices Affect Our Health

How many times during this week, did we consider how our food choices affect the health, function and appearance of our body? How many times did we connect our food choices to preventing disease? Of course eating healthy doesn't always lead to or guarantee us our health. But does eating healthy have any negative side effects? I don't think so unless we consider feeling better a negative! But what about the question "Do certain foods prevent cancer?" Do certain foods prevent cancer? If you've been reading my tips you're probably familiar with my feeding our body series, so today's tip is about fighting disease by feeding our body with certain foods on a regular basis. I'm also dedicating this tip to Breast Cancer, because October is "Breast Cancer Awareness Month". But before we begin feeding our body with a list of some recommended foods, here's what the "American Institute of Cancer Research" has to say, "Cancer is not a single disease, but the generic name for more than 100 diseases, all having in common the uncontrolled reproduction of abnormal cells. Although scientists are only now beginning to understand the causes and growth of cancer, there exists a large and growing body of evidence showing that the foods we choose each day play a major part in cancer prevention".(June M. Lay, Lifestyle Columnist - HealthNewsDigest.com)
They also have this to say, "The international report on cancer prevention from the American Institute for Cancer Research, Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: a global perspective, found that 30% to 40% of all cancers are directly linked to the foods we eat."

While helping to preventing cancer and other diseases involves our making many lifestyle choices including choosing foods because this is within our control, there are other variables we cannot control such as genetic predispositions and many environmental factors. However, we can make food choices on a regular basis that scientific evidence does support through statistically significant evidence based research (And we definitely won't be harmed by eating our fruits and veggies, will we?). Okay then, here are just some of the most popular, most available foods to feed our body with their disease- fighting phytochemicals that they contain and their action in the body with some extra mention about breast cancer (for more info on breast cancer awareness month and breast cancer, go to http://www.nbcam.com/).

Tomatoes, Watermelon, Red Grapefruit. These contain Lycopene an antioxidant.
Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts. These are cruciferous vegetables and they contain Indoles, Sulforaphane, and others that trigger enzyme production to breakdown cancer cells for excretion.
Soybeans, Flaxseed, Unrefined High Fiber Cereals and Grains, Legumes. These contain Phytic Acid, Isoflavones and others that either bind to cancer cells, block estrogen activity, or suppress tumor growth. I am recommending whole foods here, especially soy foods that evidence suggests may offer breast cancer protection. I cannot recommend soy supplement, since soy is a phytoestrogen, and may be harmful in some of us at higher dosages. Try fresh flaxseed ground, and add to a high fiber cereal. Flaxseeds not only confer antioxidant benefits, but may block our own estrogen action in breast tissue, similar to the prescription drug tamoxifen.
Green Tea, Wine. These contain Flavonoids act as antioxidants. Green tea in particular has high antioxidant activity and again may aid in estrogen excretion preventing breast cancer. I love buying fresh green tea and using a French press to steep. Cherries, Cranberries, Peppermint. These contain a group of phyto's known as the Monoterpenes trigger enzyme production enhancing carcinogen excretion.
Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Cantaloupe, Apricots, Spinach, Tomatoes. These contain the group of phyto's known as the Carotenoids including the well known beta-carotene all act as antioxidants.
Garlic, Onions. These contain Allyl sulfides trigger enzyme production to facilitate carcinogen excretion. Grapes (highest in skin and seeds), Wine. These contain Ellagic acid and Resveratrol act as antioxidants scavenging carcinogens. Blueberries, Prunes, Grapes, Oats, These contain Caffeic acid, which triggers enzyme production to facilitate carcinogen excretion.
As we can see, most of our foods contain more than one phyto, and scientists are discovering new one's everyday along with their action against disease! Generally speaking, our fruits and vegetables are low calorie and high nutrient dense choices that contain fiber along with vitamins, minerals, trace amounts of fat and these bioactive chemicals known collectively as phyotchemicals. According to a summary of research data, out of 170 studies, 132 studies showed a high positive correlation between fruit and vegetable intake and a significant protective effect for all cancer sites (sites such as breast, lung, colon, bladder, stomach, pancreas; Source: Food, Nutrition, & Dietary Therapy; Krause's 10th edition. Orig. source Block G. Patterson B, Subar A; Fruit, vegetables and cancer prevention, a review ). On a last simple note, let's not forget that regular moderate exercise, limiting meat (particularly charred grilled meats), and limiting alcohol consumption are also known to reduce disease risk including breast and other cancers.
So, the next time we're ready for a meal or snack, let's consider how our choice will affect our body, and choose a few more of Mother Nature's arsenal of weapons. I hope we'll now think a little bit more about why doing so is so important for preventing cancer along with other diseases. Click on here for a full list of vegetables and a chart for recommended daily quantities http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/vegetables.html. We can also easily go to the listing of fruits from this site as well.
Here's to "Feeding Our Body" for health!