Is there such a thing as anti-cancer foods?
All things considered, the amount of food seems more important than eating specific foods to try to prevent cancer.
About 40% of major cancers in the United States are due to obesity (and inactivity). Similar to smoking, the onset of cancer occurs over decades due to unrelenting higher levels of circulating insulin and blood sugar that stimulate cell proliferation.
Obesity is the single biggest factor in cancer risk increase over the past decade and now surpasses tobacco as the leading cause of major cancer in North America. Obesity ‘overtakes smoking for four cancers’
Of course, there are certain foods that are more calorie rich gram for gram, such as meat versus vegetables but cooking methods also add calories. Processed foods tend to result in people ingesting more as well.
Calorie reduction and exercise are essential. After that, ingesting 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables is a healthier way of getting important vitamins and micronutrients than taking a multivitamin. Multivitamin use is associated with higher cancer risk and higher mortality. This may have to do with the way micronutrients are absorbed and released at very low dose continually, through about 20 feet of small intestine, compared to the big dump and then excretion in the urine within hours of taking pills. Opinion | Don’t Take Your Vitamins
For those on a budget, frozen fruits and vegetables may have more micronutrients than fresh because they aren’t subject to degradation during shipping and shelf life in the supermarket and kitchen counter. Why frozen fruit and veggies may be better for you than fresh
You can’t make up for poor lifestyle choices decade after decade by eating “anti-cancer” food.
Avoid obesity, inactivity, tobacco and alcohol. And eat your vitamins in your food and vegetables instead of taking a multivitamin or supplement (unless recommended for a specific medical condition such as short bowel syndrome or macular degeneration). Even light alcohol consumption linked to higher cancer risk in Japan