THE NEW YORK TIMES – One in three people in the United States will develop cancer at some point in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
And many of those cases, they say, can potentially be prevented, including by making changes to your diet.
No single food can prevent cancer on its own, said Nigel Brockton, the vice president of research at the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. But following a healthy diet does seem to reduce the risk, he said.
Here are some foods that experts say are worth adding to your plate.
Broccoli and Its Cruciferous Cousins
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage are rich sources of isothiocyanates, plant compounds that help our cells clear out toxins and repair themselves, which are crucial for cancer prevention, Dr. Lampe said.
Broccoli sprouts, for instance, are rich in the isothiocyanate sulforaphane, which may boost our body’s natural lines of defense against daily damage to cells, she added. The compound has been linked to protection against several types of cancer, including prostate, breast, bladder and colorectal.
Research suggests consuming more than four or five servings of cruciferous vegetables per week is associated with a reduced risk of cancer and other chronic conditions.
Tomatoes and Tomato-Based Products
Studies have long connected tomatoes to the reduced risk of prostate cancer thanks to their abundant stores of lycopene, a potent antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red color.
But lycopene may be just one of many compounds in tomatoes that help defend against prostate cancer, said Nancy Moran, an assistant professor of nutrition at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. And limited research has found that lycopene may also possibly protect against other cancers like breast, lung and colorectal …
