far the best protection to keep cancer from developing in the first
place. While billions of dollars are being spent on research each year
to find “the cure for cancer,” nature has always provided it.
Without question, the first place to start a cancer prevention
lifestyle is to eat 10 servings of a variety of vegetables and fruits every
day. About 25 percent of those who eat the fewest fruits and vegetables
have approximately double the cancer rate compared to those with the
highest intake of these cancer-fighting foods. More frightening is that
80 percent of American children and adolescents, and almost 70 per-
cent of adults, do not eat even five portions a day of these foods. The
result is a significantly reduced intake of key nutrients that help pre-
vent cancer. It’s estimated that at least half the population obtains too
little of these important nutrients; the World Health Organization esti-
mates that by the year 2020, 50 percent will be diagnosed with cancer.
Key nutrients such as vitamins B6, B12, niacin and folate, vita-
mins C and E, and zinc, along with phytonutrients, are just a few of
the thousands of nutrients that can prevent cancer. But don’t look for
the answer in the popular high-dose synthetic vitamins — they won’t
work like real food. In some cases, they can actually contribute to can-
cer promotion. As mentioned in our discussion of dietary supple-
ments in Chapter 17, common vitamin C products are one such exam-
ple, since these synthetic vitamins can cause the same type of DNA
damage that leads to the development of cancer.
Remember that food and nutrition are not the only key factors in
preventing cancer. Others include controlling certain lifestyle stresses,
such as smoking, poor aerobic function, high body fat, and excess
hormones such as insulin and estrogens.
A Cancer-Fighting Plan for Eating
A dietary plan that provides a balance of protein, carbohydrate and
fat, as well as vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients from vegetables,
fruits and other health-promoting foods, can dramatically reduce the
risk of cancer. It is important to obtain these nutrients from real foods
or from supplements made from real foods, as it is the combined ben-
efits of these items that reduce the risk, rather than any single vitamin
or mineral. So where do you begin with prevention? Most of the
330 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH