Cancer Prevention Diet Tip #2: Bulk up on Fibers

Cancer prevention diet tip #2: Bulk up on fiber


Another benefit of eating plant-based foods is that it will also increase your fiber intake. Fiber, also called roughage or bulk, is the part of plants (grains, fruits, and vegetables) that your body can’t digest. Fiber plays a key role in keeping your digestive system clean and healthy. It helps keep food moving through your digestive tract, and it also moves cancer-causing compounds out before they can create harm.

Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In general, the more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fiber. There is no fiber in meat, dairy, sugar, or “white” foods like white bread, white rice, and pastries.

Simple ways to add more fiber to your diet:

Use brown rice instead of white rice

Substitute whole-grain bread for white bread

Choose a bran muffin over a croissant or pastry

Snack on popcorn instead of potato chips

Eat fresh fruit such as a pear, a banana, or an apple (with the skin)

Have a baked potato, including the skin, instead of mashed potatoes

Enjoy fresh carrots, celery, or bell peppers with a hummus or salsa, instead of chips and a sour cream dip

Use beans instead of ground meat in chili, casseroles, tacos, and even burgers (bean burgers taste great!)

High-fiber, cancer-fighting foods
Whole grains

whole-wheat pasta, raisin bran, barley, oatmeal, oat bran muffins, popcorn, brown rice, whole-grain or whole-wheat bread

Fruit

raspberries, apples, pears, strawberries, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, mango, apricots, citrus fruits, dried fruit, prunes, raisins


Legumes

lentils, black beans, split peas, lima beans, baked beans, kidney beans, pinto, chick peas, navy beans, black-eyed peas


Vegetables

broccoli, spinach, dark green leafy vegetables, peas, artichokes, corn, carrots, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, potatoes

Are Organic Vegetables and Fruits Healthy to Eat?

Healthy foods to eat and nutritious vegetables are more difficult to find than you may imagine.
But aren't all vegetables good for you?
Apparently not, according to a report issued by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit group that focuses on public health addressing issues such as pollution, nutrition, and their affects on the human body.

Raw Vegetable Diet

A raw vegetable diet is an excellent place to focus your eating habits since it supplies the enzymes and nutrients found in nature.
Cooking, freezing, canning, or otherwise processing foods kills all the enzymes and most of the nutrients found in foods.

That is why it is a good idea to consume as many of your foods as you can as they come from nature. Why would you spend good money on foods you know to be necessary for the healthy maintenance of your body then kill all of the nutrients found in those foods?

That does not make sense.

Of course, it also does not make sense to consume vegetables containing pesticides that will overburden your body with toxins, which may lead to ill health, disease, and possibly shorten your lifespan.

Unhealthy Foods

EWG reports that thin, soft skinned fruits and vegetables may be more susceptible to absorbing pesticides than those with a stronger, more dense outer layer.

These soft skinned fruits and vegetables include:
Apples

Cherries

Peaches

Strawberries

Celery

Domestic Blueberries (those grown on farms)

Nectarines

Potatoes

Imported Grapes

Lettuce

Sweet Bell Peppers

Spinach

Kale

Collard Greens


Healthy Foods Get Contaminated

These otherwise healthy foods have been found to be contaminated with and contain from 47 to 67 different pesticides per serving.

Apparently, bugs and other critters also enjoy eating these delicate foods so they must be protected to assure they ripen and are available for human consumption. The most economical and easiest method of avoiding predation of growing crops is by using pesticides.

However, those same pesticides come with many detrimental side effects.

Organic Foods Are Best

Organic foods are grown without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, or any other unnatural substances being applied to them. This assures you that your raw vegetables and fresh fruits are free of unseen compounds that may harm you and your loved ones.

But aren't they more expensive than chemically fertilized and pesticide sprayed produce?

Yes, there may be a small difference between buying comparable items but it is minimal when the benefits of pesticide-free produce is taken into consideration. But when comparing relative costs of purchasing fresh organic foods to processed foods there may not be a discernable difference in cost.

David L. Katz, M.D., who has investigated this situation, found there really is no major difference in your overall food bill when comparing the purchase price of good healthy foods to unhealthy processed foods.

What Organic Foods Are Most Important to Buy?

When just starting out, if one must choose, pick the organic versions of the conventional foods that are typically the most sprayed/fertilized - ie: Bananas Strawberries Grapes Broccoli Carrots Potatoes Lettuce Corn Milk the idea is, at least you'll reduce the exposure to pesticides, fertilizers and after market sprays such as dormant sprays - to keep potatoes from sprouting, as well as gassing and irradiation (ie bananas & strawberries) to make them ripe. Also, non-gmo such as corn or soy products.Milk is on the list because non-organic milk has added hormones given to the cattle as well as antibiotics.