But what is the optimal healthy diet?
A study published this week in the journal JNCI Cancer Spectrum confirms that diet can play an important role in an individual's risk of developing the disease, as well as lifestyle habits, such as exercise or alcohol consumption.
Fangfang Zhang , the study's lead author and assistant professor of epidemiology at the Friedman School of Dietetics at Tufts University, hoped that "people will realize the fact that a large number of cases of cancer recently are preventable . "
Speaking to Healthline, she added: “The diet can be modified. It is certainly difficult, but many cases of cancer can be prevented if we can improve our intake of these nutrients.”
This study, unlike previous studies that focused on disease risk in individuals, focused on the likelihood of infection in the US adult population as a whole.
Fang notes that more people in the United States die from cancer than from any other cause, except for heart disease ; According to the American Health Line website .
Data on our food choices and cancer
The researchers analyzed local data on how much food in each of seven categories was eaten by adults ages 20 and over.
With further consideration of different types of cancer emerged in 2015.
Then, the researchers came up with estimates about the number of cancer cases diagnosed each year that could be due to diets that contain an inappropriate amount of whole grains , dairy products, fruits , vegetables , both red and processed meats, and carbonated beverages. on sugar .
This study is part of a federally funded effort to find effective ways to improve people's health through diet.
In that study, researchers found that nutritionally poor diets caused nearly 80,110 cancer diagnoses in 2015.
Most of these cases, 84%, arose as a direct result of patients not eating enough whole grains and dairy products or consuming too much meat, which is considered carcinogenic, and sugar-sweetened drinks.
Proper nutrition as a form of prevention
Anton Belichick , MD , a professor of surgery at the Joan Wayne Cancer Institute and chief of general surgery at Saint John's Health Center in St. Monica, California, says that while scientists have long suspected a direct link between diet and cancer, the plethora of data that has emerged confirms this. In recent years the existence of that link.
"Now we're in front of some real science that we didn't have before," Belichick says.
Belichick notes, for example, that the number of colon cancer cases recently has skyrocketed among millennials, a trend he believes is caused by eating too much sugar and processed foods and not getting enough exercise.
High levels of sugar increase the secretion of the hormone insulin, which is thought to stimulate the formation of cancer cells .
To Belichick's surprise, this study focused on nutrition as a possible cancer-causing factor.
He points out that previous studies that looked at the causes of cancer usually looked at a group of risk factors, which are not only obesity, but also harmful behaviors such as smoking and lack of exercise .
But Fang's research focused otherwise on people's diets, showing that food choices poor in some important nutrients can cause cancer whether or not the patient smokes.
“This study provides further evidence that diet is an important means of prevention,” says Belichick. The diet speaks for itself.”
The remaining cases are attributed to obesity, which itself is a risk factor for 13 types of cancer.
Cancer risks are diverse
The researchers found that there were differences between subgroups of the population. Cancer risks were higher among men, middle-aged adults, and racial and ethnic minorities.
They also discovered through further research that colorectal cancer is the most common type associated with poor eating habits.
Other types of disease attributed to malnutrition are in the following order:
Cancer of the mouth, pharynx , and larynx
Cervical cancer
breast cancer (postmenopausal)
Kidney cancer
stomach cancer
Liver Cancer
Mistakes we make in our diet
By looking at the diets most often associated with cancer, the scientists acknowledged that they are those without whole grains, such as oatmeal, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread.
The study authors stated that although Americans have been eating more wholegrain foods over the past 14 years, the one serving per day they were eating between 2013 and 2014 was still far short of the three servings per day recommended by the FDA's Dietary Guidelines. and American medicine.
Here are some other dietary mistakes that increase your risk of cancer, from highest to lowest:
Eat a small amount of dairy products
Eat a large amount of processed meat
Eating meals that do not contain enough fruits and vegetables
Excessive consumption of red meat
Drink a lot of sugar-sweetened drinks
Adults currently eat less than half of the three daily servings of dairy products approved in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020.
And Americans' love of processed meat continues unabated, despite the decline in popularity of red meat over the past 15 years, according to the study.
Americans, on average, eat about 28.34 grams per day of this carcinogen, more than double the amount recommended by the American Heart Association.
Possible solutions
Researchers estimate that consumers are not aware of the dangers of processed meats or the health benefits of whole grain foods.
They hope their findings will reverse this trend by prompting the government to adopt policies that put warning labels on foods containing processed meat and limit their serving in schools or coffee shops in collective workplaces.
Recognizing that the adoption of deficient diets can begin early in life, the study also suggested that policy makers develop cancer prevention strategies that young people can understand.
and require schools to limit the availability of sugar-sweetened drinks and instead serve meals of the best standards.
At the same time, Belichick says, the study has startling implications for those who believe they are healthy despite the food they eat.
"The study really sends the message that you can be physically active, not smoke, but still be at risk of developing cancer if you eat unhealthy foods," he adds.
Improve your diet to reduce your chances of developing cancer by including meals from each of the following food groups.
The number of recommended servings per day is for active women and most men:
Grains, especially whole grains (such as foods containing wheat, corn, rice, and oats):
9 meals
Dairy products: 2 to 3 meals
Vegetables: 4 servings
Fruits: 4 servings
Low-fat meat, eggs , and dry beans: two meals contain the equivalent of 168 grams.
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