Cancer Preventing Foods in your Daily Diet
Have read many articles on what to eat to prevent cancer? But are you actually able to incorporate the health foods in your daily diet? Here are some simple tips for including antioxidant rich foods in your diet plans.
Win the war of cancer!
It’s not an infection. We all have cancer cells present in our body. We just have to build our immunity so that we don’t let the cancer cells to multiply and spread all over the body.
Foods that help to boost our immunity-
Nuts and seeds
They have natural fats called phytosterols which prevent growth of cancer cells. Various seeds and nuts were regularly used in our traditional cooking, but due to lac of interest time spent on cooking a lot of healthy ingredients have vanished from our kitchens.
- Just grind and mix flaxseed powder in wheat flour
- Use roasted Til, watermelon seeds in your poha or upma
- Make healthy nutri bars by mixing seedless dates and roasted nuts
- Grind khus khus seeds in curries
- Add dry roasted nuts and seeds in your salads or milk porridge
In a day’s diet include a handful of assorted nuts and 1 tsp seeds in any form.
Tomatoes
A potential guard against prostate cancer! The red colour in tomatoes is rich in lycopene an antioxidant which prevents all types of cancer. The best part of this antioxidant is that it is resistant to heat.
- Eat raw in salads
- Use in cooking all types of curries.
- Just puree them and cook them with salt sugar and pepper to make a homemade sauce especially for kids. Replace your market sauce ( laden with color, chemicals and preservatives ) with this homemade tomato chutney.
Ginger/garlic/turmeric
Contain sulphur and curcumin compounds which stop growth of cancer cells and repair DNA cells. Have a good shelf life so can be easily stored
- Make a paste of fresh ginger,garlic and turmeric and store in a air tight container. Use it all dals.
- Fresh turmeric is only available for a short period of time in winters. Add it to your milk.
- Make fresh pickles of all the above using lemon juice and salt.
- Use fresh grated ginger to your tea
They also help to regulate bowl movement and thus prevent colon cancer.
Berries
All seasonal berries top the list of cancer fighting capabilities. Prevent heart disease and maintain a healthy mental status. But eat only seasonal, local and fresh berries. As now days they are at times contaminated with pesticide, wash them with Luke warm water.
- Just freeze them with brown sugar and mint leaves and replace them with your ice candies
- Make low sugar preserve or sauces and use as topping for cakes and desserts
- Use dried berries on cold cereals
- Churn a handful of them in water and drink the flavoured water as an energy drink
- Make tangy sauces to go well with Indian cooking.
Common berries found in india are- shehtoot, jamun, phalse, strawberries,kokum.
Spinach
Rich in an antioxidant lutein helps to remove the free radical from our body and thus prevents cancer. Carotenoids and folates present in spinach prevents ovarian cancer in ladies. As its very high in fibre and usually grown in unhygienic conditions should always be eaten cooked.
- Puree and knead wheat flour in it to make spinach roti
- Use chopped spinach in kebabs and cutlets
- Make spinach soup
- Add chopped spinach to your dals
- Add it to your pasta, maggi and spaghetti
Avoid having spinach along with milk products like palak paneer as it could lead to kidney stones.
Tulsi
Antioxidants present in tulsi help the pancreatic beta cells to function properly. As these cells are responsible to produce insulin tulsi helps to control blood sugar levels. Sugar in blood is a fuel for cancer cells. So ultimately tulsi prevents cancer cells to grow. Tulsi leaves have germicidal, fungicidal and anti bacterial properties as well.
- Add tulsi leaves in tea
- Just boil 6 leaves in water and drink it
- Use in Italian cooking instead of basil leaves
- Add a few leaves to your coriander chutney and enjoy the tangy flavour
- Garnish your health drink or salads with finely chopped tulsi leaves
Avoid chewing fresh tulsi leaves as they erode the enamel of teeth. Use dry leaves when fresh are not available
The list of cancer preventive foods is endless. We possibly can’t eat all health foods daily. Just try to include some seasonal health foods in your diet.
To reduce the risk of cancer, look no further than your fridge and kitchen!
