The likelihood of seniors having chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease makes it more challenging and complicated to treat and manage cancer. Moreover, even if you are an older adult who has no chronic disease whatsoever, your body may still react less effectively to treatment.
With this in mind, it is important that you know how to prevent cancer. Diet has always played an important role in determining the health status of each individual. More so, the food you eat can influence your susceptibility to cancer.
With all the important nutrients present, a diet generally composed of vegetables and fruits can assist the body’s natural defenses against diseases, including cancer. Accordingly, a variety of bright colors in your fruit and vegetable salad bowl is indicative of the richness and potency of the food to fight cancer and other chronic diseases. To help you with your fight against cancer, here are 9 foods that can prevent cancer from invading your cells:
Cruciferous Vegetables
Cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and cauliflower are just a few of the cruciferous vegetables that you often see in kitchens. Don’t ignore these veggies if you are bent on preventing cancer. This is because they are packed with glucosinolates and isothiocyanates which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can eliminate toxins out of the body. They can also inhibit cancer-causing chemicals that can cause cancers of the colon, lungs, intestines, breasts, esophagus, and liver.
Leafy Greens
Among the leafy green vegetables that you should start incorporating in your meals are watercress, kale, and spinach. These vegetables are rich sources of beta-carotene and vitamin C which are well-known immunity boosters.
Garlic and Onions
Garlic is one spice that is hard not to find in dishes. The ability of this spice to regulate blood sugar and its content of diallyl disulfide make it a potent cancer-fighting food. It also has glutathione that can help detoxify the body. Garlic is exceptionally good against stomach, colorectal, and intestinal cancers.
Onions, on the other hand, have also glutathione and diallyl disulfide and they are most effective in preventing breast and colon cancer.
Orange and Yellow Fruits and Vegetables
The yellow and orange pigments found in some vegetables and fruits are rich sources of powerful antioxidants known as carotenoids. These carotenoids, including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein can protect the immune system.
Carrots also contain the compound, falcarinol, which can fight cancer cells to prevent them from growing and multiplying.
Red Fruits and Vegetables
Tomatoes are examples of red vegetables that are capable of fighting cancer. This is because of their lycopene content that has high antioxidant capabilities that can help reduce cell division in prostate cancer. On the other hand, red fruits, specifically berries, contain gallic acid, proanthocyanidins, vitamins A and C, quercetin, lycopene, zeaxanthin, and lutein, and many other phytonutrients. All these contribute to the ability of berries to benefit your overall health and boost your immune system.
Turmeric
The active ingredient of turmeric is curcumin, a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. According to studies, curcumin can kill cancer cells or prevent them from growing. It is said that turmeric works best against cancers of the breast, stomach, bowel, and skin. For curcumin to be easily absorbed by the body, using it with black pepper can be the best thing to do.
Probiotic Foods
Probiotics are excellent for our overall gut health. By inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria, probiotics help in boosting our immunity. They are also shown to promote the production of antibodies and boosting immune cells like the lymphocytes.
Nuts and Seeds
Chia and linseeds are packed with fibers and omega 3 fatty acids which provide formidable protection against inflammation. Any form of inflammation in the body can provide the necessary push for cancer and other diseases to proliferate.
Green Tea
Green tea has always been known for its metabolism and weight loss abilities. It also contains epigallocatechin-3-gallate which can inhibit tumor invasion. It is suggested that green tea can help reduce the risk of lung cancer, mouth cancer, and bladder cancer.
Seniors’ nutrition is important when preventing cancer. Improving the immune system and providing an environment that is not ideal for cancer cells to grow and multiply are just two important functions that the above foods can do and when they are incorporated into the daily diet of seniors, cancer can be prevented.
Another reason seniors should go for these foods is that they can provide excellent nutrition that can help them to cope better with the physical decline brought about by old age that can make them more susceptible to cancer.