Eat a healthy diet

Friday 31 August, 2007

To reduce the risk of certain cancers we recommend a healthy body weight, regular exercise and a healthy diet.

Vegetables and fruits

Eating plenty of vegetables and fruits is likely to reduce the risk of cancer of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach and bowel.

Recommendation: Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits. Adults should eat at least 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit each day. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should have slightly more and the recommendations for children are slightly lower. Eat a variety of vegetables and fruit – it doesn't matter if they're fresh, tinned, frozen or dried – it all counts.

A serve size is about the same as an adult's handful, so adults should eat 5 handfuls of vegetables and 2 handfuls of fruit daily.

1 serve of vegetables =	1 serve of fruit =
1/2 cup of cooked vegetables 1 cup of salad 1/2 cup of legumes (such as lentils and chickpeas)	2 pieces of small-sized fruit (such as apricots, plums and kiwi-fruit) 1 piece of medium-sized fruit (such as an apple or orange) 1 cup of fruit salad or canned fruit pieces

Breads and cereals

While there's been a lot of research into the link between a high-fibre diet and a decrease in bowel cancer risk, the link doesn't appear as strong as once thought.

Recommendation: In the interest of good health, we recommend eating plenty of breads and cereals, preferably wholegrain, as part of an overall healthy diet. Women should eat at least 4 serves of breads and cereals a day and men at least 5.

A serve =

2 slices of bread
1 cup of cooked rice, pasta or noodles
1 cup of breakfast cereal
1/2 cup of muesli

Meat

Research suggests that eating red meat and, in particular, processed meat, may increase the risk of bowel cancer.

We recommend eating moderate amounts of fresh red meat. A moderate intake of meat is 65g to 100g of cooked red meat, 3 to 4 times a week – this is also the recommendation in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

Cancer Council recommends people limit or avoid eating processed meats, including sausages, frankfurts, salami, bacon and ham. Try to choose lean cuts of meat or chicken, have more fish and make sure you eat plenty of plant-based foods such as fruit, vegetables and wholegrain cereals.

The following are examples of 1 serve of meat (this should roughly fit into the palm of your hand):

1/2 cup mince
2 small chops
2 slices roast meat.

Other substitutes for a serve of red meat include:

65–100g cooked chicken
80–120g cooked fish fillet
2 small eggs
1/3 cup cooked lentils, chick peas, split peas, dried or canned beans
1/3 cup nuts (e.g. peanuts or almonds).

Fat

According to current evidence there's no direct link between fat intake and cancer. However, a high-fat diet may cause obesity, which is a risk factor for several cancers.

Recommendation: As part of an overall healthy diet, limit saturated fats and moderate total fat intake. Saturated fats are found mostly in meat and dairy products, but are also found in cakes, biscuits, snack foods and take-away foods. 'Good fats' (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) can be found in margarines, nuts, avocados and seeds.

Salt

An increased risk of stomach cancer has been linked with high-salt diets in countries where salting of foods is a common preserving method. In countries where refrigeration is commonly used, stomach cancer is not as common.

Recommendation: Choose foods low in salt. Flavour foods with herbs, lemon juice and spices instead of salt. Try to limit salty snacks, take-away foods, processed meats, cheese and butter.

Alcohol

There's no evidence that alcoholic drinks provide any protection against cancer. Alcohol is, in fact, an important risk factor for some cancers, particularly cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus and liver, and evidence is growing stronger that alcohol is a risk factor for breast cancer.

Recommendation: Cancer Council recommends that, to reduce the risk of cancer, people should abstain from alcohol. For people who choose to drink alcohol: