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Healthy Eating

 
Eat 5-10 servings of vegetables and fruits every day.

Most of us do not meet the guidelines for daily vegetable and fruit consumption.  Increasing your intake of vegetables and fruits will decrease the risk of esophageal, stomach, colorectal and lung cancers. Another benefit of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits is that it contributes to achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight, which can further reduce your cancer risks.  In fact healthy eating, regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight can prevent one third (33%) of all cases of cancer.
Cancer Facts and Targets
In North Eastern Ontario in 2005, 41% of adults (18 years and older) consumed vegetables and fruit five or more times daily (34.1% for males and 47.5% for females).  In the same year 44.4% of male teens and 50.9% of female teens (12-17 years) in Ontario were eating vegetables and fruit more than five times daily.
 
The Cancer 2020 target is 90% of adults and children over 12 years old consume five or more servings of vegetables and fruit daily.
 
Trend: The number of men and women in North Eastern Ontario who eat vegetables and fruit more than five times daily is increasing. This increasing trend is true for Ontario teens also. Although current trends show an increasing rate of vegetables and fruits being eaten daily, this is still far short of targets.
What You Can Do
The following are 10 recommendations for
cancer prevention based on the World Cancer
Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer
Research Second Expert Report (November
2007):
 
  1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.  Aim to maintain a body mass index between 18.5 and 25.  Avoid weight gain and increases in waist circumference throughout adulthood.
  2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes everyday. Limit sedentary habits such as   watching TV/computer games.
  3. Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans.  Eat a range of different coloured vegetables and fruits.  Limit intake of refined starchy foods (e.g.  foods made from white flour; white rice and low fibre cereals).
  4. Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) to less than 18 oz (500g) cooked, per week.  Eat very little, if any meats preserved by smoking, curing, or salting or with chemical preservatives.
  5. Limit salt (sodium) by avoiding salt-preserved, salted or salty foods.
 
 

 

 

 

 
Links and Resources
What You Can Do - continued
6.       Avoid sugary drinks (beverages with added sugars). Limit intake of high calorie foods (greater than 225-275 calories/100g serving).
7.       If consumed at all, limit alcohol consumption to no more than 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women.
8.       Aim to meet your nutritional needs through diet alone. Don’t use dietary supplements to protect against cancer.
Special Population Recommendations:
9.       It is best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for up to 6 months and then add other liquids and foods to the baby’s diet.
10.   After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.
 
For more information about healthy eating, see Links and Resources.
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