by Suzannah Olivier

The list of dietary influences on cancers is long. Diets low in fruits and vegetables are factors in many cancers, those high in salt contribute to stomach cancers and those too high in calories overall can promote hormone cancers such as breast. Smoked and burned foods, such as those cooked on barbecues, are significantly linked to many cancers. And regular alcohol intake is strongly linked to increased breast cancer risk in younger (premenopausal) women. Additionally, smoking remains one of the biggest killers as a trigger of lung cancer.

But the good news is that while some foods, and chemicals in foods, have cancer-promoting, or carcinogenic effects, many more foods have very positive effects on the initiation and progress of cancer. They have strong anti-cancer effects that have been identified in countless research papers.

So next time you go to the supermarket, make a point of adding the following foods to your basket. By eating these foods on a regular basis you can significantly reduce your statistical risk of developing a number of types of cancer.

Broccoli
Effective against: most cancers
Works because: the slightly bitter flavour of broccoli (and its cousins Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower) is the reason for the impressive track record these vegetables have in deterring cancer. The bitter chemicals isothiocyanates and glucosinolates actually interfere with cancer progression and deactivate harmful oestrogens associated with hormonal cancers such as breast and ovarian cancers.