Diet/nutrition and cancer - advice please

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We have someone in our family who has recently been diagonsed with cancer and it's spurred dh and I to re-look at our diet. We know what the standard healthy eating plan is ie. low in fat, min 5 fruit & veg, limit red meat, alcohol and get fibre. However are there specific foods that are particularly good for cancer prevention? Any advice would be great as I have an increased risk of breast cancer and now this new one and we're attempting to be sensible - for once.

No food is related to cancer prevention. Eating a healthy balanced diet avoiding certain "nasties" reduces your chances of getting certain cancers. Some people swear by certain foods or supplements but there is usually only a small study behind every suggestion, rather than any concrete evidence.

Even if you eat perfectly you cannot rule out getting cancer. I was brought up eating fresh, healthy food with lots of wholegrains and lots of veg. I ate the ideal "reduce your chance of bowel cancer" diet for forty years yet I still ended up with it. Not all cancer is lifestyle related.

Thanks ThingOne, I guess we are a little frightened by recent events and are probably looking for the miracle preventative food - just like a lot of others.

There's a book called 'Say No to Cancer' by Patrick Holford which contains exactly this advice. It even has recommendations for specific cancers. You might find it useful.

Funnily enough this was Ben Goldacre's column this week!

I meant to give you this link about a place which has pioneered complementary treatment for people with cancer which is obviously a different thing but you may still find it interesting. They basically advocate no red meat, dairy & caffeine free, lots and lots of veg. They told me to "eat a rainbow" of veg which is pretty sound advice and benefits everyone. If only anybody else in this house actually like beetroot . I wasn't so convinced about the soundness of their reasoning for avoiding dairy (I don't eat much any way). I don't eat red meat and I lied about the caffeine as everybody needs one vice.