Meal Planning for Cancer

Meal Planning for Cancer-Fighting Compounds and Immune-Boosting Foods 

Here are some simple tips that will help you build generous amounts of antioxidants, phytochemicals, and immune-boosting foods into your diet:

■ Include plenty of vegetables and fruits in your routine, emphasizing
the colorful varieties. Shoot for at least seven servings per day. One
serving of vegetables is one-half cup cooked or one cup raw. For fruit,
a serving is one small whole fruit or one-half cup chopped fruit.

■ Keep a bag of baby carrots (rich in beta-carotene) nearby. Try them
plain or dipped in hummus or a light vinaigrette.

■ Limit storage of fruits and vegetables. Once they are separated from
the plant, their carotenoids begin to break down.

■ Check out your local Asian or Latin American grocery store to discover
some new vegetables. For fresh seasonal produce, check out
your local farmers’ market.

■ Avoid overcooking vegetables. While you still get a substantial amount
of antioxidants in cooked vegetables, you will get much more if you
don’t cook them. A few exceptions, such as carrots and tomatoes,
actually release more carotenoids when they have been cooked. If
you don’t like cooked carrots, try finely chopping raw carrots to
release more of their carotenoids.

■ Have plenty of tomato products (rich in lycopene): Mix sun-dried
tomatoes into bread dough or add them to a veggie sandwich. Top
pasta with marinara sauce (and add frozen vegetables, such as chopped
spinach or kale, to the sauce as it cooks). Add canned tomatoes or
salsa to a bean burrito, or top a veggie burger with ketchup or salsa.
Reach for tomato juice to quench your thirst. Or make a quick
bruschetta by toasting baguette slices, and then topping them with
canned diced tomatoes and a sprinkling of basil.

■ Crush a Brazil nut (rich in selenium) on top of your vegetable salad.

■ Enjoy beans and whole grains for vitamin E and selenium.

■ Add blueberries (rich in vitamin E) to your cereal or fruit smoothie.

■ Add barley (rich in vitamin E and selenium) instead of pasta to vegetable
soups and stews.

■ Add broccoli, cauliflower, or any other of the other cruciferous veggies
to stir-fries, soups, stews, and sauces.

■ Boost any salad’s cancer-fighting potential by adding cabbage, collard
greens, kale, or watercress.

■ Use rutabagas or turnips in place of potatoes in your favorite potato dish.

■ Add fresh garlic to almost any meal.

■ Take a multiple vitamin each day.

■ Build your diet from plant foods and stay away from animal products.
By doing so, you’ll avoid most fat and all dietary cholesterol to help
keep your immune system operating at its best.

■ Avoid added oils and you’ll keep fat content very low and immunity
high.

Recommended Recipes :

Buckwheat Pasta with Seitan

Spinach Salad with Citrus Fruit

Zippy Yams and Collards