“We are what we eat” and “We dig our graves with our knives and forks” are two statements we might not want to hear but they are nevertheless very true. Our food choices or what we eat on a daily bases is of paramount importance when it comes to our health. Food is medicine, we take when we are well; in order to stay well as it builds up our immunity to all diseases through our immune system.

100 years ago cancer was a rare disease; today it has become a major problem in the industrialized world. Ask yourself these 2 questions; what did we eat back then and what do we eat nowadays? You will agree our food has changed dramatically over the last few decades and our choices now are often made from advertisements because we are influenced by them.

Unfortunately there has been very little research into foods that fight cancer and the reason why is because our food is a natural product and no one can patent it to profit from it. That is why all our medicine is artificial, and because it’s artificial, it can be patented and the price controlled. It is well recognised today that there are many foods that cause cancer and there are many foods that can fight cancer. Identifying them is the key to help solve the problem. Many of the cancer fighting foods that have been identified are found to contain phytochemicals. There are literally hundreds of phytochemicals, only a sprinkling of which have been studied. These phytochemical compounds are molecules that allow plants to defend themselves against infection and also damage caused by insects. This protective role of these different phytochemicals is not restricted to their effects just on plants. They also play a very important part in the behaviour of our own defence systems in fighting cancer. Phytochemicals have a powerful anti-cancer activity that targets the processes involved in the development of tumour growths.

So to the foods have the ability to fight cancer?

* All cruciferous vegetables and they are cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

* Members of the allium family and they are garlic, onions shallots and chives.

* The spice turmeric which is responsible for the yellow colour in curry powder.

* Green tea but not black tea.

* All berries, especially blueberries.

* Citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges, grapefruit and mandarins.

* Grapes which contain resveratrol, it’s also in red wine.

* Omega 3 fats which are in off shore fish like tuna, sardines, mackerel, salmon, and also in flax seed, soy products and nuts.

* Tomatoes, which have been described as “the prostates best friend.”

* Chocolate, but only dark chocolate and in small quantity.

While it is important to maintain a healthy diet, it is just important to eliminate the foods that are known to contribute to cancer.

They are.

* Marinated foods.

* Smoked foods.

* Pressed meats, as they contain the food additives sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite.

* Fried foods.

* Processed foods.

* Red meat, in excess.

* Alcohol, in excess.

It is frequently incorrect to believe that we are smarter than nature and that we can take a food item and make it better. No matter what is says on the container that the food is in, we can not. We can not improve on nature.