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Diet, Physical Activity, and Cancer Prevention

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Book cover Nutrition Guide for Physicians

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Key Points

  • Maintain a healthy weight throughout life; this is one of the most important ways to reduce cancer risk. A healthy weight can be promoted by limiting consumption of high-calorie foods and sugary drinks and by being physically active throughout life.

  • Eat mostly foods of plant origin. This includes at least five portions/servings (at least 400 g or 14 oz) of a variety of vegetables and fruits everyday; eating whole grains and/or pulses (legumes) with every meal; and limiting refined starchy foods.

  • Limit red meat intake to 60 g per week and limit processed meat consumption.

  • Limit daily alcoholic drink consumption. Although there is no consumption that is not associated with an increased cancer risk, modest amounts of alcohol (two drinks a day for men or one drink a day for women) can protect against coronary heart disease.

  • Limit consumption of salt-preserved or salty foods.

  • Cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention regarding diet, healthy weight, and physical activity.

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Suggested Further Reading

  • World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. American Institute for Cancer Research, Washington, DC, 2007.

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  • Davis CD. Mechanisms for cancer-protective effects of bioactive dietary components in fruits and vegetables. In: Berdanier CD, Dwyer J, Feldman EB, eds. Handbook of Nutrition and Food, second edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2007, pp. 1187–1210.

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  • http://www.aicr.org/site/PageServer

  • http://www.cancer.gov/

  • Current Cancer Drug Targets, August 2007, special issue on Nutritional Preemption of Cancer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA

    Cindy D. Davis & John A. Milner

Authors
  1. Cindy D. Davis
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  2. John A. Milner
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Biology, Winona State University, Winona, 54603, U.S.A.

    Ted Wilson

  2. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Perkins Rd. 6400, Baton Rouge, 70808, U.S.A.

    George A. Bray

  3. Centre for Science, Athabasca University, Athabasca, T9S 3A3, Canada

    Norman J. Temple

  4. Dept. Foods & Nutrition, College of St. Elizabeth, Morristown, 07960, U.S.A.

    Maria Boyle Struble

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© 2010 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Davis, C.D., Milner, J.A. (2010). Diet, Physical Activity, and Cancer Prevention. In: Wilson, T., Bray, G., Temple, N., Struble, M. (eds) Nutrition Guide for Physicians. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-431-9_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-431-9_33

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-430-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-431-9

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