Healthy Eating
What is a "Healthy Diet?"
A balanced diet is important for everyone, but when you’re a cancer survivor, eating healthy and getting the nutrients your body needs to fight cancer and other diseases is critical. The cornerstones of a healthy diet are…
- Eat at least 2½ cups of vegetables and fruit each day. Ounce for ounce, these foods pack a punch with more cancer-fighting nutrients and other helpful components than all other foods.
- Choose whole wheat products over refined grains and cereals. Whole grains are loaded with B-vitamins, magnesium, and fiber.
- Limit the amount of red and processed meats you eat. These foods are linked with much higher rates of colorectal cancer. This is one of the more common cancers, and as a cancer survivor you are at higher risk of developing it.
- Limit the amount of sweets, fat, alcohol and other high calorie foods that do little to nourish your body.
Healthy eating recommendations in SurvivorSHINE are based on information from the DASH Eating Plan (see the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute), the American Diabetes Association, and the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Kat's Story
I never really liked “healthy foods”. Vegetables just did not taste good to me. After I was diagnosed with cancer, eating a balanced diet with vegetables and fruits became my main focus. During an appointment with my doctor we talked about ways that I could cook vegetables to make them yummy. I did some research and found some recipes that I love. Now, I eat vegetables all of the time.
* The individual pictured above is not the individual described in the story. The name and photo have been changed to protect privacy.