Download Nutrition, Healthy Eating and Cancer

Nutrition, Healthy Eating
and Cancer
Lifelong healthy eating can help play a role in cancer prevention. Follow these basic healthy eating guidelines to help you
reduce your risk of cancer.
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Achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Know your
Body Mass Index and keep yours in the healthy
range throughout your life.
Follow Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide and:
• be sure to eat the recommended amounts; of
vegetables and fruit each day;
• enjoy a variety of colourful vegetables and fruit
each day;
• eat less than 500 grams of red meat each week.
• eat little, if any, processed meats such as deli
meats, bacon or hot dogs; and,
• limit foods and beverages high in calories, fat or
sugar to help maintain a healthy weight.
If you choose to drink alcohol, drink no more than:
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10 drinks a week for women, with no more
than 2 drinks most days
15 drinks a week for men, with no more
than 3 drinks a day most days.
Be sure to include non-drinking days every week to
avoid developing a habit.
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Include physical activity every day. Aim for at least
30 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk
walking, every day. As your fitness improves,
increase your activity to 60 or more minutes of
moderate activity or 30 or more minutes of vigorous
physical activity every day. Limit sedentary activity
such as television watching.
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Avoid high doses of vitamin or mineral
suppplements as they may contribute to increased
cancer risk. Instead, aim to meet your nutrient
needs with healthy food. Note that supplements
with antioxidants such as beta-carotene, vitamin E,
selenium or others have not been shown to protect
against developing cancer. Vitamin E may in fact
increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.
If you are affected by cancer, nutrition and healthy eating become an important part of your treatment and well being; a
dietitian will be a key member of your health care team. The Canadian Cancer Society ( http://www.cancer.ca/ ) provides
patients and their families with current and credible information on a wide variety of topics relating to cancer. You can
find guidelines for healthy eating to help prevent cancer along with nutrition tips for living with cancer.
UNTIL MARCH 2016
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