by Susan McQuillan M.S., RDN
New research narrows down food categories to the most helpful and most harmful.
Researchers say whole grains, dairy and fresh fruit help fight cancer.
Diet isn’t everything when it comes to your health, but it’s no news that what you eat on a regular basis plays an important role in determining whether or not you may succumb to chronic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular heart disease. And now, the findings of a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies from Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and published in the journal, JNCI Cancer Spectrum, also confirm that your food choices affect your risk of developing specific types of cancer, namely, colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, and cancers of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx. Of these, the largest number of cases linked to poor diet by far was for colorectal cancer. Most of the studies analyzed were supported by the World Cancer Research Fund International and the American Institute for Cancer Research.
The benefit of knowing which food groups are linked to higher and lower risk of cancer is that you are ultimately in control of your diet and therefore, armed with this information, you can make better food choices, if necessary. According to the study findings, diets that increase the risk of cancer are:
- Low in whole grains
- Low in fruits and vegetables
- Low in dairy products
- High in processed meats
- High in red meats
- High in sugar-sweetened beverages
A diet low in whole grains was linked to the most new cancer cases, followed by diets low in dairy, high processed meats, low in vegetables and fruits, high in red meat and high sugar-sweetened beverages. (Sugar-sweetened beverages were included in this analysis because of the known links between sugar and obesity and between obesity and at least 13 different types of cancer.) Estimates of diet-related cancer risk vary by age, gender, race/ethnicity and other individual factors but, overall, the researchers found all men, all Americans between the ages of 45 and 64, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics to be among the highest risk groups.
This study, while important because it pinpoints specific areas of the diet that affect cancer risk, also appears to confirm what most health experts already know and advocate: A balanced diet, rich in whole, natural foods, with little in the way of processed foods, sugar, and red meat, appears to be the healthiest diet you can follow. A balanced diet means getting enough (and a wide variety) of the foods within each food group that are known to promote good health and, at the same time, as little as possible of the foods associated with health problems. At the same time, however, it’s equally important to follow the type of diet that works best for you, and that may be modified to accommodate your personal health needs, while helping to keep your weight within a healthy range.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu