Cancer and heart disease. They are the two leading causes of death in the United States, and most people have family members or friends who have been impacted by one of these illnesses.
But experts in nutrition science say there are things everyone can do to prevent or lessen the severity of chronic diseases by simply changing their eating habits—even for those at high genetic risk for some of these conditions.
Research indicates that improving one’s diet to add more whole, plant-based foods, as well as adding exercise into your daily routine, can lower one’s risk of heart disease, diabetes, digestive problems, and cancer.
We spoke to researchers and faculty members at the University of Miami and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the Miller School of Medicine, to learn more.
Michelina Witte is a lecturer in kinesiology and sport sciences at the School of Education and Human Development, a neuroscientist at the Miller School of Medicine, and co-founder of the BikeSafe program at the KiDZ Neuroscience Center, as well as faculty mentor to Plant based Canes. Many of her students often remark that Witte’s nutrition courses helped them transform their eating habits for the better.
Arlette Perry is a professor of kinesiology and sport sciences, with a secondary appointment in internal medicine at the Miller School. She directs the Laboratory of Clinical and Applied Physiology and the Vascular Function Laboratory, where her research and clinical trials focus on cardiovascular physiology, obesity prevention, women’s health, and pediatrics.
Tracy Crane is an associate professor of medical oncology, a registered dietitian, and director of Lifestyle Medicine, Prevention and Digital Health at Sylvester, along with Dr. Paola Rossi, clinical program director of lifestyle at Sylvester. Both believe that for cancer patients, diet and exercise can be a critical part of their recovery and could reduce the chance of cancer returning or a new cancer developing.
Perry, Witte, Rossi, and Crane shared some tips on what foods can help ward off chronic disease or keep it from recurring.
Q: What foods can we integrate into our diet to help avoid chronic diseases like cancer and heart problems?
Witte: The best way to eat is a plant forward, whole food diet.
We know from research that there is a direct line from food to cancer if we are not eating enough fiber. Every five years, the U.S. dietary guidelines are revised, and fiber is listed continuously as a nutrient of concern. Fiber is naturally found in fruits and vegetables, including beans and legumes. Currently, most of us aren’t eating the minimum amount of fruits and veggies on a regular basis, and right now, only one in 10 Americans is meeting those minimum guidelines, so we as a population are fiber-deficient.
Eating fruits, vegetables, and legumes in their whole, natural form helps our gut to filter out the junk, but if we are not eating fiber, it can allow cholesterol to build up in our body, which can eventually cause heart disease.
Perry: The recommended amount is 20 to 35 grams of fiber per day, so if you skip breakfast, or don’t have a high fiber cereal, it’s hard to meet that requirement with the average American diet.
Crane: You are going to eat what you have in the pantry and refrigerator, so have healthy choices ready to eat and available, including:
- nuts and seeds
- cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens
- carrots
- avocados
- potatoes and sweet potatoes
- lean proteins like chicken, fatty and white meat fish, tofu, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt.
- Whole grains like wheat bread, tortillas, oatmeal, quinoa, and brown rice.
- Fruits like berries and apples, oranges, guava, and papaya.
Sylvester’s oncology registered dietitian, Lesley Klein, has also touted the health benefits of mangoes.
Q: What types of foods are rich in fiber?
Witte: Some of the power players include beans, like chickpeas, lentils, and other legumes.
These are not things you should eat once a week or month, but at every single meal. These are nutritional rockstars because they are low in fat and high in protein. For some people, that can mean some hummus, or a black bean burrito.
- Tofu, or soybean curd, is also very versatile.
- Cruciferous veggies—like cauliflower and broccoli—and leafy greens like kale and spinach all have known cancer fighting compounds. They also help you feel full, but they are a good source of fiber.
- Arugula helps to increase blood flow.
- Any type of fruit, in its natural form, is a good source of fiber.
- Whole grains, such as quinoa or brown rice.
Perry: For example, take a whole apple. If you drink apple juice, you lose the fiber. We should be eating whole foods like apples, pears, and vegetables. Leafy greens also have micronutrients, and they possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties to help combat disease.
A lot of Americans today are low in magnesium and vitamin D, so if you can eat the right vegetables, like kale and spinach, you can get it without taking a supplement. And these greens also have calcium.
There are also some foods that work as coenzymes to facilitate reactions that are important to the body. For example, Vitamin C-containing citrus fruits often enhance the absorption of many vitamins.
Witte: Something we have learned in nutrition science is there are ways to increase the bioavailability—or the ability of your body to absorb certain nutrients when consumed in combination. For example, dark leafy greens, which are rich in magnesium, are also rich in calcium, and if you add lemon or citrus juice somehow, like in a salad dressing, that has ascorbic acid (or vitamin C), so your body will absorb more of both calcium and vitamin C simply because you ate them together.
Q: What about protein?
Perry: People in this country have plenty of protein in their diet. The daily requirement of protein is 0.8 grams for every 2.2 lbs. of body weight. Yes, if you are an athlete, you need more. But the body’s protein needs are not great; it’s kind of minimal, and we more than meet that in this country. We are probably eating excessive protein which makes more work for our kidneys and liver.
However, which proteins you choose are important. Omega-3 fatty acid proteins are crucial and are often found in proteins like salmon or other fish, as well as some nuts and plant oils, like canola or soybean. These help to reduce blood pressure and improve overall vascular health and function.
Witte: My favorite source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are chia, hemp, and flax seeds. You can buy them ground, but need to keep them in the fridge, and they can be mixed into smoothies, soups, or sprinkled on salads.
Q: Any spices that help combat diseases?
Witte: Turmeric contains something called curcumin, and it is why women in India are five times less likely to develop breast cancer. If you don’t like the taste of it, you can also take a supplement of turmeric. Black pepper also contains piperine, and when combined with turmeric, these work together to enhance anti-inflammatory properties.
Rossi: Cinnamon, garlic, and ginger are examples of spices with cancer-fighting properties. Cinnamon lowers stress on cells, balances blood sugar, and may kill cancer cells. Garlic helps the body get rid of harmful substances and strengthens the immune system. Ginger reduces swelling, slows cancer growth, and can help destroy cancer cells. Adding these spices to your meals can be a healthy choice.
Q: Any other recommendations you have to eat well and prevent disease?
Perry: I try to teach people and my students as much as I can about diversifying your fruit and vegetable intakes. Then you can get the variety of vitamins and minerals you need.
Witte: Another added benefit is you’ll diversify your gut bacteria because digestive disorders are very problematic, but they stem from consistent feeding of the same things in your body and not enough fiber. So, if you are not diversifying your plate, you’re not diversifying your gut bacteria or giving your body a fighting chance. If the majority of your plate is fried processed foods, versus whole plant foods, then your gut bacteria will feast on the junk. And then the good bacteria will be crowded out of the boxing ring.
Q: What are some foods to avoid?
Witte: Animal meat in general carries with it lots of carcinogens, which are known to cause cancer, both in the compounds within meat and upon processing and digesting all meat, which is why I avoid it.
In addition, processed meats—like deli meat, hot dogs, ham, bacon, and sausage—are labeled as a Group 1 carcinogen from the World Health Organization. So, there is enough evidence to say it leads to cancer.
Overall, what’s driving obesity in America today is an overabundance of calories from processed foods. These ultra processed foods—like packaged candy, chips, cookies, sodas, instant soups, fast food, and pizza—are ground down, so the fiber and nutrients are taken out.
Perry: Two common recommendations are to limit sugar intake and the amount of eggs you eat.
While eggs are a standard part of our diet, we as mammals make cholesterol, so there’s no dietary need for more. We are adding to our cholesterol levels by eating a diet high in animal fats, as well as eggs that increase our risk for cardiovascular disease.
You can still eat egg whites, because that is less cholesterol, and it’s a good protein source.
Also, try to limit your sugar intake. Dairy products have this positive hype, but a lot of it is sugar, and there’s not a lot of substance. This is why plant-based milks are getting popular among consumers. They are healthier, and can be consumed by people with lactose intolerance, or those who have difficulty metabolizing lactose (a dairy sugar). You can still get the vitamins, calcium, and protein needed from these alternatives, but you don’t have the saturated fat found in cow’s milk.
Plant-based milk alternatives are also often better than dairy products because their ingredients are anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is now being linked to many more chronic medical conditions including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. We can all get sufficient calcium without overconsuming dairy products.
Q: How can we as consumers easily distinguish between whole foods and processed foods?
Witte: As I tell my students, look at the nutrition labels. If there are several ingredients you have never heard of, and the list is very long, it is more likely to be heavily processed.
Also, be wary of “health halos,” or ads that tout the nutritional benefits of a product. Broccoli doesn’t have to sell itself.
Perry: For example, nut butters can be a good source of protein and fiber, but when you start seeing a lot of ingredients, you know it’s a problem. We see added oils, syrups, starches, preservatives, and additives of no value. The longer the list gets, the worse it gets. The shorter, the better.
Q: Any particularly healthy diets or specific foods you’d recommend?
Perry: We need to look at types of foods that can also help enhance cognitive health, so there are some dietary plans and foods that help the mind as well. The MIND diet, DASH diet, and Mediterranean diet all revolve around eating foods with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties that can improve our overall systemic and mental health. These are all good for reducing inflammation in the brain as well, which is linked to cognitive decline. Good nutrition can be very important for reducing the risk of many chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s, as well as heart disease, which is the number one cause of adult deaths in the U.S. today. In general, eating more of a plant-based diet can help reduce the burden of heart disease, various forms of dementia, type 2 diabetes and many more chronic medical conditions that adversely affect our quality of life.
My favorite cereal is Ezekiel (original or flaxseed) because it has the highest ratio of fiber to simple sugars. With added fresh fruit and a half cup of Ripple milk, it’s the best way to start the day.
Witte: We should be conscientious about the foods we are consuming and front-load our plates with all the colors. All the foods that you know are beneficial to get good gut bacteria that can reward you with the things your body needs. If you are eating fast foods every day and that’s the bulk of your diet, you will have bacteria in your gut that’s a byproduct of that, which is not beneficial and can lead to digestive system disorders, or even colon cancer.
Understand that each meal is an opportunity to help improve your health. I often talk about the power plate of fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains. If you have those, you’re starting from a good place.
--Writer Jodie Nicotra contributed to this report.
