| More than one million people are diagnosed with | | | | food preservative), Obesity, Inactivity, Exposure |
| cancer in the United States each year. The link | | | | to hazardous materials |
| between diet and cancer is not new. In January of | | | | Decreased Cancer Risk: Vegetable consumption, |
| 1892, Scientific American printed the observation | | | | Fruit consumption, Carotenoids (protective |
| that "cancer is most frequent among those | | | | substances in orange, yellow, red and green |
| branches of the human race where carnivorous | | | | vegetables and fruits), Vitamin C, Fiber, Whole |
| habits prevail." Numerous research studies have | | | | grains, Physical exercise |
| since shown that cancer is much more common | | | | How powerful are these steps? Simply eating |
| in populations consuming diets rich in fatty foods, | | | | more vegetables and fruits could eliminate about |
| particularly meat, and much less common in | | | | 20% of cancers. By also avoiding animal products, |
| countries with diets rich in grains, vegetables, and | | | | we could easily double this number, preventing |
| fruits. One reason is that foods affect the action | | | | two of every five cancers. Regular exercise and |
| of hormones in the body. They also affect the | | | | maintenance of appropriate body weight can |
| strength of the immune system. While fruits and | | | | decrease cancer risk by approximately an |
| vegetables contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, | | | | additional 10%. Avoiding tobacco brings this figure |
| antioxidants, and phytochemicals that protect the | | | | up to roughly 70%. The remaining contributors to |
| body, research shows that, by contrast, animal | | | | cancer risk include excess sun exposure, |
| products contain potentially carcinogenic | | | | pollutants, occupational and environmental |
| compounds that may contribute to increased | | | | contaminants, and, to a much lesser extent (2 to |
| cancer risk. | | | | 3%), genetics. |
| In 1997 a landmark document titled "Food, | | | | The latest studies and legal issues surrounding |
| Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global | | | | cancer and diet are published in Good Medicine, |
| Perspective" was released by the World Cancer | | | | the quarterly magazine of Physicians Committee |
| Research Fund and the American Institute of | | | | for Responsible Medicine. The Winter 2007 issue |
| Cancer Research. This 670-page report by an | | | | reports on the lawsuit filed by PCRM over |
| international panel of experts reviewed more than | | | | carcinogens found in grilled chicken from seven |
| 4,500 scientific studies and summarized the | | | | chain restaurants. PCRM has gone to court under |
| effects of diet on the most common cancer sites. | | | | California's Proposition 65 that states consumers |
| These are their findings: | | | | must be warned about products that contain |
| Increased Cancer Risk: Smoking, Alcohol use, | | | | known carcinogens. The latest news is that the |
| Meat and dairy product consumption, Animal fat | | | | USDA has come to the defense of the |
| saturated fat, Total fat, Grilling and barbecuing | | | | restaurants, and not the consumer. |
| (red meat, fish, chicken), Salt and salting (e.g., as a | | | | |