(Foreword: This is our continuation to our response to Amy 468 on her desire to know the cancer fighting foods.)
DEAR Amy 468,
Moving on, here are some food combinations that nature has prepared for you - so you can win your battle against this deadly disease.
Fight cancer with colors
Go for fruits and vegetables, which are rich in cancer-fighting nutrients. Remember that the more colored these veggies and fruits are, the more nutrients they contain. These are the foods that can help lower your risk. Moreover, they help you reach and get to maintain that healthy body weight. Keep in mind that carrying extra pounds increases your risk for multiple cancers, like colon, esophagus, and kidney cancers. So eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark green, red, and orange vegetables. Don’t you ever forget that these veggies should be a team, not just one, not just two, but the more, the merrier it would be for your fight against cancer.
Fight cancer with breakfast
Don’t you know that naturally occurring folate is an important B vitamin which may help you in your quest to protect yourself against cancers of the colon, rectum, and breast? Fortunately, these natural folates are in abundance on your breakfast table. But, that is, if your breakfast is right. This means, your breakfast should include fortified breakfast cereals and whole wheat products. They are good sources of folate. These folates are also quite a lot in orange juice, melons, and strawberries. But the problem arises when you don’t have them in your table because you might have fried cholesterol-laden foods (chorizo, hotdog, etc.) which can increase your chances of getting cancer. Eggs are also rich in folate. But be sure to poach them instead of frying them. And should you boil them, don’t boil them hard.
Get more foods rich in folate
There are other good sources of folate, like your asparagus. Beans, sunflower seeds, and leafy green vegetables like spinach or romaine lettuce are also rich sources. Remember that the best way to get folate is not from a pill, but by eating enough fruits, vegetables, and enriched grain products.
Opps, again. There are still more to say but we are again running out of space for now. So, we’ll continue this in my next issue. Until then again!
Dr. Fritz
(Dr. Fritz Legarde Espedilla is an aesthetic dermatologist and surgeon and a clinical sexologist. She is also trained in hypnotherapy and Medical Acupuncture. She has been in the broadcast media for more than a decade and has written a book based on her 15 year stint with her radio program, “Healthy is Sexy Secrets ni Dr. Fritz.” She is also a faculty in a College of Pharmacy. For your questions, you may send them to Dear Dr. Fritz, c/o Sunstar-Davao Publishing Inc., Ebro-Pelayo Building, Jacinto St., Davao City, (former Department of Foreign Affairs office), across Ateneo de Davao University and beside Holy Child School of Davao, or you e-mail them to dokfritz@yahoo.com. If you don’t wish your letter to be published, we regret that we cannot answer them. Thank you for your understanding.)