Eileen Z. Fuentes | What's The First Thing I Should Add To My Diet To Reduce My Cancer Risk?
Being proactive about your health whether you’ve had the disease or not is as easy as adding a handful of chopped greens to your morning omelet, including a raw salad* with your lunch, or adding some cruciferous greens to your beans, soups and stews for dinner.
cruciferous vegetables, dark leafy greens, cancer, cancer prevention, self-healthcare, neutropenic diet, black women, latina, african-american, caribbean, health
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24 Jan What’s The First Thing I Should Add To My Diet To Reduce My Cancer Risk?

Because of my extensive training in holistic nutrition for cancer prevention, the first question I am often asked is, “what do I need to stop eating to reduce my risk?” My response is always the same. First, I tell them that the focus should be on the many things that they should add to their plate. It should be about introducing those items as opposed to taking anything away. That comes later. My second piece of advice is to remind them that the most successful changes occur when making small, incremental steps towards their goal. Just imagine deciding to run a marathon and then getting dressed the very next day and running an entire 26.2 miles without any preparation. What you have there is a sure recipe for failure. We just started but let’s review again… first, we add in food items that aid in the destruction of malignant cells, then we begin with baby steps to ensure success. Got it?

Now that we’ve established the rules of the game, my very first action item is to have them add cruciferous greens to their meals. According to the National Cancer Institute, cruciferous vegetables are rich in nutrients and also are a good fiber source.  But in addition, they also contain a group of substances known as glucosinolates that makes them really effective for cancer prevention. When broken down through preparation, chewing and cooking, these vegetables form biologically active compounds, all of which have anticancer effects. In plain English, here are 5 things that they do:

  • Protect cells from DNA damage
  • Inactivate carcinogens
  • Have anti-inflammatory effects
  • Induce cell death (apoptosis)
  • Inhibit tumor blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) and tumor cell migration (needed for metastasis)

As you can see from the video below, cruciferous vegetables are extremely effective at increasing your chances for breast cancer survival. The effects are pretty astounding… 

Being proactive about your health whether you’ve had the disease or not is as easy as adding a handful of chopped greens to your morning omelet, including a raw salad* with your lunch, or adding some cruciferous greens to your beans, soups and stews for dinner. If you don’t have time, just combine with 1-2 fruits, blend or juice them and take it to go. Although I am a huge advocate for cooking, I think you should get these in your body by any means necessary. Want the fastest fast food? Simply rinse your greens, then quickly steam or boil them until they turn a bright green (just a minute or two) and be sure to save the water to use later as a base for other meals or to sip throughout the day with a fresh-squeezed lemon.  With all those precious nutrients, I hope you weren’t thinking about discarding it. Maya Angelou was known to do this and look how great she turned out.

So now that you have this insider’s secret to reduce your risk, will you commit to take this small step TODAY? Below is a long list of cruciferous greens to get you started:

  • Watercress
  • Arugula
  • Bok choy
  • Broccoli/Broccoli Sprouts
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Collard greens
  • Daikon radish
  • Horseradish
  • Kale
  • Radishes
  • Rutabaga
  • Turnips
  • Wasabi

*For those with a compromised immune system as a result of active treatment and following a neutropenic diet (due to a low count of white blood cells), you can still consume cruciferous greens either frozen or from a BPA-free can. Be sure to check with your healthcare provider.

Eileen Z. Fuentes

After a breast cancer diagnosis in 2008, Eileen became her own Self-Healthcare Activist. She is an Integrative Cancer Coach and works full-time helping patients do more than just survive at Columbia University’s Cancer Center in New York City.

3 Comments
  • Niurka Reynoso
    Posted at 21:55h, 25 January Reply

    Amazing ! Great tips! I love Brussels salad.. Thank you Eileen!

    • Eileen
      Posted at 22:01h, 25 January Reply

      I prefer my brussels sprouts roasted but you are the second person to suggest a salad. I think it’s time I change things up. Thank you for the suggestion, Niurka!

  • My Plant-Heavy Fully Loaded Omelet | Washington Heights, Inwood & Harlem Online | The Uptown Collective
    Posted at 16:32h, 03 February Reply

    […] bad choices and consume less throughout the day. Last week I discussed the importance of adding dark leafy cruciferous greens to your diet. This week I am taking it one step further with the recipe for what I eat on most […]

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