Consider the Mediterranean diet
As Dr. Wu suggests, the ‘Mediterranean diet,’ which is high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil, fish, and poultry, could have cancer-preventing benefits. A recent study from the Netherlands found that a specific type of breast cancer was 40 percent less prevalent among women who followed a Mediterranean diet.
But, ‘rather than thinking about foods that are ‘magic bullets’ and about a diet that protects against cancer, one should think about a diet that is good for health generally,’ Dr. Kabat says. ‘In this sense, a diet that contains lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as beans, nuts, seeds, and that is low on simple carbohydrates—sugars and starch—with small amounts of poultry, fish, and meat, is probably the best diet for overall health.’
