Six new cancer-preventing nutritional guidelines from MD Anderson's Cancer Care dietitian

Tomatoes

C'mon. Doesn't this look tastier than a sausage link? (Torin Halsey: Wichita Falls Times Record News)

The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine  has issued six new guidelines for helping prevent cancer. Lead author of the report is committee member and (we're especially proud to report) Texan Joseph Gonzales. He's a registered dietitian at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The report, which will appear in the June 30 issue of the  Journal of the American College of Nutrition  stresses (surprise!) loading up on fruits and vegetables. Especially frightening is the finding that drinking two glasses of milk per day increases the risk of prostate cancer by 60 percent.

Here, in a nutshell, is what the report has to say about the following:

1. Dairy products. Consuming 35 grams of dairy protein a day, the amount found in a cup-and-a-half of cottage cheese, increases the risk of prostate cancer by 32 percent.

2. Alcohol. Just one drink per week increases the risk of larynx, pharynx and mouth cancers by 24 percent. Two to three glasses a week raise the risk of developing colorectal cancer by 21 percent.

3. Red meat and processed meat. Even one measly sausage link or two slices of bacon or one sausage link 50 processed-food grams of protein increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 21 percent.

Cancerous cell growth is apparently caused by heme iron, nitrites, heterocyclic amines, and overabundance of essential amino acids found in these meats.

4. Grilled, fried, broiled meat. Eating these can increase the risk of such cancers as colon, rectum, breast, pancreas and kidney.

5. Soy products. Finally! Something good! Consuming such products, especially in pure form such as edamame, tempeh and organic tofu, can reduce the risk of breast cancer as well as the risk of recurrence and mortality for women who already have the disease.

 6. Fruits and vegetables. Noshing on these helps reduce the risk of a variety of cancers. For instance, eating a lot of kale, cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables reduces the risk of colorectal cancer by 18 percent.