How can Eating Well help me? What the research says
Learn more about how we research and rate therapies and practices.
For guidance on improving your diet, see these pages:
Improving treatment outcomes
Is Eating Well linked to improved survival? Is it linked to less cancer growth or metastasis? Does it enhance the anticancer action of other treatments or therapies? We present the evidence.
Optimizing your body terrain
How does Eating Well promote an environment within your body that is less supportive of cancer development, growth or spread? We present the evidence.
Managing side effects and promoting wellness
Is Eating Well linked to fewer or less severe side effects or symptoms? Is it linked to less toxicity from cancer treatment? Does it support your quality of life or promote general well-being?
Reducing cancer risk
Is Eating Well linked to lower risks of developing cancer or of recurrence? We present the evidence.
Researchers estimated that more than 80,000 new cancer cases in the United States in 2015 were associated with suboptimal diets among US adults, with middle-aged men and racial/ethnic minorities experiencing the largest proportion of diet-associated cancer burden in the US. Colorectal cancer had the highest number and proportion of diet-related cases.156Zhang FF, Cudhea F et al. Preventable cancer burden associated with poor diet in the United States. JNCI Cancer Spectrum. 2019 May;pkz034.
Healthy eating scores
Four scoring methods for diets have been linked to lower risk of cancer mortality among people without cancer at baseline in a very large observationala type of study in which individuals are observed or certain outcomes are measured, but no attempt is made to affect the outcome (for example, no treatment is given); an example is a study that records people’s diets, but doesn’t try to alter their diets, and looks for patterns of disease or other outcomes related to different foods study:157Shan Z, Wang F et al. Healthy eating patterns and risk of total and cause-specific mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2023 Jan 9.
- Healthy Eating Index 2015
- Alternate Mediterranean Diet score
- Healthful Plant-based Diet Index (HPDI)
- Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)
While these scoring systems show a great deal of overlap, a few differences do exist, indicating that more than one eating pattern can reduce your risk of cancer mortality.
Cancer types related to diet and nutrition
- Bladder cancer ›
- Breast cancer › (with separate information for breast cancer survivors ›)
- Cervical cancer ›
- Colorectal cancer ›
- Endometrial cancer ›
- Esophageal cancer ›
- Gallbladder cancer ›
- Head, neck or oral cancers: cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx › or nasopharyngeal cancer ›
How Eating Well relates to other practices and lifestyle choices
Healthy lifestyle
Moving More
Combining Eating Well with Moving More can increase the benefits, whether for cancer outcomes, body terrain factors, or side effects and symptoms.
Managing Stress
Stress—and its related anxiety and depressive symptoms—and food choices are all related. Interventions to improve food choices may possibly reduce depressive symptoms and stress. The reverse—that reducing depressive symptoms and stress may improve food choices—might also be true.
Sleeping Well
Both what you eat and when you eat can promote or interfere with sleep.
Substantially more insomnia among people consuming energy drinks (good evidence)
Better sleep quality among people with breast cancer eating a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (preliminary evidence)
Poor sleep quality among people eating late in the evening or at night (preliminary evidence)
Lower quality of diet among people with ovarian cancer going to bed after midnight, which is linked to less sleep (weak evidence)
Creating a Healing Environment
Foods are sometimes contaminated with chemicals during production or processing.
Some cooking methods can create harmful exposures, such as charring and cooking with high heat.
Some food packaging or storage containers can contaminate food with harmful chemicals.
Foods can be a source of viruses and bacteria.
Sharing Love and Support
For many people, sharing food preparation and meals—making them social activities—makes them more pleasurable and may help a person with cancer enjoy eating even when their appetite is low. Eating food in pleasant company may also improve digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Resources
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Eating Well
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References