How can Eating Well help me? What the research says
Learn more about how we research and rate therapies.
For guidance on improving your diet, see these pages:
Treating cancer
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.120Zhang FF, Cudhea F et al. Preventable cancer burden associated with poor diet in the United States. JNCI Cancer Spectrum. 2019 May;pkz034.
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 habits
Moving More
Combining Eating Well with Moving More can increase the benefits, whether for cancer outcomes, for anxiety or depression, or for some body terrain factors.
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 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.
Healthy habits
Manage your body weight
More weight loss and less weight gain among people with body-mass index (BMI) higher than 25 eating more fruits and vegetables (good evidence)
No evidence of an effectoverall, one or more studies did not demonstrate that a treatment or intervention led to an expected outcome; this does not always mean that there is no effect in clinical practice, but that the studies may have been underpowered (too few participants) or poorly designed. Larger, well-designed studies provide more confidence in making assessments. on obesity among people eating high-calorie (energy-dense) foods in a combined analysis of reviews and combined analyses
Resources
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Eating Well
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References