Eating Well

Which foods to eat (and what to avoid)

While experts focus less on individual foods than on an overall pattern of healthy eating, some foods are clearly beneficial and others should be minimized. We summarize what research has found.

Full details of the evidence: How can Eating Well help me? What the research says › and other pages as linked. Also see Expert recommendations ›

Eat and drink more of these foods

Vegetables and fruits

Many vegetables and fruits are linked to lower risk of cancer or better survival and other outcomes.

Orange, red, or deep yellow vegetables and fruits such as carrots, squash, mango, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes and tomatoes 

• Body terrain connection: better blood sugar and insulin balance and a good source of anti-inflammatory carotenoids
• Cancer connection: lower risk of cancer (prostate, head and neck) and better survival (metastatic breast)

Chili peppers containing capsaicin

• Cancer connection: lower cancer mortality with regular consumption

Blueberries

• Nutrient highlights: a source of plant lignans linked to lower cancer risk (breast and colorectal in women, and lung) and better survival (breast)
• Body terrain connection: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and promote balance in bleeding and coagulation

Pomegranate juice or extract 

• Cancer connection: longer PSA  doubling time (prostate cancer)

Alliums—garlic, onions, shallots, scallions and leeks 

• Body terrain connection: anti-inflammatory and antioxidant

Nuts

• Nutrient highlights: a good source of of protein, healthy fat, fiber, and inositol hexaphosphate, linked to better blood glucose and insulin levels
• Body terrain connection: anti-inflammatory
• Cancer connection: lower risk of cancer and recurrence, and better survival (colorectal)

Animal proteins with higher omega-3 to omega-6 ratios, such as wild-caught salmon, mackerel, or sardines and high omega-3 eggs

• Body terrain connection: anti-inflammatory
• Cancer connection: lower cancer risk (colorectal) and better survival (head and neck, ovarian)
• Caution: higher risk of cancer or recurrence with eggs (prostate)

Whole grains

Nutrient highlights: a good source of fiber, B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folate), minerals (iron, magnesium and selenium), and plant lignans

Body terrain connection: promote a healthy microbiome, relatively low glycemic index

Healthy fats

Omega-6 fatty acids in safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and sunflower seeds

• Nutrient highlights: a better choice than saturated fats from animals, such as butter or lard
• Caution: slightly higher risk of cancer at higher levels (skin cancer)
• Caution: hydrogenated PUFAs (trans-fats) are not a healthy choice (see below)

Mushrooms

Fermented foods

Beverages

Water

• Body terrain connection: promotes digestion, hormone balance, immune system function, inflammation and other body terrain factors, necessary to flush out toxic substances
• Side effect connection: avoid unpleasant and even dangerous symptoms of dehydration that may even lead to treatment delays, and lower treatment side effects, such as nausea, weakness, constipation, and fatigue
• Cancer Treatment Centers of America: How to stay hydrated during cancer treatment ›

Coffee

• Cancer connection: better survival and outcomes (breast), lower cancer risk (overall and colorectal)
• Caution: irritating to the esophagus, avoid if you’re at risk of esophagitisinflammation of the esophagus from chemotherapy or radiation treatment to the chest
• Caution: avoid caffeine if you’re at risk of or experiencing dehydration or anxiety

Eat and drink less of these foods

Unhealthy fats

Saturated fats found in butter, ghee, suet, lard, coconut oil, and palm oil, plus fatty cuts of meat, sausages, bacon, cured meats like salami, chorizo and pancetta, and cheese

Less healthy proteins

Processed meats: cured meats such as bacon or deli meats, hot dogs, salted meats, or smoked meats

• Nutrient concerns: a source of nitrites and/or nitrates, which are listed as probable carcinogens
• Cancer connection: higher risk of cancer (colorectal, stomach, esophageal, and prostate); classified as a Group 2A carcinogen (probably carcinogenic to humans) by the World Health Organization

Sugars and refined grains

Beverages

Cook to reduce toxic chemicals

Some food preparation methods are better than others when it comes to risk of cancer.

Cook meat slowly and at lower temperatures

High-heat cooking of meat can create carcinogens, such as heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).³Rock CL, Thomson C et al. American Cancer Society guideline for diet and physical activity for cancer prevention. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2020;10.3322/caac.21591. When muscle meat—including beef, pork, fish, or poultry—is cooked by pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame, these chemicals can form. Smoking meat or fish also creates PAHs that cling to the food.⁴National Cancer Institute. Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk. July 11, 2017. Viewed April 4, 2018.

Cooking with lower-temperature methods such as these reduces the formation of these harmful chemicals:⁵Science of Cooking. Science of Slow Cooking. Viewed January 27, 2022.

Bake, grill, or broil only to a golden brown

When vegetables containing the amino acid asparagine are heated to high temperatures in the presence of certain sugars, a harmful chemical called acrylamide is produced. “The major food sources of acrylamide are French fries and potato chips; crackers, bread, and cookies; breakfast cereals; canned black olives; prune juice; and coffee.”⁷National Cancer Institute. Acrylamide and Cancer Risk. December 5, 2017. Viewed January 27, 2022. However, the National Cancer Institute notes that most people are exposed to substantially more acrylamide from tobacco smoke than from food. 

To reduce your food exposure to acrylamide, use the “Golden Rule”: When grilling, baking or broiling, cook the food to no more than light golden color, while also being mindful of safety. Meats, including poultry and fish, plus eggs need to achieve specific temperatures for safe eating.

Eating for a healthy microbiome

Foods that nourish a healthy microbiome are recommended for most people.

Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, and kombucha may help replenish the gut with healthy microorganisms known as probiotics. The evidence is mixed, but many experts consider eating fermented foods generally beneficial to health.¹²Chilton SN, Burton JP, Reid G. Inclusion of fermented foods in food guides around the world. Nutrients. 2015 Jan 8;7(1):390-404; Park KY, Jeong JK, Lee YE, Daily JW 3rd. Health benefits of kimchi (Korean fermented vegetables) as a probiotic food. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2014 Jan;17(1):6-20. Caution: If you are immunosuppressed, consult an oncology dietician to see if you have any restrictions on eating unpasteurized, fermented, or cultured foods.

Diet as an alternative approach to cancer treatment or risk

Diet is one of the most frequent practices people seek as a complement or alternative to conventional treatments. Anticancer diets come and go over the years, many inciting what we call “diet wars”—attacks and defenses of various approaches. Many of the diets have become casualties, lacking evidence of effect or with evidence of no effect or even harm. Some diets are one part of an alternative therapy regimen that may also include coffee enemas and a host of nutritional supplements, as well as other components.

Other diets:

• Alkaline diet: The American Institute for Cancer Research has concluded that the acidity or alkalinity of foods is not important, but some oncologists find that acidosis is associated with impaired immunity, reduced glutathione and reduced insulin sensitivity—all body terrain factors connected to cancer. The alkalinity of foods can contribute to acidosis: “A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in animal protein and sodium chloride [salt] reduces acid load.”¹³Pizzorno J. Acidosis: an old idea validated by new research. Integrative Medicine (Encinitas). 2015 Feb;14(1):8-12.
• Intermittent fasting: Regularly restricting or eliminating food for spans of several hours or longer can lower insulin resistance, improve your response to chemotherapy, reduce some side effects of cancer treatments and may reduce your risk of recurrence.
• Living foods diet (raw foods diet): A 2014 review did not find clinical evidence supporting its use in cancer patients.
• Macrobiotic diet: This approach based on a traditional Japanese diet has been supported by a few reports of people claiming remarkable reversal of their cancer, but evidence to date does not support the use of this diet for cancer risk reduction, survival or quality of life. 
• Paleolithic (Paleo) diet: Higher adherence with this diet is associated with lower mortality either from cancer or from all causes and with lower risk of colorectal adenomas.
• Vegetarian or vegan diet: Lower risk of cancer as a whole, better body terrain factors, and improvements in some symptoms have been noted in people eating a vegetarian or vegan diet.

While most of the diets we review show at least some benefit regarding cancer, some may also involve some risk to you, including insufficient nutrients and the elimination of food groups proven to be beneficial for reducing cancer risk and promoting general health.¹⁴Zick SM, Snyder D, Abrams DI. Pros and cons of dietary strategies popular among cancer patients. Oncology (Williston Park). 2018 Nov 15;32(11):542-7.

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