"If we can't eat this and that, what's the point of living?"
"As long as I enjoy eating, who cares if it's healthy or not!"
When it comes to "disease enters through the mouth" and "dietary cancer prevention", we often hear these two voices. But when it comes to eating, it's really possible to have it both ways - to enjoy delicious food and to achieve the effect of "healthy cancer prevention" through eating.
Today, let's take a look at what oncologists themselves usually eat, and which foods we often eat but they almost never eat. Please keep this "food taboo list" for oncologists!
"Diet restrictions list" for oncologists
Try not to consume these six types of cancer-promoting foods
Oncologists have shared a "food taboo list". Let's see which foods you love to eat are on it?
❌1. Overheated food: freshly cooked staple foods such as rice, noodles, and steamed buns, as well as gongfu tea, hot coffee, hot soups (such as chicken soup and meat broth), hot congee, and hot soybean milk.
Carcinogenic factors: Hot beverages at temperatures above 65°C are classified as Group 2A carcinogens. Overheated foods can directly burn the digestive tract mucosa. Long-term repeated irritation of the mucosa can lead to repeated repair and hyperplasia, subsequently inducing esophageal cancer.
❌2. Mouldy food: mouldy peanuts, corn, rice, millet, Mantou, bread, fruits (such as apples, oranges, pears), nuts (such as walnuts, almonds), etc.
Carcinogenic factors: Mouldy food is prone to producing aflatoxin, which is a recognized Group 1 carcinogen. Long-term intake can significantly increase the risk of liver cancer. Moreover, this toxin is heat-resistant, and ordinary cooking cannot eliminate it at all. Once these foods become mouldy, even if only part of them are spoiled, it is recommended to discard the entire portion.
❌3. Marinated and grilled foods: marinated foods (pickles, kimchi, salted fish, cured meat); grilled foods (mutton shashlik, grilled chicken wings, grilled pork belly, smoked chicken, smoked duck); processed meat products (ham, sausage, bacon), etc.
Carcinogenic Causes: Pickled foods contain nitrites, which are converted into carcinogens after entering the human body, increasing the risk of stomach cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer; smoked foods produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other carcinogens during high-temperature baking, and long-term consumption increases the risk of esophageal cancer and stomach cancer; processed meat products such as ham and sausage have been proven to be closely related to an increased risk of colorectal cancer
❌4. Fried foods: fried chicken, french fries, deep-fried dough sticks, Youbing (deep-fried round and flat dough-cake), fried skewers, fried meatballs, fried pumpkin pies, fried fish, etc.
Carcinogenic cause: When animal protein and fat are fried (i.e., processed at high temperatures), a carcinogen called "heterocyclic amines" is produced, which is closely associated with the development of intestinal cancer.
❌5. High-sugar foods: sugary milk tea and fruit tea, sugary beverages (carbonated drinks, fruit juice drinks, lactic acid drinks), cream cakes, chocolate, candies, candied fruits, preserved fruits, sugary pastries, sugary cereals, etc.
Carcinogenic factors: Regular consumption of such high-sugar foods can easily lead to weight gain and obesity, and excessive body fat is closely related to the occurrence of various cancers (such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, etc.).
❌6. Alcoholic beverages: Baijiu, beer, red wine, yellow wine, fruit wine, cocktails, and other alcoholic beverages.
Carcinogenic Reasons: Ethanol in alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde are both Class 1 carcinogens, and there is no safe drinking dose. Drinking alcohol increases the risk of various cancers such as head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer.
These foods really have "anti-cancer properties"
It is recommended to eat more on a daily basis
Now that we know about the "cancer-promoting food blacklist", is there a "cancer-preventing food redlist"? Of course there is! Instead of being afraid to eat this or that all day long, it's better to include these foods with inherent "anti-cancer properties" in your daily meals.
01 Staple food: Add more whole grains
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2020, targeting nearly 500,000 individuals, found that consuming sufficient whole grains can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 8% to 20%.
Common whole grain foods include oats, rye, corn, buckwheat, brown rice, etc.
02 Meat: Eat fish twice a week
Deep-sea fish such as salmon, mackerel, and trout are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and possess certain anti-cancer potential.
A study published in the journal "Public Health Nutrition" in 2024 found that women who ate small fish 1 to 3 times per month had a 28% reduced risk of cancer-related death; while those who ate small fish 12 times or more per month had a 36% reduced risk of cancer-related death.
03 Vegetables: Choose cruciferous vegetables
Eating more cruciferous vegetables can help prevent colon cancer. In August 2025, a study published in BMC Gastroenterology, which involved over 600,000 people, found that compared to those with the lowest intake, those with the highest intake had a 17% lower risk of developing colon cancer.
Among them, consuming 40-60 grams per day is optimal, with the most significant risk reduction.
The "Cruciferae" family is vast, including:
✅ Brassica: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, Chinese cabbage, rapeseed, pickled vegetable, turnip, etc.
✅ Radish genus: radish, green radish, carrot, water radish, heart beauty, etc.
✅ Other categories: Many wild vegetables belong to the Cruciferae family, such as shepherd's purse, Orychophragmus violaceus, Lepidium apetalum, and Arugula.
04 Fruits: Berries and citrus fruits are recommended
Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, beta-carotene, polyphenols, etc. Most of them are good helpers for antioxidation and also help reduce the body's inflammatory response. The benefits are self-evident.
Among various fruits, berries and citrus rank top in terms of health scores. This score is derived from a study published in Nature Food in 2024, which evaluated 9,273 types of foods.
✅ Berry fruits: grapes, strawberries, blueberries, mulberries, kiwis, pomegranates, starfruit, etc.
✅ Citrus fruits: tangerine, mandarin, orange, grapefruit, lemon, etc.
05 Drinks: Drink some tea moderately every day
Drinking tea can help prevent cancer, but avoid drinking tea that is too hot. A study published in "Nutrition Advances" in 2020 found that drinking various types of tea is associated with a reduced risk of stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, biliary tract cancer, liver cancer, and other types of cancer. In particular, there is ample evidence linking tea consumption to a reduced risk of oral cancer.
The anticancer effect of tea is primarily attributed to the tea polyphenols it contains. In terms of anticancer properties, green tea and white tea, which are either unfermented or slightly fermented, exhibit the best effects.
06 Snacks: A small handful of nuts every day
If you often crave for snacks, it is recommended to replace them with a small handful of nuts. A study published in the International Journal of Cancer in 2021 found that compared with those who do not eat nuts, those who consume a small amount of nuts (≤17.32 grams per week) have a 45% reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence or metastasis.
The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2022" also recommends consuming 50-70 grams of nuts per week, approximately 10 grams per day, which is equivalent to:
15 peanuts
12 hazelnuts
7-8 cashews/almonds/pistachios/plain almonds
2-3 pecans
2 Brazil nuts/pecan nuts/walnuts
2 mineral water bottle caps of black sesame seeds/chia seeds/flax seeds
1 small handful of shelled pine nuts
1 small handful of sunflower seeds, etc
Source | Xinhua News Agency