Cut your cancer risk with these 6 helpful food hacks

Eat like your life depends on it.While some factors that influence cancer risk — like age, gender and family history — are beyond our control, others can be managed.

Among those is proper nutrition, which experts agree is paramount to prevention.While no foolproof plan or single ingredient guarantees cancer prevention, every bit — and in some cases every bite — helps.Read on to learn more about six simple food swaps that can lower your cancer risk.“Fiber is my favorite nutrient for cancer prevention,” Carrie Daniel-MacDougall, a cancer epidemiologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, recently told TIME.Research has proposed that a high intake of dietary fiber can lower the risk of several types of cancer, including esophageal, gastric, colon and rectal.

The American Heart Association recommends getting between at least 25 and 30 grams of fiber a day — though most Americans only consume around 15 grams daily.Fiber is said to “feed” healthy gut bacteria, and experts suggest that fruits such as oranges and apples, whole grains, nuts and seeds can lower cancer risk.Daniel-MacDougall urges people to forgo ultra-processed, low-fiber carbs like instant oatmeal and pita bread for whole, high-fiber foods like beans, lentils and other legumes.Consuming more than 18 ounces of red meat per week has been associated with increased odds of colorectal cancer.

Though it’s nutrient-rich, red meat contains heme iron, which can facilitate the production of potentially carcinogenic chemicals.Daniel-MacDougall says ultra-processed deli meats and some meat substitutes, made with a laundry list of chemicals and additives, can be even worse.

“They add all kinds of creepy stuff that may affect gut health and inflammation.”The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans” in 2015, noting that there is “sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that eating process...