A smart guide to healthy eating and the anticancer diet

When it comes to health, some sins of our past are not so easily forgiven. However healthy eating can help to minimize the medical problems associated with those unhealthy habits. Here's what you need to know about the anticancer diet and how healthy food choices can help minimize your risk for health problems.

As it turns out, several youthful indiscretions have a potentially long-lasting effect on our bodies. That was our discovery after reviewing a mountain of medical research and interviewing doctors about such excesses as binge drinking, marijuana smoking and having multiple sex partners.

• But there is a very positive side to the story. By halting bad habits and embracing healthier ones, you can in every case minimize the risks those past deeds pose, to the point where statistically, they become truly minimal.
• In fact, five straight days of eating ice cream or cookies in the past week likely has far more bearing on a person's health than any escapades of 30 years earlier, experts made clear.

A healthy diet is a great way to minimize the risk of future health concerns.

• Here are some of the ways to cut your cancer risk with simple food choices, based on recent studies.

Eating lots of antioxidants called flavonols — found in onions, apples, berries, kale and broccoli — cut pancreatic cancer risk by 23 percent.

• Among smokers, a flavonol-rich diet lowered risk by 59 percent, report researchers from the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii who studied 183,518 women and men.

Study participants who got 12 produce servings per day lowered their risk of various cancers by 29 percent as compared to women and men who ate just three daily servings, a recent study of 500,000 men and women age 50 and older has found.

• Merely adding one or two produce servings a day could lower your risk by six percent.

Red-wine drinkers cut their risk of colorectal cancer by 68 percent in a recent study from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

• In contrast, white-wine aficionados did not.
• Researchers suspect that an antioxidant in red wines called resveratrol may offer powerful protection against colon cancer.

Men who ate fish five times a week or more had a 40 percent lower risk of developing colorectal cancer compared to those who ate fish less than once a week, say Harvard Medical School researchers who are tracked the health of 22,071 guys.

Let's be honest: You can't — and shouldn't — completely remove sodium, sweeteners and saturated and trans fats from your diet. But we have a long way to go just to get to acceptable levels. Here's how much we typically eat in a day and how much experts say is safe.

• Sodium: Experts say eating 1,500–2,300 milligrams a day is safe, however we typically consume 4,000 milligrams a day.
• Sweeteners: Experts say eating 50–60 grams (0–12 teaspoons) miligrams a day is safe, however we typically consume 170 grams (34 teapoons) a day.
• Saturated fat: Experts say eating 13–20 grams a day is safe, however we typically consume 50–60 grams a day.
• Trans fats: Experts say eating 2 grams or less (0 is best!) a day is safe, however we typically consume 5.8 grams a day.

Reversing the negative effects of bad habits might be easier than you think. Try the anticancer diet and make healthy food choices to help lower your risk of health concerns later on.