- By Prerna Targhotra
- Sun, 10 Nov 2024 05:57 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Plant-Based Diets For Cancer: Health issues now proliferate within our modern world; and the pursuit of a perfect diet that nourishes while protecting people from diseases like cancer is regarded as a most significant quest nowadays. As an Ayurveda and gut health coach, I truly believe in merging ancient with contemporary diets. Here, I share with you five plant-based diets to help you reduce your cancer risk, all enriched with Ayurvedic insights for the optimization of your health journey. Dr Dimple Jangda, Gut specialist, listed the top 5 plant-based diets that can reduce the risk of cancer.
Plant-Based Diets For Cancer
1. The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is highly popular for its taste and variety of health benefits. It emphasises whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and healthy fats, especially olive oil. This diet is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, which prevent oxidative stress related to cancer. The addition of Ayurvedic spices, such as turmeric and cumin, can enhance the health benefits of this diet. Turmeric contains curcumin, which is an extremely potent anti-cancer agent. This diet should utilise seasonal produce and eat fresh, warm meals prepared for it to be digested well based on Ayurvedic principles.
2. Whole Food Plant-Based Diet
The whole food plant-based diet emphasises eating lots of whole, unprocessed foods such as beans, lentils, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. This increases levels of nutrient-dense food hence leading to overall health. Ayurvedic wisdom includes a balance between the six tastes; they are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent, which should be present in every meal. These are very important. For example, mix bitter greens such as kale or arugula for their cleansing properties and add fruits that are sweet to balance it out.
3. DASH Diet
This diet is actually designed to counteract hypertension and has been called DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). It is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy, but otherwise, strictly regulated with processed foods and sugars. Being highly nutrient-rich, it's generally good for well-being. To further augment this diet, adopt mindful eating, an important principle of Ayurveda. Consume and relish every single morsel you put in your mouth. This shall be beneficial for better digestion as well as absorption of nutrition. In addition, warm food will strengthen your agni or digestive fire so it can digest the food more efficiently in the body.
Plant-Based Diets For Cancer (Image Credits: Canva)
4. Ayurvedic Diet
An Ayurvedic diet is inherently personalised; it accounts for constitution or dosha-Vata, Pitta, or Kapha and adjusts the choice of food accordingly. This diet promotes fresh fruits and vegetables and reviles heavy or processed foods, which can be an irritant to the digestive system. Add anticancer nutrients like cruciferous vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower), as well as high-fibre foods, including legumes and whole grains. Both nourishment and detoxification are perfectly supported by these foods.
5. Plant-Based Ketogenic Diet
This is a plant-based ketogenic diet. It has few carbohydrates and plenty of plant-based healthy fats, perhaps avocados, nuts, and seeds. This diet will prove helpful for you in losing weight and reducing inflammation. To boost your metabolism in this diet, I would suggest adding Ayurvedic herbs like ginger and garlic. These herbs taste amazing, but they also support digestion and help boost your immunity.
Nutrition Tips for Cancer Prevention
• Mindful Eating: Be more aware of the time spent during meals. The activity, in addition to improving digestion, helps a person understand food better.
• Herbs and Spices: Ingest lots of turmeric, ginger, garlic, and coriander in your meals. These spices are anti-carcinogens.
• Hydration: Drink warm water with lemon or ginger content throughout the day, to hydrate and detoxify the body.
•Seasonal Eating: All your food choices should be in accordance with the season so that you eat only what nature has to offer at its best.
A diet rich in whole plant foods brings down cancer risk drastically and builds well-being. Bringing Ayurveda into such approaches, which help introduce balance, seasonal eating and mindfulness, creates holistic ways that nurture the body and mind alike. After all, as small as it may seem, every small step counts toward better health are making a step in the right direction by considering a higher intake of fruits and vegetables at your meals or using that new spice in your cooking. Enjoy this journey with curiosity!