Healthy eating and drinking

Around one quarter of all cancer cases can be prevented through eating a healthy diet and being physically active.

Reducing your cancer risk

Evidence suggests that maintaining a healthy weight throughout life is one of the most important ways to protect against many types of cancer. Collectively, being overweight or obese, being physically inactive, and eating unhealthily are second only to tobacco as preventable risk factors for cancer.

Healthy eating can help reduce your cancer risk and provide many health benefits:

• Help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.
• Boost your immune system.
• Improve your concentration levels and mental health.
• Gain more energy.
• Help your body grow and repair.
• Reduce your risk of other diseases.

In contrast, unhealthy eating and being overweight or obese can increase your risk of developing certain types of cancer.

Eating for health

Choose a diet of fresh fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, low fat dairy and small amounts of lean meat.

Cancer Council Queensland recommends following the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The Guidelines have been developed by a team of nutrition and medical experts, based on the best available scientific evidence.

The Guidelines recommend that Australians enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five food groups every day, including:

• Plenty of vegetables of different types and colours, and legumes and beans.
• A variety of fruit.
• Grain foods that are mostly wholegrain and high fibre, such as breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley.
• Lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts, seeds, legumes and beans.
• Reduced fat milk, yoghurt, cheese and their alternatives.

In addition Cancer Council Queensland suggests the following to reduce your cancer risk:

• Limiting energy dense foods, for example, take away, ‘junk’ food, fatty or sugary snacks.
• Avoiding sugary drinks.
• Eating a diet that contains plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, grains and legumes.
• Limiting red meat to less than 455g (cooked weight) a week.
• Avoiding processed meats, such as salami, bacon and ham.
• Limiting salt and foods containing large amounts of salt, including salt-preserved foods and some processed foods.
• Trying to meet nutritional needs through diet alone (without supplements).

Drinking for health

Healthy drinking can also assist in maintaining a healthy weight and reducing cancer risk.

As part of a healthy diet, Cancer Council Queensland recommends you drink water every day, and limit the following:

Sugar sweetened beverages

Drinks containing high levels of sugar (e.g. soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and cordial) increases your risk of being overweight and obese, which then increase your risk of developing certain cancers. Healthier alternatives include water, soda water, unflavoured low-fat milk, tea and coffee. Learn more about Rethinking Sugary Drinks.

Alcohol

Alcohol is classed as a type 1 carcinogen – a known substance that causes cancer. Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of an alcohol-related cancer.

To reduce your cancer risk, Cancer Council Queensland recommends that you limit how much alcohol you drink. If you choose to drink alcohol, Cancer Council recommends drinking within the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian Guidelines  to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol.

For healthy adults this means that you drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week AND no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm.

Healthy eating and drinking after cancer

You may benefit from maintaining or adopting a healthier lifestyle after your cancer treatment.

There is evidence to show that weight management, a healthy diet and physical activity may:

• Improve your quality of life
• Reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
• Extend life and increase cancer survival

Tips and hints

Choose foods low in salt, added sugars and saturated fat and increase fibre intake

• Use hummus, avocado, pesto, ricotta or low-fat cream cheese on your sandwiches instead of butter.
• Use herbs and spices to flavour meals instead of salt and sauces.
• Add legumes, lentils or grated vegetables into bolognese, casseroles, curries or stews to add flavour, fibre and reduce your meat portion size.
• Choose wholegrain or high fibre options instead of white bread, rice and pasta.

Make eating healthily part of your daily routine:

• If you are time poor, use pre-cut meat or vegetables to reduce preparation and cooking time.
• Seek out quick, healthy recipes in cookbooks, websites and blogs.
• Create a meal plan and grocery list to reduce impulse buying at the supermarket.
• Avoid the confectionary and processed food aisles at the supermarket.
• Make extras at dinner time to use as leftovers the next day.
• Provide healthy options at social events and watch portion sizes.
• Have fresh fruit, unsalted nuts or low-fat yogurt as healthy snacks throughout the day.

Learn new skills:

• Learn how to read food labels and compare products
• Learn new recipes by accessing free online websites, cookbooks and video tutorials

More information

For more information, contact your doctor or call Cancer Council 13 11 20.

The information available on this page should not be used as a substitute for advice from a properly qualified medical professional who can advise you about your own individual medical needs. It is not intended to constitute medical advice and is provided for general information purposes only. See our disclaimer.