Broccoli Cheese Bites

These easy broccoli bites are a great way to entice even some of the pickiest eaters in your house to eat their veggies!

Blueberries, green tea, tomatoes, cauliflower. Can all these so-called superfoods reduce cancer risk? The verdict is still out, and there needs to be more research. Of course, blueberries are good for us, but nutrition’s role in cancer prevention is much more complex than a single dietary component. Research shows that lifestyle, including diet, weight control, and exercise, is vital in helping reduced cancer risk. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of cancer incidence and death worldwide, but after tobacco, the lifestyle trio of diet, weight control and exercise may be linked to one-third to two-thirds of cancer. In the largest study of its kind, nearly half a million Americans were evaluated for adherence to American Cancer Society cancer prevention guidelines that include smoking avoidance, a healthful, consistent weight, physical activity, limiting alcohol, and a diet emphasizing plants. Those who followed the guidelines most closely had lowered their risk of developing cancer (10 percent for men, 19 percent for women) and dying from cancer (25 percent for men, 24 percent for women) compared with those whose habits were least in line with the guidelines. Just remember, what we eat on any one day is not going to change our cancer risk, but it’s the pattern over the long term. An emphasis on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plants or plant-based proteins in the diet can provide many health benefits including the potential to reduce cancer risk.