Healthy eating and disease prevention

Healthy eating can improve your nutrition and help reduce your risk for several diseases, including:

• Cancer.¹
  • Eating more fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of lung, oral, esophageal, stomach, and colon cancer. Evidence is not as strong for breast cancer and prostate cancer.
  • A high-fat diet is associated with increased risk of colon, prostate, rectum, and endometrium cancers. There is a weaker association between breast cancer and a high-fat diet. Substantial evidence suggests that saturated fat plays an important role in increasing cancer risk.
• Heart disease and stroke. Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain products that are high in fiber may lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.² For more information, see the topic Coronary Artery Disease.
• High cholesterol. Reducing saturated and trans fats and cholesterol in your diet can lower your risk of high cholesterol and coronary artery disease (CAD).² For more information, see the topics High Cholesterol and Coronary Artery Disease.
• High blood pressure. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables (8 to 10 servings per day), following a low-fat diet, eating low-fat dairy products (3 servings per day), and reducing salt intake can lower high blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.³ For more information, see the topic High Blood Pressure (Hypertension).
• Osteoporosis. Getting enough calcium and vitamin D may help protect you from osteoporosis.⁴ Calcium is found in dairy products and certain leafy green vegetables and in many foods that are calcium-enriched. Vitamin D is found in vitamin D-fortified milk, egg yolks, liver, and saltwater fish. For more information, see the topic Osteoporosis.
• Spina bifida. Pregnant women should eat foods that contain folate or folic acid (such as leafy green vegetables or folic acid-enriched grains) before and during pregnancy to help protect babies from this birth defect. All women of childbearing age should get 400 micrograms of folic acid from fortified foods or supplements each day.⁵ For more information, see the topic Spina Bifida.

Citations

1. Byers T, et al. (2002). American Cancer Society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: Reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 52(2): 92–119.

2. American Heart Association (2006). Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006. Circulation, 114(1): 82–96.

3. Appel LJ, et al. (2006). Dietary approaches to prevent and treat hypertension: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Hypertension, 47(2): 296–308.

4. National Institutes of Health, Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center (2006). Osteoporosis overview. Available online: http://www.niams.nih.gov/bone/hi/overview.htm.

5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture (2005). Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, 6th ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Also available online: http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines.