A large number of women die of cervical cancer all around the globe. Moreover, cervical cancers are deadly if not treated at an early stage. Cervical cancers affect the part of the uterus that joins the uterus with the vagina.
The most prominent cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus or HPV. But the experts believe that some nutrients can prevent this fatal disease. So if we follow a properly balanced diet, we can lower the risks of cervical cancer.
Lifestyle and environmental factors affect cervical cancer to a large extent. For example, the wrong sexual activities and practices can also lead to cervical cancer. But a diet with a blend of proteins, vitamins, some acids, and healthy fats effectively reduces human papillomavirus or HPV and even cervical cancer.
So, let us glance at what and how we can add to our diet to reduce the chances of cervical cancer.
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- Fruits and Vegetables-
Leafy and green vegetable fruits rich in antioxidants and vitamin C are excellent sources of cervical cancer. So if you increase the intake of fruits and vegetables, it will really turn out to be helpful. If you cannot eat them directly, you can extract the juice out of them, but you must somehow include them in your diet. The fruits and veggies should be of different colors and textures. That is because this way you will get other nutrients. If you keep repeating the same items repeatedly, you might not get all the nutrients.
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- Legumes –
Though some people include legumes in the class of vegetable, another group of people avoids them altogether. This is because legumes like green peas, beans, and lentils are very high in iron, magnesium, and potassium sources. In addition, they comprise both soluble and insoluble fibers and are also low in cholesterol. Therefore, you can try out different recipes using them, like making soups, salads, cooking them with rice, creating a vegetable, and eating them with chapati, stews, or even pastes.
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- Whole grains-
Whole grains like wheat, rice, barley, millets, oatmeal, etc., have tremendous benefits. They are rich in fibers, minerals, antioxidants, and vitamin B, especially folate 3 and 4. With such high nutritional value, they will help you reduce the cancer risk if you include them in your regular diet.
- Raw nuts –
Nuts like almonds, pistachios, cashews, and walnuts are rich in proteins and good fats. They also include minerals like copper, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and selenium. So just adding a handful of them to your daily diet can make a huge difference.
What else can assist?
Apart from those mentioned above, there are three compounds that you have to include in your regular diet.
- Flavonoids are naturally occurring compounds in fruits, vegetables, roots, tea, chocolates, and wine. They are rich in oxidants, and they help manage your cellular functions. Flavonoids also assist in releasing toxins out of your body.
- Folates are vitamin B that is soluble in water. It helps prevent cervical cancer. Berries, avocados, chickpeas, dark green vegetables, and oranges are great folate sources.
- Carotenoids provide vitamin A, and you can mostly find them in orange-colored fruits and vegetables like oranges, pumpkins, squashes, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. You can add them to the diet, as vitamin A is also beneficial in lowering the risks of cervical cancer.
What not to eat?
Apart from adding things to your diet chart, you also need to remove certain items to fight cervical cancer.
- You should avoid eating processed meat and even red meat like pork and lamb. These will lead you towards risks of cancer.
- Avoid extremely sweet food: Food and drinks that include high sugar are not suitable for your uterus.
- Trans fats and saturated fats are other things that you need to remove from your diet, to prevent cervical cancer and keep your uterus healthy.
Of course, lifestyle and other conditions can cause cervical cancer. But that does not mean that we do not try to prevent it or lower its effects. For example, just making a couple of changes in your diet can protect you against a fatal disease.
Therefore, take action, and start having a nutritional diet.