Fight Cancer with food

Right diet and changing food habits can be good tool to fight cancer, say experts.

You are what you eat. Did you know that about one third of cancer deaths may be related to what we eat. However, by making the right choices, we can reduce the risk of cancer.

We often don't question the kind of food we eat, and moreover doesn't even want to know about it. Unlike our grand parents who used to eat nuts, panjiri for snacks, we don't think twice before popping a biscuit, noodles, bread for snacks. I am not saying taht you should not eat parathas, but what you do after eating one is important. If you are going to drive off to work and sit in front of a computer, then you shouldn't be eating it at all.

Of all 40 percent of cancer in males, and 60 percent of cancer in females is related to food so now it becomes a must that we have to understand prventive and curative diet.Food should be simple and unprocessed, more of organic items should be consumed. Nuts is good for the body. A handful of nuts like almond, raisins, apricots can be taken during the day.

Patients undergoing chemotherapy must maintain the amount of calories they undertake each day. They should have more of liquids in their diet like soup, barley water with lime, lassi, strained water of curd. They must also include fruits and vegetables of re, green, yellow and orange colours in their diet. The deeper the colour of fruit, vegetables more protective it is.

For example, beetroot has special cancer fighting properties. Have atleast three cups of vegetables and fruits daily. Instead of biscuit, start your day with fruits, here are some of the food items that shold be incorporated in the diet. Garlic and onion have protperties to fight against cancer and other diseases, however, garlic flakes shold be crushed before consumed. And they should never be taken empty stomach. Aloe vera is another plant that has several anti oxidants and is good for the body. Reduce the intake of sugar and avoid it in drinks as well. Incorporate curd in your diet as it has probiotic micro organisms which is helpful in immunity. Have bowl of curd everyday.

You should take care of the body weight as well as obesity also leads to further complications. Go for flax seeds, which can be taken with water, or curd people who consume non-vegetables must have more vegetables.

Post delivery Health

Lot of women develop health problems after their delivery, and normally the basic reason for this is ignoring their diet. You need a nourishing balanced diet after delivery, and lack of good sleep is another factor that contributes to the bad health. These two are the basic cause of woman's  poor health and the dull, listless texture of skin, after delivery.

After delivery, every woman must ensure that she eats a balanced diet consisting of cereals, eggs, milk, meat, chicken, curd, jaggery, gram, pulses, green leafy vegetables and fruits. Of course that will depend on individuals economic status as well as food habits.

Owing to breast feeding, normally there is an extra demand for energy and proteins and hence it is important to take a diet which gives about 550 calories and 25 gm of extra proteins every day (this is over and above the normal practice), and this will ensure good health, good skin for woman.

At the same time drink plenty of water, avoid eating too much of pure ghee, dry fruits and sweets(this is what we do in normal course) after delivery. This will increase  milk production, and do take an iron tablet every day after meals.

Normally if a child gets adequate quantity of breast milk, the child sleeps peacefully after a feed and generally does not cry for a feed for the next 3 hours. Moreover, every woman should weigh their baby every fortnight, the child will be gaining weight at the rate of about 30 - 35 gms per day if every thing goes correct.

To take care of proper sleep, feed the child well before going to sleep. May be, you will have to wake up once at night. This will help the woman to have a good sleep which is also essential for good health of post delivery season. Very soon the baby will develop a rhythm of feeding which is convenient to both mother and child.