Foods That Fight Cancer

When it comes to foods that fight cancer, you can pretty much guess that they don’t come in snazzy little bags with creative spellings on them (like “cheez,” for instance). But the following cancer fighters are almost as easy to find and fit into your life. Try these:

Walnuts, almonds, and pistachios.These contain a potent substance that may thwart cancerous tumors. The hard part is pronouncing the substance, named inositol pentakisphosphate. The easy part is eating them. A handful of walnuts 25 to 30 minutes before dinner not only helps fight cancer but keeps your weight in check, too. Can’t do nuts? The compound is also found in wheat bran and most legumes.

Chewy, toothsome whole grains.Try grains, including quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), kasha, millet, chia, and spelt, and you may reduce your risk of cancer of the small intestine. In a large-scale study of adults, those who ate the most whole grains were 41% less likely to develop cancer of the small intestine. Certain nutrients found in abundance in whole grains -- like B vitamins, fiber, minerals, and phenols -- may be responsible for the protection.

Rosemary chicken. Or rosemary lemonade (stick a sprig right into your drink). Or rosemary in your marinades and tossed salads. In lab studies, rosemary extract has given both breast cancer and leukemia cells a real fight. More human data is needed, but that's good news about an herb we already can’t get enough of.