The holiday season can be full of fun, laughter, and delicious food – but it can also be overwhelming at times, packed with meals and treats that are high in fat and calories. Experts warn that the combination of high-fat and high-calorie foods – factors that traditionally go with the holidays – can increase your risk of cancer over time.
The Asian Fund for Cancer Research has developed a list of Top Five Food Tips for the Holidays to help you keep up a healthy lifestyle and minimize your risk of cancer over the long-term.
- Skin poultry – By removing the skin from poultry such as duck and chicken after you cook it, you reduce the amount of fat and make this protein much better for you.
- Fruit for dessert – Rather than reaching for the tray of of cookies and cake this year for dessert, try a recipe based on fruit like Green Tea Poached Pears. Click here for the recipe!
- Include fish in your holiday tradition – The Omega-3 oils in tuna, salmon, and mackerel appear to be protective of cell linings in fighting off cancer growth. Avoid tuna packed in vegetable oil, however.
- Make a spinach dish – Spinach contains one of the top cancer-fighting enzymes, sulforaphane, where traditional iceberg lettuce is a nutritional weakling.
- Drink tea – Soft drinks contain nothing more than empty calories and some juice drinks can be loaded with sugar. Green tea is one of the best drinks because it contains no calories and has well-documented cancer-fighting properties.
Additionally, you should seek time to relax. Enjoy the holidays and try to make them as stress-free as possible! For more information and yummy recipes to enjoy this holiday, visit www.afcr.org.
