How Diet Affects Skin Cancer

By Cindy Williams, RN

Director, Health Ministries

Cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene, beta-carotene, carotenoids, proanthocyanidins and resveratrol. What? How do you even know if you spelled the words correctly? What are they? What do they have to do with skin cancer?

For many years we have been taught that preventing skin cancer is about avoiding the sun, especially the mid-day sun, and not getting sun burned. Researchers are now learning that what we eat may play a big role in skin cancer prevention. 

In May 2007, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a prospective study on the relationship of dietary patterns and squamous cell skin cancer. They found that a high meat and fat intake increases squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) risk. Higher consumption of vegetables and fruits appeared to decrease SCC tumor risk by 54 percent, mostly by the association with green leafy vegetables.

The number of published studies on this connection have increased over the years and the results are the same every time. Vegetables and fruits are protective against skin cancer. And, certain vegetables and fruits are very protective. Which ones? Those that are high in all of those “difficult-to-pronounce” antioxidants that are in the very first paragraph. The more brightly colored a vegetable or fruit, the more nutrients it contains. God created foods that attract our eyes that are full of what our body needs.

Load up your table with berries, grapes, tomatoes, watermelon, apricots, spinach, kale, beets, sweet potatoes, and squash. Your skin won’t be the only part of your body that is happy!

Sources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2290997/

https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-019-0365-4

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17490979/

https://www.skincancer.org/blog/can-your-diet-help-prevent-skin-cancer/

https://www.andersenresearch.com/post/2018/04/12/can-a-plant-based-diet-prevent-skin-cancer

This article is part of a continuing series of health during these COVID times. For other articles, please see www.uccsda.org/healthministries.

Photo by Brandon WilsononUnsplash