Dispatch from the Razor's Edge, the Blog of Michael Stephen Fuchs
2004.11.26 : Super Foods!
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
                 - Albert Einstein

    And so now that Thanksgiving's over and you're back on whatever diet you're on, here's some food for thought: The World Cancer Research Fund has just published their list of the 20 best foods to prevent cancer. According to the Independent, "it is a distillation of the findings of its immense report Food Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer, based on thousands of studies, which is being updated for publication in 2006."

In the Independent's paper version, they published the full list of 20 foods, with details of their salubrious ingredients. When I looked for it later, amazingly I couldn't find it on the Indpendent site, nor on the WCRF site (or anywhere online). However, I wrote and they kindly sent it to me. Here it is:

Superfoods! (PDF, 271kb)

If you don't care to download the brochure (which does have some really good expository info), here's a précis of the important points. You'll note that of the 20 foods on the list – noted for the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavenoids, carotenoids, phytochemicals, and compounds shown to reduce cancer risk – with the exception of salmon, all are plant-based foods. With the exception of wholegrain bread, all are fruits, vegetables, seeds, or nuts. With the exception of brazil nuts, virgin olive oil, and sunflower seeds, all are fruits or vegetables. There is, I might suggest, a theme to be discerned.

Superfoods: 20 of the best foods for super health
  1. Red and orange peppers
  2. Kiwi fruit
  3. Brazil nuts
  4. Tomatoes
  5. Broccoli
  6. Onions
  7. Sweet potatoes
  8. Carrots
  9. Mangoes
  10. Strawberries
  11. Watercress
  12. Sunflower seeds
  13. Salmon
  14. Brussel sprouts
  15. Virgin olive oil
  16. Cabbage
  17. Wholegrain bread
  18. Garlic
  19. Oranges
  20. Spinach
Major recommendation of the report
"One in three of us will be affected by cancer. There is convincing scientific evidence to show that eating a diet high in a variety of vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of several cancers including mouth and throat, oesophageal, lung, stomach and bowel cancers. Eating more vegetables and fruits is the second most effective way to reduce your risk of cancer, after not smoking."


The WCRF UK Diet and Health Guidelines for Cancer Prevention (note items 1 & 2; also note item 3 :^)
  1. Choose a diet rich in a variety of plant-based foods
  2. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits
  3. Maintain a healthy weight and be physically active
  4. Drink alcohol only in moderation, if at all
  5. Select foods low in fat and salt
  6. Prepare and store food safely
And, always remember… Do not smoke or use tobacco in any form.

    I should note in closing that, yes, this is self-consciously vegetarian/vegan agit-prop. But it is also self-consciously intended to hopefully result in the people I love living longer (and more healthily). Submitted for your consideration, with good intentions.
  food     health     veganism  
about
close photo of Michael Stephen Fuchs

Fuchs is the author of the novels The Manuscript and Pandora's Sisters, both published worldwide by Macmillan in hardback, paperback and all e-book formats (and in translation); the D-Boys series of high-tech, high-concept, spec-ops military adventure novels – D-Boys, Counter-Assault, and Close Quarters Battle (coming in 2016); and is co-author, with Glynn James, of the bestselling Arisen series of special-operations military ZA novels. The second nicest thing anyone has ever said about his work was: "Fuchs seems to operate on the narrative principle of 'when in doubt put in a firefight'." (Kirkus Reviews, more here.)

Fuchs was born in New York; schooled in Virginia (UVa); and later emigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lived through the dot-com boom. Subsequently he decamped for an extended period of tramping before finally rocking up in London, where he now makes his home. He does a lot of travel blogging, most recently of some very  long  walks around the British Isles. He's been writing and developing for the web since 1994 and shows no particularly hopeful signs of stopping.

You can reach him on .

THE MANUSCRIPT by Michael Stephen Fuchs
PANDORA'S SISTERS by Michael Stephen Fuchs
DON'T SHOOT ME IN THE ASS, AND OTHER STORIES by Michael Stephen Fuchs
D-BOYS by Michael Stephen Fuchs
COUNTER-ASSAULT by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book One - Fortress Britain, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Two - Mogadishu of the Dead, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN : Genesis, by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Three - Three Parts Dead, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Four - Maximum Violence, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Five - EXODUS, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN Book Six - The Horizon, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Seven - Death of Empires, by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Eight - Empire of the Dead by Glynn James & Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN : NEMESIS by Michael Stephen Fuchs

ARISEN, Book Nine - Cataclysm by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Ten - The Flood by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Eleven - Deathmatch by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Twelve - Carnage by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Thirteen - The Siege by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN, Book Fourteen - Endgame by Michael Stephen Fuchs
ARISEN : Fickisms
ARISEN : Odyssey
ARISEN : Last Stand
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 1 - The Collapse
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 2 - Tribes
Black Squadron
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 3 - Dead Men Walking
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 4 - Duty
ARISEN : Raiders, Volume 5 - The Last Raid
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