These simple food swaps will reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease plus help you lose weight the healthy way

Did you know that by eating a diet rich in nutrient-dense foods, you can slash your risk of chronic disease like cancer and heart disease while enjoying additional benefits like healthy weight loss and increased energy levels?

Colleen Doyle, the director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society, explains: “Though there's no one food that will reduce your risk of this disease, it's the synergy between many nutrients - vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants - that's likely to give you the most protection.”

Here are three easy food swaps to make with prevention in mind…

Three dietary tips to slash your risk of chronic disease

#1: Replace protein bars with low-sugar bars
I get it – sometimes it’s just convenient to grab a protein bar when you don’t have the time to whip up a full meal. But the problem is that these little snacks pack loads of added sugar. In fact, most contain more than the recommended daily intake of 25 g! Recent research has uncovered that sugar can directly spur the spreading of breast cancer and speed up tumour growth… yikes!
 
Replace regular protein bars with low-sugar options that contain 10 g of sugar or less. You should also make sure that the protein bars you’re munching on are made with whole foods rather than packed with additives.


Here’s the plain truth. Diets alone don’t work.
 
How many diets have you been on, weight loss pills you’ve consumed, injections you’ve had to endure? You might have lost some weight but it’s probably all back on again…
 
The truth is that there is no magic solution to make the weight drop off.
 
The secret to successful weight loss isn’t starving yourself nor is it limiting your food choices or following a painful pattern of eating.
 

Find out the key to what you’re doing that’s preventing you from losing those extra kilos here.

   
#2: Replace refined carbohydrates with cruciferous vegetables
Starches such as instant mashed potato and rice have little – if any – nutritional value and are loaded with additives that can negatively affect your health. Plus, you tend to overeat these foods because they require less work to break down. The result? Inflammation and unstable blood sugar levels!
 
Swap out the refined carbohydrates in your diet for nutrient-rich cruciferous vegetables. A recent study found that healthy carbohydrates as such can lower your risk of breast cancer by an impressive 67%. You can use cruciferous in so many ways – cauliflower mash, for example, is so simple to make and totally delicious!
 
#3: Replace sugary foods with fruit
As you should know by now, sugar sneaks into many foods – not just baked goods and desserts. So avoid dairy, bleached flour and artificially sweetened foods as far as you can. Instead, you should reach for natural sources of sweetness like raw honey or stevia.
 
Got a sweet tooth? Fruits like raspberries, strawberries and blueberries are chock-full of antioxidants, fibre, anthocyanins, vitamins and loads of other phytonutrients that will help your body fight off free radicals and help your cells repair themselves, ultimately cutting your risk of cancer.
 
What’s more, these berries are abundant in ellagic acid, which is a natural anti-carcinogen and strong cancer-fighting compound.
 
PS: Are you desperately trying to drop weight? Go here for the only four fad-free tools you need to get rid of that stubborn, unwanted fat – and keep it off!

Tags: diet, diet tips, food swaps, nutrition tips, cancer, heart disease, healthy weight loss, weight loss tips, energy levels