One of the scariest words anyone can hear from a doctor is ‘cancer’. I’ve heard from several people that once the doctor said cancer, they don’t recall hearing the doctor say anything else. One person told me it was like getting hit in the head with a hammer and hit in the chest with bat all at the same time.

So many people automatically think that cancer means they are going to die and very few people want to die and especially by something as devastating and painful as cancer. One man told me he wasn’t afraid to die, but was afraid for what his death would to do his wife emotionally and financially. One woman I knew immediately thought about missing her two daughters’ weddings. All kinds of things go through a person’s mind when they hear their doctor say they have cancer. It is one of the scariest diagnoses that anyone can get, yet not that many people know that they may possibly avoided getting cancer by just eating the right kinds of foods.

Yeah, there are all kinds of diets out there that say they prevent cancer, prevent heart disease, prevent diabetes and so on. Interestingly, when you compare most of those diets, you will find that they have many of the same foods in common.

Of all the lists I found, here are 20 food items that may help a person prevent having to hear that frightening word – cancer:

1. Kale – a leafy vegetable that can be added to salads, can be cooked along with chopped and added to a number of food dishes. One of the benefits of kale is that some of the nutrients (polyphenol and sulforaphane) found in it can help prevent DNA damage, which often leads to the formation of cancer. Kale is also recommended for heart health.

2. Spinach – never heard of Popeye getting cancer, did you? Spinach is recommended to help prevent prostate cancer due to the epoxyxanthophylls. Additionally, spinach contains glycoglycerolipids which helps with preventing some mistakes in DNA.

3. Cauliflower – loaded with nutrients, including sulfur-containing nutrients that help fight cancer.

4. Broccoli – sorry President George Bush, but broccoli is good for you and is very healthy. It contains lots of fiber as well as glucosinolate, which helps fights cancer.

5. Carrots – thought to contain a number of cancer-fighting compounds and have been shown to reduce the size of tumors in rats.

6. Sweet potatoes – lots of great nutrients with few calories. Found to have antiproliferative and antimetastatic effects on human cancer cells.

7. Seaweed – contains a number of anticarcinogens including fucoidan which has been found to cause cancer cells to self-destruct.

8. Mushrooms – also found to contain cancer preventing nutrients, especially when eaten raw.

9. Cabbage – similar to broccoli in anti-cancer nutrients. Some studies indicate that nutritionally speaking, you get more bang for your buck when eating cabbage raw.

10. Raspberries – in addition to be containing anti-oxidants, they also contain ellagic acid which has been found to inhibit tumors.

11. Papayas – still the subject of study, but papayas do contain a variety of anti-cancer nutrients. However, they are high in sugar and even natural sugar can raise blood glucose levels, so diabetics need to avoid papaya on a regular basis.

12. Lemons – pucker up for this one. In addition to their sour taste, being a favorite in restaurant water to hide the taste of tap water, lemons contain phytochemical limonene, which has been found to help prevent cancer.

13. Rosemary – a fragrant herb grown in many gardens and used in numerous dishes. Rosemary extract is found to contain carnosol, carnosic acid, ursolic acid, and rosmarinic acid, all of which are healthy and help fight cancer.

14. Garlic – one of my favorite spices and I’m not Italian. Contains a number of nutrients that not only help prevent cancer, but also good for heart health and reducing blood pressure. The active ingredient is allicin, which can be taken in capsule form. One surprising fact about garlic is that after chopping fresh garlic, if you let it sit for a while, it helps increase the health benefits.

15. Brazil nuts – contain the trace mineral selenium in larger quantities. However, they are high in fat and calories.

16. Turmeric – found to also inhibit cancer cell growth. The active ingredient curcumin is also good for heart health, blood pressure and blood glucose. Can be readily found in capsule form to take as a daily supplement.

17. Green tea – contains catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which decreases the risk of cancer. Also listed as having a number of other health benefits.

18. Tomatoes – I grow them every year. The lycopene in tomatoes helps prevent cancer. Eating tomatoes with broccoli form a powerful anti-cancer powerhouse. Also has a number of other health benefits.

19. Oranges – oranges pack a near-complete package of every anticancer inhibitor known, into one fruit, especially the peel.

20. Blueberries – loaded with antioxidants that help fight cancer, and help with heart health. The many anthocyanin compounds in blueberries include: malvidins, delphinidins, pelargonidins, cyanidins, and peonidins.

There are other factors that can cause cancer like genetics and eating lots of red meat, especially grilled on an open fire or barbecue. Instead of red meat, it’s recommended that you eat fish and poultry most of the time. Exercising and avoiding packing on the extra pounds also helps decrease the risk of cancer as well as improving heart, health and reducing the risk of diabetes and a host of other illnesses.