A cancer diagnosis often triggers a lifestyle overhaul. This is a phenomenon known as “post-traumatic growth,” where an extremely difficult experience can lead to positive change. I know this first hand.

Before be diagnosed With stage 3 triple negative breast cancer in 2021, at age 40, I was reading articles about lifestyle choices that increase cancer risk and thinking, “Ah, poor people.” Fortunately, this will never happen to me.

You don’t think it will, until it does. Three years later, I am happy to say that my treatment was successful and that I am – touch wood – cancer free.

Does this mean I’m back to exactly how my life was before? Hell, no. As the saying goes: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

So I wasn’t surprised to read this week that King Charles would be changing his diet after hers. diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla’s son, revealed in an interview that the King and Queen have both reduced their consumption of red meat like lamb, beef and pork, as a direct result. But are they right to do so?

The World Health Organization classifies red meat as a “probable carcinogen” based on studies showing associations between its consumption and the development of colorectal cancer, but other causes cannot be ruled out. This is always the problem when we talk about the “causes” of cancer. The disease is so multifactorial that we can only talk about what might increase or reduce risk, rather than saying that something causes or prevents cancer.

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That’s not to say we shouldn’t do everything we can to reduce our risks, but it can be difficult to know where to access reliable information. After my own diagnosis, I was inundated with advice from well-meaning friends and acquaintances: “don’t eat dairy,” “avoid soy,” “eat entirely raw foods.” You might get confused trying to get it right.

So I reached out to Kelly McCabe, a former cancer dietitian and now co-founder and CEO of Perci Health (percihealth.com), an online clinic where cancer patients can access on-demand support , from physiotherapy to psychosexual counseling.

She has reviewed all the evidence and has a team at Perci Health that stays up to date with the latest developments in the field. diet against cancer. She tells me that while there is certainly a link between processed meat (meats that have been preserved by smoking or salting, curing, or adding chemical preservatives, such as ham and bacon) and several types of cancer, it does not There is no evidence that moderate amounts of unprocessed meat increases your risk.

If you eat meat, you get iron and protein that gives you strength and energy, but she recommends focusing on organic white meat. “Keep processed meats like bacon, sausages, and cold cuts to a minimum,” she advises. “Red meat is good once or twice a week, but try to get your protein and iron from fish, poultry, and plant-based protein sources such as beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds .”

Personally, I don’t eat meat and I’m sure the meat the king eats is organic and minimally processed. That aside, there are many other ways that nutrition can not only reduce our risk of recurrence, but also support us post-treatment by improving energy, psychological well-being, and bone health (all of which are affected after cancer treatment).

Optimize vitamin D to support your immunity. Food sources include oily fish and egg yolks, but the best source is sunlight, so get outside every day (and supplement in winter).

Focus on plant foods – not just vegetables, but also nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, chickpeas and grains. Rich in nutrients and fiber, they improve immunity, reduce inflammation, boost your energy and even your mood.

Improve your gut health. Again, this means more plant foods, but also fermented foods like sauerkraut, and cutting down on ultra-processed, high-sugar foods that negatively impact your microbiome.

Soy products contain phytoestrogens, which often concern people who are sensitive to estrogen. breast or prostate cancer. “But the consensus from the scientific literature is that soy is safe,” McCabe says. “It is believed that phytoestrogens may have the same effect as our own natural estrogens, but there has never been any evidence to suggest this. In fact, science shows it can be beneficial.

Likewise, when it comes to dairy, there’s a lot of misinformation, but McCabe says the evidence shows that cancer is not linked to dairy. In fact, fermented dairy products like kefir are now thought to reduce your risk. Additionally, cancer treatment can impact bone density. “We don’t want people to exclude dairy and end up suffering from osteoporosis,” she adds.

Of course, nutrition doesn’t work in isolation. I now make an effort to figure out if I’m getting enough sleep, finding ways to manage stress, and moving my body every day. Exercise helps with everything from immunity and bone density to brain health and mood. It’s often said that being overweight is a significant risk factor, but McCabe says the evidence is more about body composition—i.e. fat versus muscle. Exercise can keep this ratio more in favor of muscle over fat, regardless of your shape, size or weight.

For the same reason, minimize ultra-processed, high-sugar foodsbecause they do your body composition a disservice. “It will also support appetite regulation,” says McCabe, “because eating them creates this cycle of constant need to snack.”

Alcohol is strongly linked to cancer, particularly breast cancer, for which the evidence is overwhelming. This has been the biggest change for me. After regularly drinking to excess in my 20s and early 30s, I cut back significantly after the birth of my children, and after cancer, I can count the number of times I drank alcohol this year on my fingers.

So King Charles is right to take an interest in his lifestyle, and all of us who have undergone treatment should do the same. After grueling chemotherapy, radiation, and a mastectomy, I’m certainly determined to do everything I can to reduce my risk of going through this again. So I ask McCabe bluntly: can our diet reduce our risk of cancer?

“Yes, but your definition of ‘diet’ needs to be broad,” she says. “You can’t just watch what you eat. If the question was: is there a lifestyle that can reduce your risk of cancer? The answer is yes.