Most people these days are eating to lose, gain or maintain their weight. However, according to News4jax, health professionals at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston would suggest that people should be eating to reduce the risk of having cancer. They recommend that in order to reduce the risk of cancer, a person must eat 2.5 cups of vegetable and fruits a day, limit red meat and processed meats, limit salt, limit sugar and limit alcohol. 

Everybody has different eating habits as well. But research showed that if you follow this diet pattern, the risk of having cancer is reduced by one third. If a person is a meat lover then it would be a big adjustment. The plan is simple and before eating anything you just need to ask yourself a few questions.

Health educator Bonnie Nelson walked us through the 12 spots where we can get food in MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He said that whenever he goes to the cafeteria or a place where he has a lot of options, he thinks about the best possible choice. 

First, he thinks about the proportions. He makes sure that he gets more greens than meat. More specifically he makes a two to one ratio, two for the greens and one for the meat. The goal is to make two thirds of our plate with greens, leaving a third for meat. He pointed out that even though meat is healthy, it still has to fit in the formula. 

The formula is flexible and you can even consider food that you think is unhealthy. For example, people think pizza is not healthy.  Pizzas are made on wheat dough, so that can be vegetable, fruit, whole-grain, bean, seed or nut which is whole grain.  Cheese is already an animal and what they need is vegetable. They can go for the grilled vegetable, whole grain dough and animal protein in the cheese. This makes pizza an OK choice.

Non-meat options can also put you at risk for cancer. Nelson added that the most important thing to remember is to maintain a healthy weight. Extra sugar, extra calories and extra fat equals an increased risk for a cancer diagnosis.

It's all about planning and making healthy choices. There's not one food that's going to make us healthy or not. Instead it's about what we're eating, how often and how much.