Step one on your anti-cancer agenda: Eat more fruit and vegetables.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in developed countries, according to the World Health Organization, and research from the National Cancer Institute suggests that cancer could strike one in two men and one in three women at some point in their lives. And while, as the President's Cancer Panel reported, it's important to take steps to reduce the number of chemicals you're exposed to every day and take the proper precautions when exposed to the sun, many cancers, such as breast cancer, still don't have a clear cause. Yet, says a nutritionist from the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR), you could make a huge reduction in your cancer risk simply by reevaluating the food on your plate.

"People know that we can prevent diabetes and heart disease with diet," says Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, consultant nutrition advisor to the AICR. But the same holds true for cancer prevention, as well, and the impacts of a healthy diet on the disease can be huge. "There are so many cancers, that if we just protected against a small percent, that's still a lot of cases of cancers that would be prevented," she says.

Here are Collins' four tips for a cancer-prevention diet:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and beans. It's standard advice for anyone wanting to lose weight or eat a healthier diet, but eating more fresh produce and whole grains is also particularly important for preventing cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and lung. The science isn't clear as to which particular nutrients or plant components ward off these diseases, Collins says. It could be one particular nutrient or a whole host acting together, which is why supplements aren't as effective as eating whole plants. And the benefits don't stop with those particular cancers. "When you look at the other important piece of a plant-based diet, it tends to be less concentrated in calories," she says, which helps control weight. "When you start adding in the benefits of supporting a healthy weight, we're talking about preventing colon cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer," all of which are linked to overweight and obesity. There haven't been any studies comparing the cancer-reducing risks of organic produce and conventional produce, she says, but opting for organics helps you avoid pesticide residues, which is a good idea. Exposure to pesticides has been linked to autism, diabetes, weight gain, Parkinson’s disease, poorer performance in school, and premature births.