Following are highlights from the American Cancer Society’s guidelines on diet, nutrition and cancer prevention:

• Choose most of the foods you eat from plant sources. Evidence continues to mount that eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day reduces the risk of cancer, especially colon and lung cancer.
• Limit your intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal sources. High-fat diets have been associated with an increased risk of cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate and endometrium.
• Be physically active: achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Research confirms that small spurts of activity can add up to real health benefits. Accumulating 30 or more minutes of exercise per day can make you feel better, help control your weight, reduce your risk of colon cancer and improve your overall health."
• If you drink at all, limit your consumption of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, oesophagus, pharynx, larynx and liver in men and women, and breast cancer in women, according to the guidelines.