Plant based diet gets the nod

In the wake of indulging ourselves with various dietary excesses comes this report of a book that advocates a plant based diet. We ought to lend an ear to the facts, if only reluctantly.
From the Canadian Press:

Foods that have been singled out for an increased risk of cancer such as cold cuts, red meat, sugar and salt should be banned completely, says an author and biochemistry professor.
In making his claim, Richard Beliveau, co-author with medical researcher Denis Gingras of "Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer" (McClelland & Stewart) cited an international study released recently by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research.
The report, entitled "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective," is the most comprehensive ever published on the evidence linking cancer risk to diet, physical activity and weight. It is the culmination of a five-year process that involved nine independent teams of scientists from around the world, hundreds of peer reviewers and 21 international experts who reviewed and analyzed more than 7,000 large-scale studies.
The report's recommendations include limiting red meat and alcohol consumption and avoiding bacon, ham and other processed meats, salt and sugary drinks.
Beliveau holds the chair in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer at the University of Quebec at Montreal where he is a professor of biochemistry.
He insists that 75 per cent of cancers can be prevented.
"If you put obesity, lack of exercise and eating badly together, the overall incidence of cancer is higher than it is for smoking," he said in an interview.
Beliveau believes that by following a plant-based diet, cancer rates would drop dramatically.
"In clinical trials there was a reduction of 50 per cent of bladder and prostate cancer for those who consumed three portions of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower each week."
These cruciferous vegetables contain a high glucosinolate content, which are powerful anti-cancer molecules.
A plant-based diet is not only fruits and vegetables, says Beliveau.
"There are some spices as well, such as turmeric and ginger to name a few, as well as green tea," he says. "These are foods that will help to create a hostile environment for cancer and these are essentially foods of plant origin."
Beliveau says that the reason plant-based diets are essential to preventing cancer is that unlike animal-based regimes, plants produce millions of organisms to protect themselves from aggressors.
"Out of these millions of chemicals produced by the plant world it is estimated that about 1,000 of these have strong anti-cancer properties."
Believe au believes that 75 per cent of all cancers can be prevented by changing our lifestyles.
"Good eating is fun eating and it's all about diversity," he says. "It is going back to the great traditions of cultural diversity by eating Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese and Lebanese, for example."
And he notes that the rates of cancer in those countries "are 70 times less than they are in North America."