As a registered dietitian and associate nutrition editor at EatingWell Magazine, I know that herbs and spices do more than simply add flavor to food. They let you cut down on some less-healthy ingredients, such as salt, added sugars and saturated fat, and some have inherent health benefits, many of which Joyce Hendley reported on for EatingWell Magazine

.Modern science is beginning to uncover the ultimate power of spices and herbs, as weapons against illnesses from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. “We’re now starting to see a scientific basis for why people have been using spices medicinally for thousands of years,” says Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D., professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and author of Healing Spices (Sterling, 2011).

Read more: 8 of the World’s Healthiest Spices & Herbs You Should Be Eating

About a month ago, we asked you to send us your burning barbecue questions with the promise that the five best would be personally answered by grilling expert Steven Raichlen. The readers who asked those five questions also win an autographed copy of his new book Planet Barbecue!

We picked our favorites, and we’re posting them–along with Raichlen’s answers–every day this week. So far, we’ve learned the best way to grill chicken and what wood chip flavors are best for what meats. Today, cdziuba‘s question:

Is it ever OK to use spray on the grill, like PAM, or Olive Oil PAM? How do you keep foods from sticking to the grill?

Read more: Ask a Grillmaster: How Do You Keep Food from Sticking to the Grill?

Cancer is no longer thought to be solely the product of factors outside of our control such as heredity or accidental contact with toxic pollutants. In fact, scientists believe there is a great deal we can do to reduce our risk of developing the disease.

The 2007 Expert Report by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) found that the food we eat and other lifestyle choices such as daily physical activity and maintaining a healthy body weight are key to preventing cancer. This epic report – which was five years in the making and reviewed 7,000 large-scale studies – found that an unhealthy diet is linked to about one third of all cancer cases.

Shopping list of food linked to cancer prevention

• Plant-based food
• Cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, kale
• Foods containing folate, including liver, spinach, beans, broccoli, oranges, lettuce, avocado, and asparagus
• Onions, chives, leeks and garlic
• Carrots & sweet potatoes
• Mushrooms, including shitake, maitake, and reishi
• Fruits- grapefruits, red grapes, papayas, berries (rasberries, blueberries, strawberries)
• Tomatoes
• Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and fish

Avoid these

• Salty foods and foods processed with salt
• Alcohol consumption
• Sugary drinks
• Energy-dense foods, such as high in fats and/or sugars & low in nutrients and fiber

The entire article is here: Foods that prevent cancer.