Fighting Cancer at Dinner Table : Nutrition: The “Great American Food Fight Against Cancer” will try to convince Americans that the proper diet can lower risk of the disease.

In the tradition of the “Great American Smokeout,” which urges smokers to kick the habit, the American Cancer Society’s Orange County chapter on Tuesday announced a new effort to prevent cancer by eating with care.

Dubbed the “Great American Food Fight Against Cancer,” American Cancer Society chapters around the nation on April 19 will try to persuade Americans that they can decrease their risk of cancer by modifying their diet.

Drawing on more than a decade of research, the society offers some simple suggestions: Cut down on fatty foods. Eat more fruits, vegetables and foods high in fiber. Avoid obesity. And if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

“This is the meat of the program--or rather the broccoli of the program,” explained program co-chair Kathleen Dunn, an Irvine dietitian. “No. 1: reduce your dietary fat intake” because high fat consumption has been correlated with a high risk of breast, prostate and colon cancers.

Conversely, Dunn and Sue Winn, a Hoag

Hospital registered nurse, advised that eating certain foods--whole grain cereals and cruciferous (cross-shaped) vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts--may help prevent certain cancers from developing.

Dunn and Winn spoke at the Cannery Restaurant where 100 people inaugurated the local campaign by dining on anti-carcinogenic fare--shrimp cocktail with shredded cabbage, shish kebab and strawberry souffle.

Although the “Great American Food Fight Against Cancer” will be celebrated by most Cancer Society chapters as a daylong event, officials in Orange County have designated the entire month of April as “Cancer and Nutrition Awareness Month.”

That will mean a series of free classes in nutrition called “Taking Control,” promotion of the American Cancer Society cookbook, as well as public service ads on radio and cable television and in local newspapers, according to Kirk Wilks, Cancer Society director of marketing communications.

About 11,000 Orange County residents have some form of cancer, he said.

During April, American Cancer Society officials plan to contact all Orange County hospitals and circulate the organization’s “7 Steps to Defensive Dining.” Besides the previously mentioned recommendations, these are: Eat foods rich in Vitamins A and C--dark green and deep yellow vegetables and fruits which may lower risk for cancers of the larynx, esophagus and lung. And “cut down on salt-cured, smoked and nitrite-cured foods,” which have been associated with cancer of the esophagus and stomach.

Cancer Society officials were quick to note that dietary modifications would not eliminate one’s chances of getting cancer. “We wish we had a guarantee,” said Roxanne Garza, the Cancer Society’s director of public education.

One internationally known cancer expert said the link between cancer and diet has been strongly suggested--but not absolutely proven--by random clinical tests.

Animal and epidemiological studies, however, strongly suggest the link, said Dr. Frank Meyskens, director of UCI Medical Center’s Clinical Cancer Center and a pioneer in studying the impact of nutrition on cancer.

Meyskens called the Cancer Society’s dining recommendations reasonable. “Most will decrease your risk for cancer,” he said. “Also, they’ll decrease your risk for heart disease and generally make you feel good. It’s hard to be against that.”

NUTRITION AND CANCER

Here are the American Cancer Society’s seven steps to defensive dining. Evidence indicates that people might reduce their cancer risk by observing these guidelines:

Avoid obesity. Individuals 40% or more overweight increase their risk of colon, breast, prostate, gallbladder, ovarian and uterine cancers.

Cut down on fat intake. A diet high in fat may be a factor in the development of certain cancers, particularly breast, colon and prostate.

Eat more high-fiber foods, such as whole grain cereals, fruits and vegetables. Studies suggest they may help reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Eat foods rich in vitamins A and C. These foods may help lower risk for cancers of the larynx, esophagus and the lung. Eat more vitamin A-enriched dark green and deep yellow vegetables and fruits, such as carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, peaches and apricots. Vitamin C sources include oranges, grapefruit, strawberries and green and red peppers.

Include cruciferous vegetables in your diet. Certain vegetables in the cruciferous family--cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and cauliflower--may help prevent gastrointestinal and respiratory tract cancers.

Cut down on salt-cured, smoked and nitrite-cured foods. In areas of the world where these foods are eaten frequently, there is more incidence of cancer of the esophagus and stomach.

If you drink, keep alcohol consumption moderate. Heavy drinking, especially when accompanied by cigarette smoking or smokeless tobacco, increases risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx, throat, esophagus and liver.