Healthy Dessert Recipes for Preventing Pancreatic Cancer
Tempt your taste buds with these wonderful dessert dishes! And the best thing is, not only are these desserts downright delicious, they also contain foods that may have pancreatic cancer combating properties.
If this is your first visit to HealWithFood.org's Guide to Preventing Pancreatic Cancer, you may also want to check out the section Diet for Pancreatic Cancer Prevention and the section Foods for Pancreatic Cancer Prevention for more general information about diet and pancreatic cancer risk.
Apple Slices with Cinnamon
This dessert is a cinch to prepare, and it contains only 95 calories! But the benefits of this dish do not end there: apples are jam-packed with health-protecting phytochemicals, and scientists have associated an increased consumption of apples with a lowered risk of cancer. Also laboratory tests have shown apples to possess powerful antioxidant properties and inhibit cancer cell proliferation.
See the RecipeRice Pudding with Blueberry Sauce
This rice pudding recipe calls for brown rice, which is a healthy alternative to the more common white rice. In addition, this pudding is dairy-free, which helps boost the antioxidant capacity of the accompanying blueberry sauce. Blueberries are one the best dietary sources of antioxidants, but consuming milk together with these pleasantly tart berries has been shown to decrease their antioxidant capacity. See the Recipe
Scandinavian Blueberry Soup
In Scandinavia, blueberry soup is a popular treat that can be served warm as an appetizer or chilled as a dessert. But the benefits of blueberry soup go far beyond its culinary use. In a laboratory test conducted by USDA researchers, wild blueberries were ranked number one in terms of antioxidant capacity over 40 other tested fruits, berries, and vegetables. The antioxidant powers of wild blueberries were shown to be even stronger than that of raspberries, strawberries, plums, cranberries, and cultivated blueberries. See the RecipeLow-Fat Apple and Raspberry Crumble
Not only does this scrumptious dessert tempt your taste buds, it also makes a healthy alternative to many other desserts. The apples and raspberries featured in this crumble are among the best natural sources of quercetin, a bioflavonoid that has strong anti-cancer and antioxidant properties. See the RecipeChocolate Cake
According to studies, people who eat beans and other legumes frequently have a significantly lower risk of many types of cancer. Guess what? Savoring a piece of this chocolate cake can help you fulfill your body's quota for beans: black beans are a key ingredient in this flourless cake! What's more, this recipe calls for dark, unsweetened cocoa powder—the kind of cocoa that possesses significant antioxidant properties. See the RecipeBuckwheat Crepes with Prune Compote
Buckwheat is an excellent dietary source of rutin, a bioflavonoid with powerful antioxidant properties. Also prunes are an excellent source of antioxidants: a study, which assessed the antioxidant capacity of a wide range of fresh and dried fruit and vegetables using the so-called Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) methodology, ranked prunes, or dried plums, the #1 food in terms of antioxidant potential. Prunes had more than twice the antioxidant capacity of other high ranking foods such as blueberries and raisins. See the Recipe
Green Tea and Mango Blast
This recipe pairs mellow mango with refreshing green tea to create a delicious smoothie that is supercharged with antioxidant and anti-cancer compounds. See the RecipeRaspberry Blueberry Smoothie
This smoothie combines blueberries and raspberries, two delicious berries that are at the top of the list of anti-cancer foods. See the Recipe
Antioxidant Muffins
These scrumptious muffins feature blueberries and pecans, two antioxidant powerhouse foods. Blueberries top the list of berries with the highest antioxidant capacity, and pecans—along with walnuts and chestnuts—have the highest concentration of antioxidants in the tree nut family. See the Recipe
Carrot Muffins
You may already know that carrots are good for eyesight, but did you know that they are also an excellent anti-cancer vegetable? Carrots contain falcarinol—a compound that has been shown to inhibit the development of cancer. See the Recipe
Low Glycemic Raspberry Muffins
This muffin recipe is a must-try for those who love muffins but are concerned about the high glycemic rating of most muffins. This muffin recipe calls for low-glycemic ingredients, including soy flour, whole wheat flour, and raspberries. The soy and raspberries featured in these muffins also contain isoflavones and ellagic acid, respectively, which have strong anti-oxidant properties. See the RecipeNettle Crêpes with Raspberries
Don't worry about this dessert stinging your lips; the nettle in these crepes will only do you good. Young, cooked stinging nettle shoots are perfectly edible, and they are packed with antioxidants and flavonoids. To maximize the health promoting properties of these crepes, serve them with fresh raspberries; raspberries contain ellagic acid, an extraordinary compound that has been shown to act as a potent anti-carcinogen, anti-mutagen, and inhibitor of cancer. See the RecipeQuinoa Crepes with Applesauce
If your goal is to reduce your risk of developing pancreatic cancer, it is best to choose low glycemic foods, such as these quinoa crepes, over high glycemic foods. High glycemic foods break down quickly, causing rapid fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels. Foods that have a high GI rating have been linked to the development of several types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer. This link is believed to be a related to the ability of high glycemic foods to stimulate the production of the hormones insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF), which can stimulate tumor proliferation, progression, and spreading within the body. See the RecipeFor more recipes that may help lower your odds of developing pancreatic cancer, go to the main recipe directory of HealWithFood.org's Guide to Preventing Pancreatic Cancer.
