If there’s one thing you can learn from the television news, it’s this: Fear is a highly marketable commodity. Just look at how those overpaid haircuts cover health news, for example. “Slow death in your refrigerator! . . . Story at 11.” Watch enough of this drivel and you’ll wonder why they don’t just drape a big Biohazard sign over the entrance to your local supermarket.

Well, get ready for some good news. There are thousands of foods that will protect you from disease And very few that, if eaten in moderation, will do you any harm. Studies suggest that your risks of disease aren’t affected by what you do eat so much as by what you don’t eat. Have a bowl of junk food once in a while—just don’t forget the produce, grains and other good foods your body needs regularly.

These foods are particularly effective at cutting your risk for cancer. It’s the second leading cause of death for American men, and it’s not radon, secondhand smoke, cellular telephones or staring into our microwaves that causes most cases. It’s our dies. Experts estimate that eating poorly is responsible for up to 70 percent of all cancers.

You know you need to exercise, stop smoking and get regular checkups, including a prostate exam every year after age 40. (And if you didn’t know that, you do now.) You also know enough to cut your fat intake as much as possible: Less than 30 percent of your total calories should come from fat, and even that’s kind of pushing it (20 percent is better). But beyond that, you can protect yourself from cancer with a few simple eating strategies that, quite frankly, are not much of a stretch. Here they are.