“I’m sometimes asked if there’s something I would never eat myself. And I always say: Yes, actually for many years, almost ten years: sugary drinks,” she explains Cancer researcher Hanna Heikenwälder in a video conversation with FOCUS online. She is a molecular biologist at the University Hospital of Tübingen and an author.

“Well, I’ve never put sugar in my coffee. But I always drink the light version or water. I would never drink an iced tea or cola with sugar because I think there are so many alternatives without it and you just don’t need it.”

These are the easiest calories to save. Scientific studies confirm it again and again: Sugary drinks are not good for our health. Heikenwälder puts it in a nutshell: Sugary drinks are “often foods that really don’t have anything else good in them.”

• Point 1: Wholesome nutrition

Lots of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes should form the basis daily diet turn off. Important: The scientists recommend 400 grams of vegetables and fruit and at least 30 grams of fiber.

• Point 2: Little fast food and industrially processed foods

They contain a lot of fat, sugar and starch, which promotes obesity.

• Point 3: Little red meat and sausage products

Beef, lamb and pork, sausage products: Red meat should be served in a maximum of three portions per week. This corresponds to 350 to a maximum of 500 grams. There should be especially little of processed meat, i.e. all sausage products.

• Point 4: No sodas or sugary drinks

The experts recommend only unsweetened drinks to cover your fluid needs, i.e. water, tea or coffee without sugar. They warn: “Fruit juices should not be consumed in large quantities as, even without added sugar, they are likely to promote weight gain in a similar way to sugar-sweetened drinks.”

To prevent cancer, experts recommend: Abstinence from alcohol. Alcohol is considered a cause of various types of cancer.

If you lead an active lifestyle, don’t smoke and protect yourself from the sun, you’ll supplement important ingredients to reduce your risk of cancer.