“Prevention à la carte”: taking care of your skin, even at the table

Take one of the leading Italian experts on melanoma. Put him to work with a starred chef and a dietician from the Cancer Institute of Naples. So enlist the help of the illustrators at Comix School, and you’ll get a one-of-a-kind cookbook that teaches how taste, healthy eating, and skin and health care can easily go hand-in-hand. The title of the booklet, presented today in Naples, is “Prevention à la carte – anticipating the moves of skin cancer”, wrote the oncologist together Paul Asciertothe chef Gennaro Esposito and the nutrition expert Anna Licia Mozzilloand a compendium of simple and tasty recipes that help the reader to love each other at the table and do prevention, especially against melanoma, without giving up the pleasure of good food.

Prevention begins at the table

The first to affirm that “Food is the first medicine” – recalled during the presentation of the book Ascierto, director of the Department of Oncology Melanoma, Oncological Immunotherapy and Innovative Therapies of the Cancer Institute of Naples – was not by chance Hippocrates, the father of medicine, recognizing a simple truth that still holds true today, more than two millennia later. “Skin cancers are by far the most frequent form of cancer and are still on the rise today,” the expert underlined. “It is now common opinion that prevention also begins at the table, and in relation to melanoma and skin cancers, some components of the diet, such as antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, have actually shown protective effects, helping to fight free radicals and prevent the damages underlying the development of the tumor. In particular, vitamins C, E and A, zinc, selenium, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, lycopene and polyphenols are among the antioxidants that many specialists recommend including in the diet to reduce the risk of skin cancer” .

Tasty and healthy recipes

With the right nutrients, therefore, it is possible to strengthen our body’s defenses and keep our intestinal microbiota healthy, thus considerably reducing the risk of developing a neoplasm. Yes, but where to find them? This is where the new book comes into play, created under the patronage of Aima.me, APaIM, Cittadinanzattiva and Fondazione Melanoma, in which the reader will find 16 recipes specifically designed by Gennarino Esposito and Anna Licia Mozzillo to balance the intake of nutrients healthy, the best cooking methods to enhance their beneficial properties, and a tasty result that does not make attention to food feel like a deprivation.

The titles of the recipes are enough to realize this. As an appetizer we find for example the fennel au gratin with almonds on an avocado puree and buffalo kefir. As a first course, a nice ravioli filled with wild herbs with mushrooms and Sorrento walnuts. Redfish and beans as a second course. And then licorice panna cotta with candied citron, or a yogurt, mango and broad bean mousse for dessert. The gluttony of the dishes is evident. Health certified by two health specialists. And if they may seem complex to make, Gennarino Esposito assures that this is not the case: the 16 dishes described in the book are within everyone’s reach, and have their roots in Made in Italy cuisine. “Forgetting one’s origins – recalled the chef – is a ‘mortal sin’, as is forgetting to take care of oneself. The kitchen offers enormous possibilities for creativity. It was an honor for me to participate in the creation of this volume where my passion for cooking and dedication to my land meet prevention”.

Prevention, let’s talk about melanoma

by Letizia Gabaglio

June 28, 2023

Learn about foods to stay healthy

The book includes the list of ingredients, a description of the procedures for making appetizers, first courses, second courses and desserts, the description of the nutritional characteristics valuable for the diet, advice and anecdotes about the ingredients. And, of course, also the suggestions of dietician Mozzillo: “Our body – explained the specialist – needs a vast array of substances to stay healthy, many of which are taken in through food. Knowing foods, or the nutrients they are rich in, and their properties is important for preserving the integrity of our organs and their correct functionality. I think transforming our diet into nutrition is the first step towards disease prevention and sometimes the first real medicine”. The recipe book will be distributed to patient associations and can be consulted in digital version on the Melanoma Foundation website (www.fondazionemelanoma.org). The homonymous “Prevention à la carte” page was also born on Facebook, which will collect the testimonies of the protagonists, in addition to the recipes.