The Cleveland Browns football team is a bit defensive about their recent record. Even though they improved last year, they've won only eight games in the past three seasons.

But coach Freddie Kitchens is confident that Cleveland's new defensive players — tackle Sheldon Richardson, end Olivier Vernon, and safety Morgan Burnette — will make a difference this season.

A good defense is also essential when it comes to your health, and a new study published in the journal JNCI Cancer Spectrum lays out one of the most important things you can do to defend yourself from cancer: Clean up your plate.

In 2015, researchers found that a poor diet was responsible for more than 52,000 cases of colorectal cancer; 14,400 cases of cancer of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx; 3,165 cases of uterine cancer; 3,050 postmenopausal breast cancer cases; 2,017 cases of kidney cancer; 1,564 of stomach cancer; and 1,000 cases of liver cancer in the U.S.

What blows your defense against cancer? If you skip whole grains, fruits, veggies, and (low-fat) dairy, and gobble up processed and red meats.

In addition, sugar-sweetened beverages can lead to obesity, which is linked to increased risk for 13 types of cancer.

You have a lot of control over your health. Your first (but far from last) step is to avoid highly processed and sugar-added foods and beverages. Then you should skip red and processed meats, and eat seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables and two servings of whole grains daily.