Healthy Lifestyle for Cancer Prevention

» Posted on Sep 26, 2011 in Exercise, Health, Lifestyle & Nutrition Counseling, Nutrition | 0 comments

The choices you make in everyday life can contribute to the development of cancer.

Preventing weight gain with proper dietary habits can reduce the risk of many cancers. Eating foods full of sugar and fat calories without much nutritional value will lead to obesity. Scientists have learned about the relationshiop between obesity and cancer. They have concluded that cancers of the colon, breast, endometrium, kidney, and esophagus are associated with obesity.

Proper lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of many cancers. Examples of poor lifesyle choices would include smoking, alcoholic drinks, and physical inactivity. Smoking is the leading cause of cancer and death from cancer. The U.S. Surgeon estimates that even living with a smoker increases the non-smoker’s chances of developing lung cancer by 20-30%. Cigarette smoke causes not only lung cancer but many types of cancer. Alcohol use has been linked to increase risk of several types of cancers and the risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. Physical inactivity has a direct correlation to obesity. We are aware that physical activity can improve health in many way but physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of colon and breast cancer.

So what measures do you take to create a lifestyle that will help prevent against cancer?

Taken from Johns Hopkins Medicine:

A balanced nutritious diet, healthy weight, physical activity, and avoiding alcoholic drinks may prevent as many as 1/3 of all cancers.

Several Johns Hopkins experts participated in the World Cancer Research Fund – American Institute for Cancer Research report Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, published in November 2007, which is considered by cancer prevention experts to be an authoritative source of information on diet, physical activity and cancer. Their recommendations for cancer prevention and for good health in general are:

1.Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
2.Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.
3.Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar, or low in fiber, or high in fat).
4.Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans.
5.Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.
6.If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day.
7.Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium).
8.Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer.

Please pass on to family and friends!