How to reduce your risk of cancer

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Common sense is the best defense against cancer. Think for yourself: in almost 40% of cancer cases, we earn from common bad habits, that is, smoking, overeating and lack of exercise. How science confirms the obvious truths and how to stay healthy - read here.

“Lung cancer is most often caused by smoking. Skin cancer - due to constant exposure to the sun. Cervical cancer is due to the papillomavirus, says Gregory Masters, M. D., a practitioner at a cancer center in Newark, Delaware. "And genetics in a modest 10-15% of cases."

What follows from this? That the best way to protect yourself is to watch your lifestyle. To get started, follow the tips to help protect yourself from illness.

1. Absolutely, categorically forbid yourself from smoking

Everyone is tired of this truth. But quitting smoking lowers the risk of developing all types of cancer. Smoking is associated with 30% of deaths from cancer. In Russia, lung tumors kill more people than tumors of all other organs.

Eliminating tobacco from your life is the best prevention. Even if you smoke not a pack a day, but only half, the risk of lung cancer is already reduced by 27%, as found by the American Medical Association. The less you smoke, the better. How to quit, read on Lifehacker.

2. Look at the scales more often

Extra pounds will affect not only the waist. The American Institute for Cancer Research has found that obesity triggers the development of tumors in the esophagus, kidneys, and gallbladder. The fact is that adipose tissue serves not only to preserve energy reserves, it also has a secretory function: fat produces proteins that affect the development of a chronic inflammatory process in the body. And oncological diseases just appear against the background of inflammation. Cut back: obesity leads to cancer.

In Russia, WHO associates 26% of all cases of oncological diseases with obesity.

Keeping your weight healthy is difficult. Fast food is sold on every corner, is inexpensive, and sitting in front of a TV or computer screen is easier than playing sports. Get on the scale from time to time and keep your body mass index below 25 points.

3. Spend at least half an hour a week exercising

Sport is on the same level with proper nutrition when it comes to cancer prevention. In the United States, a third of all deaths are attributed to the fact that patients did not follow any diet and did not pay attention to physical education. The American Cancer Society recommends exercising 150 minutes per week at a moderate pace, or half as much, but more active. However, a study published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer in 2010 shows that even 30 minutes is enough to reduce the risk of breast cancer (which affects one in eight women worldwide) by 35%.

Physical activity is beneficial in itself. It helps maintain a healthy weight and inhibits the development of malignant neoplasms.

4. Less alcohol

Alcohol is accused of causing tumors of the mouth, larynx, liver, rectum and mammary glands. Ethyl alcohol decomposes in the body to acetaldehyde, which then, under the action of enzymes, turns into acetic acid. it is also the strongest carcinogen.

Alcohol is especially harmful to women, as it stimulates the production of estrogens - hormones that affect the growth of breast tissue.

An excess of estrogen leads to the formation of breast tumors, which means that every extra sip of alcohol increases the risk of getting sick.

There will be no serious harm from a couple of glasses of wine a week, but daily alcohol consumption is fraught with cancer.

5. Love broccoli

Vegetables are not only part of a healthy diet, they also help fight cancer. Including therefore, recommendations for a healthy diet contain: half of the daily diet should be vegetables and fruits. Cruciferous vegetables are especially useful, which contain glucosinolates - substances that, when processed, acquire anti-cancer properties. These vegetables include cabbage: common cabbage, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. A 2000 study in the journal Gynecologic Oncology found that glucosinolates reduced the growth of abnormal cells in the cervical mucosa.

Other vegetables that help fight cancer:

• Tomatoes. They contain lycopene, an antioxidant that blocks the action of free radicals.
• Eggplant. They contain nasunin, which also has antioxidant properties.

The more vegetables you eat, the less red meat you put in your plate. Research suggests that people who eat more than 500 grams of red meat per week have a higher risk of colon cancer.

6. Stock up on sunscreen

Women aged 18–36 are particularly susceptible to melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. In Russia, in just 10 years, the incidence of melanoma has increased by 26%, world statistics show an even greater increase. Artificial tanning equipment and the sun's rays are also blamed for this. The danger can be minimized with a simple tube of sunscreen. A 2010 study by the Journal of Clinical Oncology confirmed that people who regularly wear a special cream suffer from melanoma half as much as those who neglect such cosmetics.

The cream should be chosen with an SPF 15 protection factor, applied even in winter and even in cloudy weather (the procedure should turn into the same habit as brushing your teeth), and also not be exposed to sunlight from 10 to 16 hours.

Patricia Gantz M. D., University of California

7. Relax

Stress by itself does not cause cancer, but it weakens the entire body and creates conditions for the development of this disease. Research has shown that constant anxiety alters the activity of immune cells responsible for triggering the fight and flight mechanism. As a result, a large amount of cortisol, monocytes and neutrophils are constantly circulating in the blood, which are responsible for. And as mentioned, chronic inflammation can lead to the formation of cancer cells. Fortunately, all the ways you eliminate stress - from doing yoga to turning off your work phone after leaving the office - help bring your immune cells back to normal. In a relaxed state, your body is not the most hospitable place for oncology.

8. Get tested

Studies and screenings do not help protect against cancer, but they signal the appearance of dangerous signs (such as polyps in the intestines or suspicious moles). The American Cancer Society recommends starting check-ups when you turn 20 (in Russia, it makes sense to take clinical examination seriously). Women need to take cytological smears for cervical cancer every three years, and after their fortieth birthday they need to have mammography done annually. Rectal cancer tests are mandatory after age 50. The sooner you discover the disease, the easier it is to cure it.