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Nov
2
5 Ways To Reduce Your Cancer Risk
Filed Under Editorial, Health, Healthy Habits
I don’t usually like reposting information from other sites on 60 in 3. It seems lazy to me, like I’m stealing material from someone else and using it as my own. However, I recently read an article from Real Age and I felt like this was important enough to copy and link to on my own site.
Full Credit
Before I move on, let me give you the link back to Real Age since they’re the ones who deserve the credit for this article idea. I couldn’t figure out a way to link to the article itself, so here’s the link to their site. The authors of the site have put out several books on personal health which I have found to be tremendously useful. I reviewed one of them a few months ago and you can find the review here.
Personal History
My family has a history with cancer. I’ve watched loved ones battle with various forms of the disease and thankfully they’ve all come through it with their health relatively intact. The same cannot be said of the millions of families who lose loved ones to cancer and heart disease every year. So this topic has a lot of personal meaning to me.
That’s why, when I first read this headline on Real Age it piqued my interest. I really wanted to see what these methods were that could reduce the risk of cancer. I thought they were going to tell me about drug regimes, new vaccines or medical treatments. Instead, here’s what they had:
- Don’t smoke (a no-brainer).
- Limit red meat, alcohol, fat, and . . .
- Eat fruit, veggies, and whole grains — lots of them!
- Exercise regularly.
- Watch your weight.
At first I felt a bit cheated. Was this all there was? Then I understood. Yep, this is all it takes to significantly reduce your chance of cancer and heart disease. It’s not complicated, it’s not hard to understand, it’s just basic healthy guidelines that we all already know.
That’s why I felt like I should repost this. Anyone out there who’s struggled with cancer or who’s seen loved ones struggle with the disease knows what a horrible toll it takes on people. You know how brutal the treatment can be and how much it takes out of people. Even those who come through it with their lives and bodies intact live in fear of the day the cancer might come back.
So it seems important to me that we all recognize that these five simple changes to your life can make a huge difference. I’m not talking about making you look better or fit into those jeans, I’m talking about preventing you from going through one of the most painful and horrible experiences a person can go through and possibly dying.
Yes, even if you do adopt these changes, you may still get cancer. These are not a vaccine nor are they a cure. However, these five simple things will significantly reduce your chances of developing cancer or heart disease. Just as an example, every 1.7oz of processed meats you add to your daily diet adds 21% to your chance of colorectal cancer.
Remember this when you’re talking to other people about why health is important to you. Too often people look at healthy habits as something superficial, something we do just to look good. The truth is far deeper than that, and if you’re looking to convince someone to start living a healthier lifestyle “I love and want to spend many healthy years with you” works much better than “your ass is too big”.
Summary
Sometimes we lose sight of this. We think fitness and health is all about losing weight, looking good, being stronger and running faster, but the bottom line is healthy habit will quite literally keep you alive and improve the quality of your life.
Update
Quick addition to today’s post. Another article that discusses the link between cancer and eating healthy.
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Comments
6 Responses to “5 Ways To Reduce Your Cancer Risk”
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Such simple advice, indeed. Simple, essential, and in fact easy to keep in mind. Sometimes, I wonder why it isn’t followed by more people. Or why it took me more than 25 years to start following it as well!
To be honest, I’m scared shitload of cancer. My great-grandfather and my grandma’s sister died of it, my grandpa as well (he did smoke too much), then I lost a great-uncle to a quickly-developing lung cancer, and it’s hard to not think of who will be next.
So if anything, even little lifestyle changes, can lower the risks… I’ll take them. For myself or in the hopes to bring them to others.
It should be noted that whole grains should be properly prepared via sprouting or fermenting them to avoid other problems. Reducing fat intake is not a good idea if you want to avoid cancer, the most cancer preventative vitamins and minerals are fat-soluble and you need a healthy balance of fats to absorb those nutrients…As for an example, adequate vitamin D per day (approximately 10 minutes for those with lighter skin and 20-30 for those with varying degrees of darker skin of exposing 98 percent of your body to sunlight between the peak hours of uv-b; between 10 and 2 in temperate zones) will reduce your cancer risk between 50 and 75 % (various studies have different results due to different criteria and methods)…Heh, as for skin cancer, don’t make me laugh, it is far more cost effective to expose yourself to appropriate amounts of sunlight and risk skin cancer than to not do so and risk more serious and debilitating and not to mention less obvious forms of cancer especially considering how few people take the time to get a proper check-up.
This article is amazing!!! i love how simple it is to get rid of risk to get cancer. in my sixth grade class we hade to know how not to get cancer. thanks for the help.
Anonymous,
Reducing fat intake is indeed a good idea. Please note that I did not say to eliminate fat intake nor do I support that approach. I do however believe that most American’s consume too much fat. Reducing daily fat consumptions to recommended levels is very different from eliminating it. I also think you should get your fat from healthier sources than most western diets.
Second, sun exposure is indeed a good idea in moderation. However, it will only reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, not all. Also, skin cancer is not a laughing matter and can be easily avoided while still getting a healthy amount of sunlight.
Gal
[...] is, not to mention what my opinion of it is. For example, a few days ago, someone commented on my cancer prevention post. The commenter said that reducing fat is a bad idea, to which I say, [...]
Hi Gal, I get the most motivation for weight loss, weight management, and fitness from focusing on my health. I do want to look good (who doesn’t
), but it’s not my main motivator.
Also, there is so much info out there about the relation between obesity and cancer…it just can’t be ignored. Thanks for the reminder!