Oatmeal with fruit and almonds (photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
There are plenty of factors that increase the risk of cancer, such as
smoking or eating processed foods. However, recent research has shed
light on 10 positive lifestyle choices that can reduce the risk of
certain types of cancer by up to 30%.
These include consuming no more than three servings of red meat, avoiding sugary drinks, maintaining a balanced diet with sufficient fiber,
engaging in two and a half hours of physical activity per week,
maintaining a healthy weight, limiting fast food intake, and eliminating
alcohol consumption entirely.
Numerous
studies have demonstrated that these steps have considerable
cancer-reducing potential. Doctors have now observed that individuals
who steer clear of these unhealthy habits have a significantly lower
risk of developing cancer. The University of Newcastle in the United
Kingdom conducted a study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, which tested these guidelines on a group of 94,778 adults with an average age of 56.
The goal of this study was to validate a previous set of 10 similar
recommendations made by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the
American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). For the study,
participants provided self-reported data on their diet and exercise
habits, as well as their body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.
Each participant received a score based on their adherence to seven of
the recommendations.
The
researchers from Newcastle did not include the WCRF's advice to avoid
cancer-fighting food supplements, nor did they consider breastfeeding.
These two categories lacked sufficient data, leading to their exclusion
from the study.
Steel cut oatmeal (credit: Courtesy)
The
researchers accounted for factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic
deprivation, ethnicity, and smoking status in their analysis. On
average, participants scored 3.8 out of seven for meeting the eight
recommendations under scrutiny. During the study, 7,296 participants
(8%) developed cancer. The study revealed that a higher adherence to the
recommendations correlated with a lower risk of cancer.
How does following these 10 health measures lower a risk of cancer?
For each recommendation followed, participants reduced their cancer risk
by 7%. Additionally, each one-point increase in adherence score was
associated with a 10% lower risk of breast cancer, 10% lower risk of
colon cancer, 18% lower risk of kidney cancer, 16% lower risk of
esophageal cancer, 22% lower risk of liver cancer, 24% lower risk of
ovarian cancer, and 30% lower risk of gallbladder cancer. Notably,
breastfeeding emerged as a surprising recommendation.
Maintaining a healthy BMI range of 18.5-24.9, engaging in two and a
half hours of physical activity per week, consuming a balanced diet with
at least 30 grams of fiber daily and at least five servings of fruits
and vegetables, limiting fast food consumption, consuming no more than
three servings of red meat weekly, avoiding drinks with added sugar,
abstaining from alcohol, breastfeeding for six months, and refraining
from using purported cancer-preventing food supplements were all deemed
critical in reducing cancer risk.
The
protection offered by breastfeeding may be attributed to the hormonal
changes that occur during the process. Breastfeeding leads to irregular
menstruation, resulting in lower lifetime exposure to the sex hormone
estrogen - which is linked to an increased cancer risk. Eating excessive
amounts of fast food
increases the likelihood of being overweight, which in turn triggers
hormonal changes that can promote tumor growth. Red and processed meat
contain compounds such as organometallic compounds (heme) and nitrates.
These substances can damage the cells lining the intestines, thus
increasing the risk of cancer.
Alcohol metabolizes into a chemical called acetaldehyde in the body, causing DNA damage that is associated with various types of cancer.
The
researchers note that their study is observational, therefore they
cannot definitively conclude whether following the recommendations
directly leads to a reduced cancer risk. However, the findings certainly
highlight the importance of adopting these lifestyle choices to lower
the likelihood of developing cancer.
THIS PAGE WAS POSTED BY SPUTNIK ONE OF THE SPUTNIKS ORBIT BLOG
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