Cancer is a frightening thought and, unfortunately, affects a significant portion of the population, with one in three women and one in two men at risk. However, genetic and environmental factors seem to account for only about 30% of cancer cases. This suggests that approximately 70% of cancers are influenced by factors within our control. To dramatically reduce your cancer risk, you can work on these three main causes:
1. Your weight
It’s widely known that maintaining a healthy weight is beneficial, but only 29% of people manage to achieve this. Overweight and obesity contribute to the development of numerous types of cancer, including breast (particularly postmenopausal), colon, endometrium, kidney, esophagus, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, and ovary. Therefore, it is in your best interest to keep an eye on your weight and move it in a downward direction toward a healthy BMI.
2. Your level of physical activity
Engaging in just 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as walking, gentle cycling, yoga, swimming, or bodyweight training, five days a week, can significantly reduce your cancer risk. Alternatively, you could cut the time in half by engaging in more vigorous-intensity activities such as running, sprinting, weight training, or high-intensity interval training, for just 15 minutes, five days a week.
Exercise fights cancer in two ways, according to Marcas Bamman, Ph.D., director of the University of Alabama in Birmingham Center for Exercise Medicine. Firstly, there are the direct physical effects, and secondly, there’s the indirect effect in preventing or contributing to mechanisms that help to prevent weight gain.
Ideally, try to limit sedentary behaviors like sitting, lying down, or watching TV, and opt instead for leisurely activities such as gardening, walking in nature, or standing while working at a computer.
3. Your diet
The most powerful tool you have at your disposal, which not only helps increase weight loss but also reduces your cancer risk, is your diet. The foods you choose to eat on a daily basis can make a significant difference. Packaged and processed foods in a typical Western diet often contain high levels of sugar and refined ingredients. These empty calories offer little nutrition, and over time, your cells can become starved and deprived of the nutrients they need.
To reduce your cancer risk through your diet, you can make the following choices:
- Opt for natural, whole foods in their original form, like meat, poultry, eggs, and an abundance of real vegetables.
- Choose high-fiber foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. These tend to also contain high levels of vitamins and minerals, along with a range of phytochemicals with proven cancer-fighting powers.
- Make different types of vegetables the base of your diet, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, Brussels sprouts, carrots, tomatoes, and leafy greens. Aim for at least 2.5 cups per day.
Remember that foods have a synergistic effect on your health, so aiming for a wide variety of healthy whole foods will ensure you consume all the medicinal benefits they have to offer. By addressing these three factors—your weight, your level of physical activity, and your diet—you can dramatically reduce your cancer risk and lead a healthier life.
