Half of all men and one-third of women in the United States will develop cancer in their lifetimes, the American Cancer Society says. But, importantly, they believe that one of every three of those cases could have been prevented by making better lifestyle choices.
Following a report from the World Cancer Research Fund, they recommend
1. Be as lean a possible without becoming underweight. Extra weight especially around the middle is strongly linked to cancer, colon cancer in particular.
2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day. Exercise helps normalize hormone levels and strengthens our immune system both important for cancer prevention.
3. Stay away from sugar-sweetened drinks and eat smaller amounts of energy-dense food.
4. Sugar per se does not cause cancer*, but the extra poundage caused by the extra calories in these foods can be a cancer risk.
5. Fill up most of your plate with plant-based foods.
* Vegetables and fruit contain a host of substances that protect cells in the body from damage that can lead to cancer.
* Whole grains, beans, nuts and other plant foods also contain fiber that keeps food moving through the digestive system and reduces the risk of some types of cancer.
In May 2012 the ACS issued a report saying that there had been an ’explosion’ in research on complementary therapies since 2006, and that there was ’overwhelming’ evidence that good diet and daily exercise, along with weight control could increase survival times and even prevent a cancer returning.
(* Ed: NB For the avoidance of doubt, whilst it is accurate to say that ’sugar per se does not cause cancer’, this statement is somewhat misleading in that common sugar is none-the-less the favourite food of a cancer cell, and research shows that people with the highest levels of blood sugar get more cancers; and survive least.)