By Phillip Nieto; Edited by News Gate Team
Exercise and a healthy diet are essential for preventing lung, kidney, and breast cancer.
Every February, National Cancer Prevention Month is used by cancer prevention and health organizations from across the country to share advise on how to reduce your risk of developing the deadly condition by simple lifestyle changes.
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Tens of millions of people and families are impacted by cancer worldwide, particularly in underdeveloped countries and areas where there are few resources for medical care.
According to the National Cancer Institute, over 1.9 million Americans received a cancer diagnosis in 2022, and over 600,000 of them passed away from it.
The most deadly form of cancer for the year was lung and bronchus cancer, which killed an estimated 130,000 individuals in the U.S. The second most deadly diagnosis was colorectal cancer, with approximately 52,000 deaths in 2022.
A combination of important lifestyle tips will may help people reduce their risk of developing a deadly cancer.
- Avoid smoking or excessive alcohol use
- Develop and maintain a healthy diet
- Protect your skin
- Be physically active
1. Avoid smoking or excessive alcohol use
Smoking and tobacco usage can result in kidney, bladder, mouth, throat, and lung cancer as well as other serious health problems.
However, exposure to secondhand smoke while a non-smoker can raise their risk of developing lung cancer.
Cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, and cigarettes are all common products that exacerbate this condition and are very addictive.
People who want to quit smoking or reduce their alcohol consumption should go to treatment facilities or rehab.
The two leading risk factors were smoking consistently and drinking large amounts of alcohol.
A research that looked at cancer cases from 2019 and was published in The Lancet in August 2022 discovered that 44% of cancer fatalities were brought on by avoidable risk factors.
The two main risk factors were heavy alcohol consumption and regular smoking.
Both male and female patients experienced the same risk factors.
The study also attributed smoking and drinking to 42% of disability-adjusted life years, or healthy years an individual loses due to cancer.
2. Develop and maintain a healthy diet
Eating a healthy diet is an essential way to reduce the risk of cancer if it is done on a consistent basis and is full of well-balanced proteins.
For instance, increasing one’s fruit and vegetable intake, as well as consuming more whole grains, can provide enough nutrients to offset other health risks such as obesity and diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Health professionals also advise avoiding high-calorie foods and sugars, as well as reducing the consumption of animal fat. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), minimizing processed meats in daily diets may help people lower their risk of acquiring some types of cancer.
Mediterranean diets also have a lower risk of breast cancer, especially for women, and tend to include fish over items such as red meat.
3. Protect your skin
Skin cancer affects millions of individuals and families across the United States and is one of the most common forms of the disease.
The Mayo Clinic recommends that individuals wear clothing that covers as much skin as possible when going out into the sun and wear bright or dark colors because they reflect the sun’s harmful rays.
Health professionals also advise against consuming excessive amounts of animal fat and to avoid foods high in calories and sugar. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people can lower their risk of getting some cancers by consuming fewer processed meats in their regular diets.
4. Be physically active
Living a sedentary lifestyle, in general, is not good for an individual’s overall health and can lead to harmful conditions such as blood clots, obesity, diabetes and risk of cancer in some cases.
With the right diet, physical activity helps people maintain a healthy weight and offers them more energy throughout the day.
According to the Mayo Clinic, keeping a healthy weight range and engaging in physical activity can help reduce the risk of developing breast, prostate, lung, colon, and kidney cancer.
By Phillip Nieto; Edited by News Gate Team
