By James Wallunya
Cancer, for many is considered bad luck but thanks to researchers we get to understand more of the disease. Some types of cancer are closely linked to daily lifestyle choices while others can be avoided through various ways.
Here are some of the simple things you should consider to protect yourself from cancer.
Here are some of the simple things you should consider to protect yourself from cancer.
- Physical Exercise
Inactive lifestyles expose one to a myriad of health issues and diseases that include; diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke and heart disease. Regular exercise keeps body weight at a healthy level, prevent certain types of cancer and even prevent one from dying early. This is according to Cancer research Centre UK. Physical activity could help reduce several types of cancer which include;
2. Alcohol intake
- Breast cancer – Physical activity probably reduces breast cancer risk by lowering levels of insulin, hormones and growth factors making more active women to have a 12% lower chance of getting breast cancer. It has also been discovered that the more exercise a woman has, the lesser her chances of getting breast cancer get, for instance, for every 2 hours a week a woman spends doing moderate to vigorous activity, the risk of breast cancer falls by 5%.
- Womb cancer – Physical activity could lower the risk of womb cancer because it reduces the level of oestrogen in the blood as well as the amount of circulating insulin making active women having around 30% lower risk than inactive women.
- Bowel cancer – Physical activity could reduce the risk of bowel cancer in many several ways; it increases bowel movements and so cancer causing substances in undigested food pass the bowel quickly, reduces the production of insulin, other hormones and growth hormones which at high levels can promote the growth of tumors and by changing the levels of chemical messengers called prostaglandins, which are involved in inflammation resulting is slow cell multiplication, reducing the chance of mistakes during cell replication that leads to cancer
2. Alcohol intake
According to the Cancer research Centre UK, drinking alcohol exposes individuals to certain types of cancers, more-so if an individual combines drinking with smoking. Alcohol causes cancer by; destroying cells, increasing the damage from tobacco, affecting hormones linked to breast cancer and breaks down into cancer causing substances. Reducing alcohol intake to less than three units for women and four units for men reduces the chances of contracting the following types of cancer; bowel, breast cancer for women, larynx, mouth and throat, oesophagus and liver cancer. It’s also important to note that not everyone who drinks gets cancer though research has shown that high consumers of alcohol are more susceptible to cancer.
3. Smoking
3. Smoking
Smoking is the most preventable cause of cancer. Tobacco was responsible for more than 100 million deaths worldwide in the 20th Century. The World Health Organization has estimated that, if current trends continue, tobacco could cause a billion deaths in the 21st Century. Smoking increases the risk of at least 14 cancers including cancers of the larynx, breast, oesophagus, mouth and pharynx, bladder, pancreas, kidney, liver, stomach, bowel, cervix, ovary, lung, nose and sinus, and some types of leukemia.
Other ways you can use include; eating fruits and vegetables, eating healthy meals, protecting yourself from excessive sunlight, breastfeed (for women) eating less salt, red and processed meats, minimize the risk of infections such as HPV, avoid unnecessary x-rays and eat a diet rich in fiber.
Regular cancer screening is essential, these test may help detect cancer at their early stages when they are easily treatable while others help in preventing cancer from developing in the first place.
Sources
Cancer Research Centre UK. (n.d.). Physical activity and cancer: stats and evidence. Retrieved 2 2014, 2, from Cancer Research Centre UK: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/healthyliving/exerciseandactivity/howdoweknow/physical-activity-and-cancer-the-evidence
Other ways you can use include; eating fruits and vegetables, eating healthy meals, protecting yourself from excessive sunlight, breastfeed (for women) eating less salt, red and processed meats, minimize the risk of infections such as HPV, avoid unnecessary x-rays and eat a diet rich in fiber.
Regular cancer screening is essential, these test may help detect cancer at their early stages when they are easily treatable while others help in preventing cancer from developing in the first place.
Sources
Cancer Research Centre UK. (n.d.). Physical activity and cancer: stats and evidence. Retrieved 2 2014, 2, from Cancer Research Centre UK: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/healthyliving/exerciseandactivity/howdoweknow/physical-activity-and-cancer-the-evidence