4 lifestyle choices to reduce your cancer risk

While there is no magic food or supplement that has consistently been found to prevent cancer, there is plenty of good news: The same healthy habits that help prevent other serious diseases like diabetes and heart disease, can also help lower your risk of developing many common cancers. Plus, at the same time, taking these actions may help you reach that sometimes elusive goal of wellness.

Wellness: A changing definition

There was a time in the history of medicine when wellness was simply the absence of disease. As a society, we used to habitually practice health-generating behaviors. We walked everywhere and burned calories earning our bread. And as “bread” was relatively scarce, we ate reasonable portions and remained lean.

Today, fewer people may earn bread by the sweat of their brow. Food is plentiful and excessively laden with fat, sugar, and salt. As a result, the lack of wellness in most people reflects the absence of healthy behaviors, not the presence of disease.

In a society where technology has largely forced us to have to work on being healthy, we're taking a look at the lifestyle factors can help reduce your risk of chronic diseases, cancer among them. Studies and data point to 4 areas:

• Do not smoke
• Eat a healthy diet
• Exercise regularly
• Get a good night's sleep

Smoking: A clear road to cancer

Smoking is responsible for approximately 30 percent of all cancer-related deaths in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. The National Institutes of Health reports that it is the strongest risk factor for lung cancer, increasing risk 10- to 20-fold.

If you smoke now, the best action you can take is to focus all of your energy on kicking a very difficult habit. Talk to your doctor about the things you can do to quit smoking. While you are at it, do everything you can to convince the young people in your life never to start using tobacco. These resources can help.

Smoking is a primary cause of lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and bladder cancer, and quitting smoking is the biggest cancer-prevention step you can take. What's more, smoking is also a major contributor to the biggest killer of men and woman—heart disease.

Obesity: Why you need to keep your weight down

Obesity has been estimated to cause 20 percent of all cancers. How weight affects cancer risk is not well known and likely varies by the type of cancer.

The data for specific diet elements, such as red meat, soy, and vitamins D, E, and C and selenium, for example, show some cancer risk and prevention possibilities, but the associations are not strong in an otherwise well-nourished Western population.

Simply eating a healthy diet with a goal of reducing your body mass index to a healthy level is a better strategy for cancer prevention. Some specific tips:

• Try fruits and vegetables at every meal
• Watch your portions
• Substitute water for sugary drinks
• Avoid late-night snacking
• Pay attention to your calorie intake—honestly. Write down everything you eat and drink for a week and see how many calories you are actually taking in each day.

Exercise: Get up and get moving

A Harvard report on cancer prevention said a sedentary lifestyle is associated with five percent of cancer deaths. Exercise has numerous benefits for your overall well-being—and it appears it can decrease your cancer risk. Aim to exercise at least four times per week for at least 30 minutes at a pace that raises your heart rate and has you breathing a little more rapidly.

Be creative if you have back or joint problems, find something you can enjoy and a buddy to do it with you, and seek the help of gym personnel or a personal trainer if you have never exercised successfully before. Start slowly but challenge yourself to do more each week until you reach a goal.

Here’s another tip: Look online for a calculator that can show you how many calories you burn each day now—and see how many more you can add with a fitness plan.

Sleep: The neglected health tonic

Get a good night's sleep. Seems simple enough, but sleep is frequently neglected in our fast-paced society and is so incredibly important to our overall health. I know of no specific data on sleep for cancer prevention, but the first three suggestions are much easier to do when you're not fatigued because of sleep deprivation.

Very few people can be well rested on less than seven hours of sleep per night. Fatigue leads to neglect of other healthful behaviors. Are you too tired to exercise? Do you seek energy bursts in sugary foods or highly caffeinated beverages that then prevent you from falling asleep at a reasonable hour?

Some tips for a good night's sleep:

• Get a calming bedtime routine
• Avoid caffeinated beverages in the evening
• Refrain from exciting or disturbing TV or books before bed
• Try to set aside your worries before you get into bed and let them wait until morning

A good night’s sleep sets the table for other healthy behaviors that will help reduce your cancer risk...and help you feel refreshed and energized at the same time.

A final thought on prevention 

So, how did you do in the four areas of cancer prevention we discussed? Making some lifestyle changes is a great first step in reducing your risk for many kinds of cancer. Screenings and genetic testing can be other important steps. Talk with your health-care provider about screenings you may need and if appropriate, consider scheduling your breast, colon, prostate, or cervical cancer screenings today.