Cancer is set to become the world’s biggest killer. Experts predict that it will affect one in two people during the course of their lifetime in the coming century. And the numbers are rising. While it was a relatively rare disease in the past, it’s becoming increasingly common with each passing year.
This has many people wondering: are there any lifestyle changes that I can make to avoid cancer?
The answer from science seems to be “yes.” There are things that you can do to lower your risk over the short and long term.
For many people, though, the problem is effort. They don’t want to change their entire lives to avoid getting a disease that is probably a decade or more in the future. The thought of getting daily exercise and eating healthy foods long-term is horrifying.
Fortunately, there are some easy lifestyle changes that you can make to avoid cancer. These don’t require you to make radical changes to your life that will conflict with your work or social life. Here’s what you need to do:
Add Milled Flaxseed To Your Breakfast
Flaxseed is one of the most potent health foods on the planet and is directly associated with a lower risk of developing cancer. What’s more, it has a neutral taste, meaning that you can add it to virtually any breakfast. It goes well with cereals, smoothies and you can even mix it into jams and spreads you put on toast.
Flax fights cancer in multiple ways. First, it combines with cancer-promoting ingredients in your food, preventing them from being absorbed. Second, it contains ALAs which are helpful fatty acids that skew your body’s fat profile in favor of omega-3s. And thirdly, it contains lignans which appear to fight cancer directly, perhaps even reversing it in the case of prostate cancer.
Walk Up Stairs. Don’t Take The Elevator
When the elevator is available, it is tempting to take it, particularly if your apartment or office is on the tenth floor. However, you should resist this temptation if you want to avoid cancer. Getting regular physical activity is associated with a lower risk of developing the disease.
The CDC recommends that people get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. However, shoe-horning it into your routine can be challenging. If you’re a busy parent or have to go to work, finding time for the gym or a cycling session four times a week isn’t always practical.
The trick here is to find ways to incorporate regular physical activity into your daily routine. Walking upstairs, cycling to work, or even just carrying grocery bags to your car are all great ways to give your body the workout it needs.
Stop Eating Refined Sugar. Use Date Sugar Instead
Giving up sugar outright is challenging for most people. Many of us crave sweetness in our lives. Unfortunately, conventional refined sugar is not good for our health. It raises blood sugar and creates conditions in the body that promote cancer development.
So what’s the solution? Well, the food industry wants to convince you that artificial sweeteners are the way forward, but these don’t provide any nutrition or calories, and may actually harm your gut bacteria.
A much better option is to use date sugar to sweeten your meals. This product is just ground dates, meaning that when you eat it, you’re actually eating a whole food, just in tiny pieces. You can mix it into oatmeal or use it to bake cakes. You can also use it to sweeten sauces that would otherwise call for sugar.
Get Some Sun
Many people have a phobia of sun exposure in the West, but it is essential for health and wellbeing. Yes, too much sun can lead to skin cancer, but high levels of vitamin D also fight cancer inside the body and improve your wellbeing.
Drink Herbal Teas
Adding herbal teas to your routine is easy, particularly if you are a big coffee drinker. Just keep some bags next to your desk and make yourself a brew whenever you feel thirsty.
Herbal teas contain plant compounds that you simply can’t get elsewhere in your diet. The primary ingredient is hibiscus which contains powerful antioxidants that protect the body from harm and cancer development.
Cut Your Alcohol Consumption
Unless you’re hooked, cutting your alcohol consumption is easier than you might think. Researchers don’t believe that there is any safe level of alcohol. Beer, wine, and spirits can cause oesophageal and stomach cancers.
To reduce alcohol intake, replace it with coffee or something else that you can hold in your hand while socializing. If a host offers you a drink, accept the first one and then keep in it your hand the entire evening so that they don’t offer another.
Check Your Home For Radon
According to research, radon exposure is the second-most common cause of lung cancer, after smoking. It occurs when radon particles in the ground break down and emit ionizing radiation that travels up through your floors and damages cells in your body.
Radon is colorless and odorless. There is no way for your body to detect it. However, you can get a radon test telling you about the levels in your home. If the levels are too high, you may need to avoid spending time in your basement.
Get Regular Screenings
It’s also a good idea to get regular screenings from your cancer doctor. Specialists can quickly identify the early warning signs of the disease and deal with it before it becomes a serious threat to your life.
Pay particular attention to hormonally-driven cancers, such as breast and prostate. These can develop rapidly, necessitating annual testing after a certain age.
Stay Slim With Chilies
Lastly, make sure that you eat plenty of chilies. These raise your basal metabolic rate and actually help you stay at a normal BMI. Research suggests that people who regularly eat hot food live significantly longer than those who don’t.
Add cayenne pepper to your spaghetti or slice chopped red chilies over your stir-fries.