Preventing cancer is of the utmost importance, given that 1 out of every 2 men and 1 out of every 3 women will get cancer in his or her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. These statistics can be frightening, but there are many ways to reduce your cancer risk.
Maintaining a healthy weight, including a wide array of organically grown fruits and vegetables in your diet, seeking out hormone-free dairy products, and drinking alcohol in moderation are all ways to decrease your cancer risk. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), 1 out of every 3 cancers is preventable through diet and lifestyle factors.
Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is an important part of cancer prevention. According to the AICR, being overweight may increase your risk for certain types of cancer, including colon, pancreatic, endometrial and breast cancers.
The AICR recommends maintaining or achieving a healthy weight, which is considered at a body mass index, or BMI, of 18.5 to 24.9. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese.
Fruits and Vegetables
According to the AICR, the wide variety of phytochemicals, meaning plant chemicals, in fruits and vegetables probably decrease the risk for certain types of cancer. Some of the most convincing data exists for dark green leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables.
Dark green leafy vegetables include spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard and kale. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, and boy choy.
Additional research has focused on the role of lycopene, a phytochemical found in tomatoes, in prostate cancer prevention. Additionally, berries of all types are potent anti-oxidants and may your decrease cancer risk as well.
Choose Organic
Many of the foods we eat on a daily basis are sprayed with pesticides that are known carcinogens, which are substances that cause cancer.
In order to reduce the health risks associated with pesticide exposure, the Environmental Working Group recommends buying organic fruits and vegetables as frequently as possible. Fruits and vegetables that are grown organically are grown without the use of harmful synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
Limit Alcohol Intake
The AICR recommends men limit themselves to no more than two alcoholic beverages per day and women no more than one per day. AICR's data suggests that alcohol increases risk for multiple types of cancer.
Hormone-Free Milk
According to the Cancer Prevention Coalition, consumption of dairy products from cows treated with recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) increases risk for cancers of the breast, prostate and colon. The hormone rBGH is given to dairy cows to increase milk production.
Look for "rBGH free" or "organic" on the label to indicate the cows producing your milk, cheese or yogurt were not treated with rBGH.
