Eat, sleep and walk to prevent cancer

There is no silver bullet to stop cancer but there are some ways of lowering our cancer risk. And experts believe the formula for prevention is eat, sleep, and walk the right way. How much easier can it get?

Diet

When it comes to disease prevention, what goes into our mouths is tops. There is no magic recipe for a cancer-free life. There is, however, a big difference between a health and an unhealthy diet. Lots of fruit and vegetables, less fat, sugar and calories work not only against cancer but against other diseases as well. There are, however, certain food stuffs that contain more anti-cancer compounds than others. Check out the the cancer killers in your kitchen.

Sleep

Nobody ever gets bad results from a good night’s sleep. Aside from giving your body and brain a much needed break, research shows that enough sleep benefits hormone balance, immune function and weight. And yes – it also lowers cancer risk. According to James McClain of the National Cancer Institute who conducted a study based on 10 years of data of about 6,000 women:

“Among the most active women in our study – these younger, more active women – if they slept more than 7 hours, they were protected relative to those that slept less than 7 hours.”

Walk

What would you say to the headline ‘Brisk walking’ could prevent 10,000 cancers a year?

According to health experts at the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), 30 to 45 minutes of moderate exercise such as brisk walking could actually prevent about 5,500 cases of breast cancer and 4,600 cases of bowel cancer. That makes a total of 10,000 cases of prevented cancer each year. And you could be one of those 10,000 cases!

WCRF further explains that physical activity does not necessarily mean sweating in a gym or fitness center.

Other than walking, performing routine household chores also count as physical activity. These tasks include gardening, vacuuming the house or cycling to the supermarket.

According to Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science for WCRF:

“There is now very strong evidence that being physically active is important for cancer prevention. Even relatively modest increases in activity levels could prevent thousands of cancer cases in the UK every year.

These figures also show you do not have to go to the gym every day to benefit. You can reduce your cancer risk just by making small changes and this is highlighted by the fact that so many cancer cases could be prevented through something as simple as brisk walking.

By taking up walking as a hobby or even walking to the shops instead of taking the bus or car, people can make a real difference to their health.”

Eat, sleep and walk right and you’ll lower your risk for cancer. It sounds so easy. But for many people, it means a whole change of lifestyle.