If you want to prevent cancer or cancer recurrence having healthy lifestyles is the key. By following these tips you can improve your quality of life. Scientists are studying different ways to prevent cancer and it has been shown that nutrition plays a key role in prevention as well as cancer development. In this article, we give you some tips to prevent cancer.
9 tips to prevent cancer are given here:
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Get regular physical activity
- Have a healthy diet
- Decrease your sugar intake
- More fish and less meat
- Limit consumption of alcohol and tobacco
- Decrease your salt intake
- Store food properly
- Medical checkup
1. Maintain a healthy weight:
This is one of the most important points to reduce the risk of cancer. Ideally, maintain a normal Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9 kg / m2. BMI is the relationship of weight to height and is an easy and quick indicator to identify if your weight is healthy according to its structure.
To calculate your BMI divide your weight in kilograms between your heights in meters raised to the square. And remember, fat accumulated at the abdominal level increases the risk of cancer and other diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
2. Get regular physical activity:
It is recommended to do at least 30 minutes of exercise a day to have good cardiovascular health, however, if you should lose a few pounds, increase to 60 minutes of exercise a day. Increase your time progressively in order to improve your fitness and gain greater benefits.
3. Have a healthy diet:
Consume 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Variety is the most important since the nutrients that the broccoli has does not have an apple, for example. The color is indicative of the sources of nutrients you have, so try to include vegetables and fruits of red, orange and dark green in your diet.
Prefer complex carbohydrates and avoid refined flours. Complex carbohydrates like legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables contain more fiber, vitamins, and minerals, so they are more nutritious. Refined flours tend to raise blood sugar levels, generating more anxiety and alterations in insulin levels, which stimulate the accumulation of body fat. For this reason, the ideal is to avoid all refined and high in sugar, such as white bread, white rice, pasta, biscuits, pastries, etc.
4. Decrease your sugar intake:
Sugar not only exists as table sugar but is present in beverages, soda, biscuits, muffins, etc. It is the food that contributes most to weight gain, and being overweight is a risk factor for cancer.
5. More fish and less meat:
Some studies have shown that red meat increases the risk of cancer. Limit red meat consumption to 2 times a week and include more fish in your feed. Avoid consumption of processed meats and sausages.
6. Limit consumption of alcohol and tobacco:
It is recommended to limit alcohol consumption to 1 alcoholic drink per day for women or 2 for men. An alcoholic beverage equals any of the following. If you smoke avoid it, as tobacco increases the production of free radicals in the body, which are harmful molecules.
7. Decrease your salt intake:
Sodium is necessary for proper functioning of the body, but excess increases the risk of diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Sodium is present in many other foods such as sausages, canned foods, fast food, processed foods, soups, condiments such as consomme, cubes, sauces, dressings, etc.
8. Store food properly:
When food, especially cereals and grains, are stored at room temperature mold is formed, and it can produce a toxin called aflatoxin. Research indicates that it is one of the strongest potentiators of cancer. For this reason, store the food in containers with a lid and in the case of rice, pasta, breakfast cereals and bread, you can store them in the refrigerator, so they will last longer.
9. Medical checkup:
Screening for various types of cancer-such as skin, colon, prostate, cervical, and breast cancers-can increase your chances of discovering cancer early when treatment is more likely to be successful. Ask your doctor about which cancer screening is best for you.