Cancer

Make These Lifestyle Choices to Prevent Cancer

trgrgteyhytCancer is an awful disease that afflicts thousands of people per year. When it is caught early enough and treated accordingly, the chances of cancer being fatal are getting increasingly slimmer, however, it can be a devastating disease that can affect your health for a long time afterwards. Even as cancer treatments become more sophisticated thanks to extensive research and new advancements, many people are still sadly taken by this terrible disease that comes in several different forms and can spread from one part of the body to others.

But, here’s the good news – there are several things that you can do to prevent getting cancer in the future and keep yourself in optimal health. From the foods you eat to your choice of lifestyle habits and the amount of exercise that you do, there are many strategies that you can employ in your daily life to keep your chances of getting any type of cancer down to an absolute minimum. It’s also good to know if you have a history of cancer in your family; if this is the case, then you may be at a higher risk than most and will need to take as much action as possible to prevent it and protect your health. Here are some of the best things that you can do to prevent cancer from developing.

Tip #1. Quit Smoking:

If you are a smoker, then your risk of getting cancer is significantly higher than that of non-smokers. Smoking cigarettes is the number one cause of lung cancer, which is often fatal, since it attacks the lungs, making it increasingly difficult for the patient to breathe. But, it’s not just lung cancer that can be caused by smoking; other cancers such as oral cancer and throat cancer are also linked to this bad habit. And, since tobacco smoke contains at least forty different known carcinogens and possibly much more that are not yet known, it’s safe to say that smoking will also increase your risk of developing other types of cancer.

Thankfully, there are many options available to smokers today who are hoping to quit the habit for good and embark on a new, healthy and smoke-free lifestyle. Vaping has quickly become one of the most popular substitutes for smoking cigarettes since it provides smokers with an easy replacement that feels just like smoking without all the added health risks.

E-liquid contains nicotine, which doesn’t increase your risk of cancer on its own – it’s the other harmful toxins in tobacco smoke, such as tar and carbon monoxide, that put you at danger. So, you can effectively quit without having to deal with withdrawal symptoms. You may also want to consider vaping with CBD oil; research suggests that cannabinoids can actually help to prevent and fight cancer so it’s a far healthier choice than reaching for a cigarette.

Tip #2. Stay Hydrated:

A simple lifestyle change that you can make which will significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer in the future is to drink more water. This is relatively easy to do; if your workplace has a water bottle filling station, then be sure to take your water bottle with you every day and always make sure that it is full, so that you can sip it throughout the day.

If you drink a lot of soda, especially diet or sugar free soda, it’s important to know that the sweeteners in these drinks are thought to increase your risk of cancer; in addition, they’re also terrible for your physical health – they can cause you to quickly pile on weight and are one of the biggest causes of tooth decay and cavities today.

Swap out your unhealthy drinks for pure, fresh water – if you drink water from the faucet, then be sure to filter it first, as this will reduce your exposure to carcinogens and other hormone-disrupting chemicals found in the water from the faucet. Drinking plenty of water every day can help to reduce the risk of bladder cancer, by diluting down the concentration of any cancer-causing agents found in the urine and helping to flush them through the bladder and out of your body a lot faster.

In addition, drinking plenty of water will also help to strengthen your immune system and remove other toxins from the body, which plays a huge part in decreasing your risk of cancer and staying healthy. According to experts, you should aim to drink around eight glasses per day.

Tip #3. Take Preventative Measures:

When it comes to different types of cancer, seeking prevention early is a much better strategy than waiting until you are in need of a cure. It’s important to make sure that you take every preventative measure available to you, no matter how uncomfortable or embarrassing this may be.

For example, women should go for regular smear tests to check for the signs of cervical cancer; this type of cancer is often not detected until it has gotten to an advanced stage; regular testing enables health professionals to detect any early signs or indicators that it may be developed in the future, which will go a long way when it comes to minimizing your risk.

Another preventative measure that women should take is regular breast mammograms; this can help you and your doctor determine your level of risk of developing breast cancer, and can also detect the early signs so that treatment can be carried out as quickly as possible.

Tip #4. Slather on the Sunscreen:

The sun may be essential for humans when it comes to getting enough vitamin D, however, it can also be very harmful and increase your risk factor for developing skin cancer. Sitting out in the sun without any sunblock applied to your skin doesn’t only cause painful, red sunburns and blisters, it can also significantly increase your risk of skin cancer – something that really isn’t worth getting for the sake of a sun-kissed tan.

There really is no reason not to use sunscreen; today you can find a variety of sunblocks and oils that contain sun protection factor (SPF) to shield your skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun without having to sacrifice a glowing natural tan. Don’t forget: it’s not just during the summer months when you will need to worry about staying protected from the sun. Even during the winter, the sun can do more harm to your skin than you may realize. It’s a good idea to use a face and body moisturizer that contains SPF daily; this will lower your risk of skin cancer whilst keeping your skin hydrated and smooth.

Tip #5. Get More Calcium:

According to research, eating more calcium-rich foods in your diet can help to prevent a number of cancers, specifically colon cancer. Studies showed that people who took calcium supplements regularly for four years had an almost 40% reduction in the development of cancerous polyps, long after the study had ceased. The participants were given a dose of 1,200mg calcium per day, which is equivalent to one 8oz serving of plain yogurt, three 8oz glasses of full fat milk, or a 2-3oz serving of low-fat cheese.

Tip #6. Get Active:

There are plenty of benefits associated with getting more exercise, such as losing weight, improving muscle tone, and decreasing your risk of various life-threatening conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Regular workouts help your body to burn extra fat, which, if not deal with, produces its own estrogen and becomes a risk factor for cancer. The good news is that the amount of exercise that’s needed to help prevent cancer is minimal. Just two hours per week of moderate exercise such as walking, cycling, or swimming can help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by almost 20%, for example.

In addition, being overweight or obese, according to the American Cancer Society, is a common precursor to cancer deaths in 14% of men and 20% of women. Even if you are not seriously overweight, if you are over the age of thirty then losing just ten pounds can help to better protect you against breast, cervical, and pancreatic cancers among many more.

Tip #7. Don’t Ignore Pain:

Chances are that symptoms of pain and discomfort could be a signal of something much less serious and easy to deal with quickly at your doctors. However, it’s important that you never ignore any symptoms that could potentially be due to cancer. For example, frequent bloating and a more urgent need to urinate than usual, coupled with mild to severe pelvic pain, can often signify ovarian cancer.

However, since these symptoms are often found with other conditions such as period pains or cystitis, for example, they often go ignored by both women and doctors until it is too late. In the case of ovarian cancer, the earlier it is detected, the higher the chance a woman has of being saved by treatment – the survival rate for ovarian cancer that is caught before it spreads outside of the ovary is a huge 90-95%.

How do you prevent cancer in your lifestyle? Let us know in the comments!

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