Did you know that 40% of men and women will be diagnosed with some form of cancer within their lifetime? Sadly, by the end of the year, cancer would have claimed the lives of 565,000, which means we should be doing everything in our power to fight against this deadly disease.
Thankfully, according to Harvard Health, quite a bit of progress has been made to increase our understanding of cancer. Because of that, researchers maintain that there are quite a few habits that we can implement in our day to day life to cut our risk exponentially. To help you get a jump start, just check out the following:
1. Don’t Use Tobacco
The Mayo Clinic reports that smoking and chewing tobacco alike are linked to a variety of deadly cancers including lung, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervix and kidney. Choosing to quit using tobacco is one of the most important steps you can make towards a better, healthier you.
2. Improving Your Diet
Remember to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. By using these foods as the center of your diet, you are sure to find that your health will quickly improve in a variety of ways. Also, limit your fat intake, as well as the amount of processed foods that you eat on a daily basis. Processed foods are loaded with cancer causing chemicals. Start cutting these foods from your diet, and replace them with healthy alternatives.
3. Cut Down on the Booze
Cutting down on alcohol is essential for cancer prevention. If you must drink, limit your intake to two drinks a day for men, and one for women. While a glass of champagne at a party may not be a big deal, drinking a bottle of wine each day can easily lead to a variety of cancers, including liver, colon, breast, and pancreas. It will also benefit your heart to reduce your consumption.
4. Swap Out Your Chemical Laden Cleaning Supplies With Natural Alternatives
One of the most boasted cancer prevention tips is reducing the amount of toxic chemicals that you come in contact with on a day to day basis. Exposure to toxic cleaning supplies over the course of decades has been linked to a variety of cancers. Instead of those chemical-laden household cleaners, try the following substitutions:
- Mix baking soda with apple cider vinegar to clean drains, bathtubs, or simply sprinkle baking soda with a few drops of tea tree oil in your bathtub or sink.
- Vinegar is useful for almost any form of cleaning. It can be used with liquid castile soap, water, or essential oils to clean your floors, windows, bathrooms, kitchens, and even to wash your clothes.
- Hydrogen peroxide is perfect for whitening and disinfecting.
- Vodka also works as a disinfectant can remove red stains from fabric.
5. Use Protection While in Sunlight
Always wear sunscreen, no matter what the weather is like, or how much sun exposure you plan on enduring. Even a short walk from your workplace to your car puts you in the midst of the Sun’s rays and can cause damage to your skin. Opt for foundations or moisturizers that already contain sunblock for regular days. If you are going outside for sports, or just to enjoy a pretty day, make sure that you apply SPF 30 sunblock. Anything stronger is filled with too many chemicals and will defeat the purpose.
6. Don’t Top Off Your Tank
According to the EPA and the President’s Cancer Panel, when you top off an already full tank, fuel can be spilled into the pump’s vapor recovery system that is designed specifically to keep cancer-causing chemicals out of the air you breathe.
7. Enjoy that Daily Cup of Joe! (Or a whole pot….)
Coffee lovers who drank at least five cups of coffee per day thwarted off certain forms of brain cancer by 40%, and oral cancer by 39%. Men who had at least 6 cups per day reduce the risk of prostate cancer risk by 60%, and for those who think that is a bit much, drinking at least two prevents your risk for colon cancer by 25%. The amazing benefits don’t stop there, coffee has been shown to prevent breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, and endometrial cancer.
8. Set Down the Phone, and Walk Away
Using your phone for important calls and texts is one thing, however, carrying the device everywhere you go as an extension to your body is likely to increase your risk for brain cancer. The energy they give off, known as radiofrequency waves have been associated with a variety of brain cancers.
9. Drop 10 Extra Pounds
If you have the ten extra pounds or more to lose, go ahead and take steps to lose at least ten. Being overweight is associated with 20% of all cancer deaths among women and 14% among men. For more information, or to find out if you are in fact, obese, visit  www.cancer.gov.
10. Get Active
Getting at least 30 minutes of physical exercise each day can change your life in a number of ways. And it actually isn’t as hard as you think. As long as you are moving consistently, your activity counts towards the 30. For example, by cleaning your floors, and doing a pickup throughout your house for at least 30 minutes, you have met your goal. On other days, between work and running inside to cook dinner, go for a brisk walk outside. Not only will this relax you, and help you unwind, it will also reduce your risk for cancer.
Cancer prevention is actually pretty easy. Actually, chances are, if you change bad lifestyle habits and pick up better ones, you won’t ever even get cancer. According to cancer statistics, a cancer diagnosis usually follows a lifetime or poor habits. So start today. Replace a chemical filled meal with clean foods. Drink a glass or water instead of a can of soda. Take a walk to unwind, and don’t forget your coffee! See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?