How can you reduce your cancer risk?

My family recently lost a close friend to cancer. It was sudden and unexpected, progressed quickly and left his family reeling with shock and grief.

When you lose people you care about, it's natural to feel anger and sadness about how cancer indiscriminately robs us of precious time with our loved ones.

I’m pretty sure that everyone reading this will have been affected by cancer in some way. My mum is a cancer survivor, along with several others in her extended family, but sadly there are also loved ones we lost to this horrible disease.

When my mum was diagnosed with lymphoma, she ate a very healthy diet, wasn’t overweight, exercised regularly and didn’t smoke. Interestingly, several other members of her immediate family developed the same cancer, so it is likely that there were genetic factors at play. I also believe that the fact that Mum and her family lived in a small village in an agricultural area could be a contributor, as research suggests there is an increased risk of lymphoma for people who live or work in rural and agricultural areas, due to the increased exposure to pesticides and other environmental toxins.

I am certainly not a cancer expert, however one of my main missions is to help my clients and followers to live long and healthy lives, free of disease. Or, in other words, to 'nourish to thrive' 😉

It can be easy to think “everything causes cancer these days, so what’s the point?” but there are simple things you can do to reduce your cancer risk, as well as your risk of developing other debilitating chronic diseases:

🥗 𝐄𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬

These foods are full of essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

🫐 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭-𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬, e.g. berries, citrus fruits, carrots, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, whole grains, green and black tea, dark chocolate, herbs and spices.

Antioxidants are powerful warriors in the fight against cancer as they protect DNA, enhance immune function, reduce inflammation and inhibit cancer cell growth.

🌭 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬

Processed meats have been classified as Group 1 carcinogens by the IARC, meaning there is sufficient evidence that they can cause cancer in humans.

🥂 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞

Excess alcohol is linked to various cancers, including breast, liver and colon cancer.

🥤 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞

A high sugar diet can increase cancer risk by promoting obesity, insulin resistance, inflammation, hormonal imbalance, and dysregulation of cellular signalling pathways.

⚖️ 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Obesity is a risk factor for several types of cancer, including breast, colon, and pancreatic cancer.

🧘‍♀️ 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬-𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞, e.g. yoga, meditation, and mindfulness

Chronic stress can negatively impact overall health and potentially increase cancer risk.

🚶 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 (including a mix of cardio and strength training)

Regular exercise reduces cancer risk by decreasing levels of inflammation, improving immune function, enhancing insulin sensitivity, and regulating hormone levels.

🩺 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤-𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, e.g. breast, cervical, skin, colorectal and prostate

This is super important (and sadly often neglected) as regular screenings can help detect cancer early, when it is most treatable.

☣️ 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐬, 𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜, 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 (𝐞.𝐠. 𝐠𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐞/𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐩)

This is critical if, like me, you have gene variations that impact your body’s ability to detoxify harmful chemicals.

A couple more that don’t really need any explanation:

🚬 avoid smoking and second-hand smoke exposure

🧴 use high SPF sunscreen, wear protective clothing, seek shade and avoid tanning beds

By incorporating these strategies into our daily lives, we can take proactive steps towards reducing our risk of cancer and living our best lives 💜

References

Boyle J et al, 2023, ‘Modelling historic environmental pollutant exposures and non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk’, Environ Res., May 1, 224.

Poh C et al, 2022, ‘Environmental pesticide exposure and non-Hodgkin lymphoma survival: a population-based study’, BMC Medicine, vol 20 no 165.

Weisenburger DD, 2021, ‘A review and update with perspective of evidence that the herbicide glyphosate (Round Up) is a cause of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Perspective, vol 21 no 9, 621-630.