Editor
In 2021, there were “around 1.9 million people that were diagnosed with cancer and 608,570 cancer deaths in the U.S.” While that number is huge, cancer does not have to be as deadly as it once was. Consuming a nutrient rich diet, taking some preventive measures and seeing your physician yearly all help you to avoid developing cancer. Here are some ways to help prevent cancer and live a healthier life.
1 —Â Screening for Pre-Cancer and Cancer
According to Dr. Steve Vasilev MD, “The guidelines for cancer screenings are created by expert panels from numerous organizations, based on scientific statistics and evidence. Some examples include National Comp. Cancer Network and American Cancer Society. The focus is on uterine cervix, colon, breast, prostate and those at higher risk for developing lung cancer. These guidelines provide different screening options for certain cancers and make suggestions regarding how often the screenings should be done.”
Why do we screen for certain cancers and not others? Well, If we had better tools we would definitely screen for all of the different types of cancers and that time is just around the corner in this new age of testing. However, unfortunately, the screening tests we have around today are not well developed for a lot of the cancers.
2 —Â Get on an Anti-Cancer Diet
Dr. Vasilev says, “As reported by the National Cancer Institute, around 1/3 of all cancer deaths might be ascribed to our poor lifestyle choices and our diets, including not getting enough exercise. If one includes being exposed to toxins often, this number is a lot higher and might approach 75%. Only around 10% of all cancers are known to be purely genetic when it comes to origin over which you don’t have much control. So, in most cases, you have a great deal of control of your destiny.”
Anticancer diets are not very elaborate and shouldn’t be confusing or expensive. Mainly you want to avoid all the highly processed high fats, high glycemic index (high sugar consumption). The traditional Mediterranean diet has the most scientific information in terms of helping to prevent cancer and other diseases. New data coming in suggests that the closer you are able to get to a whole food mainly plant based diet, combined with some freshly caught cold water fish as the only or main animal protein, the better off you are.
3 —Â Eat Superfoods
The term superfood is used often in the health community, but what are superfoods? They are mostly plant-based, but in some dairy foods and fish, that have a variety of nutrients, for example, antioxidants like avocado, blueberries, and nuts. Dr. Vasilev said, “There are also many spices and superfoods that might help in preventing or even fighting cancers. These include brassica veggies, turmeric spice, tomatoes, green tea and garlic. The list is very long, and you could concoct what works best for you by following the basics and then change it up to fit your personal taste.”
