How can I reduce my risk of cancer?

You cannot alter your (past) family history or the genes you were born with, but the way you live your life has a huge influence on your risk of contracting cancer. You can either invite cancers or provide yourself with protection.

Smoking, of course, invites lung cancer – and bladder cancer which is over twice as common in smokers.

A poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity invite a variety of cancers including cancers of the breast, endometrium (womb lining), colon (large bowel), oesophagus (gullet) and kidney.

Drinking too much alcohol puts you at increased risk of cancer in the mouth, throat, oesophagus, liver, breast and bowel.

A little bit of sunshine does you good and allows your body to make vitamin D. Deficiency of vitamin D may increase the risk of prostate, breast and bowel cancer (quite apart from weakening the bones).

But excessive exposure to the sun, especially when it causes sunburn, increases your risk of skin cancer.

Cutting your cancer risk isn’t just a question of avoiding harmful things. It’s equally important to get the benefit of things that protect you. If you’re going to be outside in the sunshine, especially between 11am and 3pm, make sure you cover up and use high-factor sun cream (SPF 15 at least) on any exposed skin (and wear sunglasses with the CE mark that provide 100% protection against UV light).

And you don’t achieve a good diet simply by eliminating foods that are harmful. Avoiding saturated and trans fats is important, but you also need to include helpful sources of mono-unsaturated fat as well as essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. You need a good variety of vegetables and fruits to provide protective fibre and nutrients, including antioxidants. The MUNCH method is a simple way of getting the right foods in the right balance.

Recently, there has been growing research interest in a link between the metabolic syndrome and the onset of cancers such as breast cancer and bowel cancer. Studies have shown that these cancers occur more commonly in people with excess abdominal fat and the metabolic syndrome.

So, if your waist has been expanding, taking action now could reduce your risk of coming down with a range of killer diseases, including cancer. But it’s important to take the right action. Don’t go on a daft diet. Combine regular exercise with a properly balanced and nutritionally complete diet to lose toxic abdominal fat and gain health. Quite apart from reducing your risk of disease, you’ll feel a lot better for it!

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