Reduce Risk Of Cancer With A Healthy Diet Says Research

An ideal lifestyle in which there are healthy meals, no alcohol and plenty of exercise, can help in reduction of cancer risk finds out a new study published in Cancer Research, the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Among all risk factors for cancer (besides tobacco), nutrition and physical activity are modifiable lifestyle factors which can contribute to cancer risk,” said the study’s senior author, Mathilde Touvier according to the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).

Healthy Lifestyle Is The Way To Go

Bernard Srour, PharmD, MPH added that “The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) estimated that in developed countries, around 35 percent of breast cancers and 45 percent of colorectal cancers could be avoided by better adherence to nutritional recommendations. It is, therefore, very important to investigate the role of nutrition in cancer prevention.”

To come to these conclusions, Srour, Touvier and their team of researchers studied samples of 41,543 participants who were above 40 years of age and had never been diagnosed with cancer. There participants recorded their diet every six months and put down all food and beverages they ate in the 24-hour period. 1,489 of them developed cancer between May 2009 and 1^st Jan 2007.

They found out that a healthy diet contributed largely to a lower cancer risk that a single dietary recommendation. “This emphasizes the role of an overall healthy lifestyle—nutrition and physical activity and alcohol avoidance—in cancer prevention,” Srour told AACR. “It is, therefore, important to keep in mind that every lifestyle factor counts and it is never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle.”