Diet and lifestyle - Link to cancer

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was written by Specialist Doctor I Le Thi Nha Hien - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital

Depending on the type of cancer, there are separate causes. One carcinogen can cause several types of cancer and conversely a cancer can be caused by several different agents. There are three main groups of carcinogens: physical, chemical and biological.

1. Current cancer situation

It is estimated that in 2018, the world has 18.1 million cases and 9.6 million deaths from cancer. The number of people globally alive 5 years after detection is 43.8 million (GLOBOCAN 2018 - project of the International Agency for Research on Cancer).
Vietnam ranks 2nd in the world in terms of cancer incidence. According to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO) 2014, each year Vietnam has 200,000 new cancer cases and 70,000 cancer deaths.
Why is that? How to reduce the incidence of cancer? This is a dilemma for the medical industry. To solve that problem, scientists are still delving into research to understand the causes of cancer. We now know that there are many causes of cancer.

2. Do diet and lifestyle cause cancer?

Do eating habits and daily exercise increase the risk of cancer? Probably more than we think. Many studies have shown that an unhealthy diet and lack of regular exercise are factors that can increase the risk of cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that at least 18% of cancer diagnoses in the US are linked to obesity, lack of exercise, alcoholism, and an unhealthy diet. strong. Therefore, we can prevent to reduce the risk of cancer by:

2.1 Stop smoking

Tobacco is the cause of illness and death of many diseases. Smoking 1 cigarette reduces life expectancy by 5.5 minutes; Every 6 seconds, 1 person dies from tobacco-related diseases; The number of deaths caused by tobacco is three times higher than the number of deaths from HIV and traffic accidents.
Through analysis, tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, of which 43 chemicals are the cause of cancer, the most dangerous are tar, nicotine, addictive substances... In addition, in Cigarette smoke also has many tumor stimulants, stimulates respiratory tract infections, and damages blood vessels.
For cancer, tobacco is the cause of bronchopulmonary cancer (accounting for 90%), oropharyngeal, oral, and esophageal cancers (smoking with alcohol consumption, the risk of oropharyngeal cancer is very high), cancer bowel cancer ... In smokers, cancer is more likely to develop than in non-smokers.

2.2 Exercise regularly and effectively, keep your ideal weight

Regular exercise not only helps you control your weight, improve blood pressure, blood sugar, but also prevents the onset of some diseases. Several studies have shown that physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of certain cancers, especially breast and colorectal cancers.
Effective exercise is exercise that requires sweating and increasing heart rate, such as: walking, swimming, cycling or jogging. Or any activity that avoids sitting too much can reduce the risk of cancer:
Colorectal cancer : Multiple studies that followed large groups of subjects over many years have shown that people exercise regularly have a lower risk of colorectal cancer. Although it is not known for sure why regular exercise can reduce cancer risk, people who exercise regularly have a 40-50% lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to people who do not exercise. Breast cancer: Similarly, women who exercise effectively more than 3 hours a week reduce the risk of breast cancer by 30-40%.. including women with genetic risk factors for breast cancer. Endometrial cancer: Many studies show an association between regular exercise and a reduced risk of endometrial cancer. Lung cancer: Many studies show that regular exercise reduces the development of lung cancer.

2.3 Limit alcohol content (wine, beer)

Drinking alcohol has been shown to significantly increase the risk of cancers of the oral cavity, oropharyngeal cancer, larynx cancer, and esophageal cancer. The risk is particularly high in people who both smoke and drink alcohol.
This is explained alcohol can help chemical toxins in tobacco penetrate more easily into the cells lining the mouth, throat and esophagus. At the same time, alcohol also reduces the ability to repair cells (DNA) damaged by toxins found in tobacco.
Recommendations of the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society recommends that we limit the amount of alcohol consumed in the body: men should not drink more than 2 units of alcohol (2 drinks) per day and women no more than 1 drink (1 drink) per day. Lower alcohol consumption is recommended for women because women's bodies are generally smaller than men's and women's elimination of alcohol is usually slower.

2.4 Healthy diet

A healthy diet contributes to health and reduces the risk of cancer. Be more strict with the daily diet and should have a reasonable diet suitable for your family and yourself.
A healthy diet includes:
Foods rich in vitamins, minerals Low calorie foods Foods that include colorful vegetables- dark green, red, orange Fiber rich foods Lots of fruit Whole grains Diet limited or no healthy eating:
Red meat like beef, pork, lamb Processed foods like hot dogs, cold cuts, hot dogs Sugary foods like sweets, sodas, juices Socks We should all make changes in our diet and lifestyle to create a healthy environment for ourselves and for society.

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