Can Improving your Fitness Help Prevent Cancer?

In my last few articles I have discussed the main types of cancer in some depth. Whilst some of the articles did go a little outside this blog’s topic area there was a reason for this. I had heard from a number of people that a lot of modern health ailments including diabetes and cancer were largely due to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and an increasingly poor diet, particularly in the developed Western world. After identifying strong links between diabetes and fitness I wanted to determine whether this was also true for cancer. So what are my conclusion on the topic? Read on to find out.

1) DIET:- According to this study you can reduce your risk of colon cancer by eating less red meat and consuming more fibre. This study also suggests that a fibre rich diet with lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains can reduce your risk of prostate cancer.

Apart from the direct links between diet and cancer mentioned above, there are also some less direct links between diet and other types of cancer. This article suggests that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables can help prevent lung cancer and the associated small cell lung cancer because of the anti-oxidants and vitamins they contain. Diet is also believed to influence your risk of contracting breast cancer and ovarian cancer with this article and this article suggesting that what we eat could affect our chances of developing these two types of cancer.

2) EXERCISE:- Like diet, there are a number of strong links between certain types of cancer and exercise. This article suggests that regular exercise can reduce your risk of contracting colon cancer by up to 50%. Breast cancer risk is also thought to be reduced through regular exercise, with this article indicating that moderate exercise five times per week can lower your chances of getting the disease. Physical activity is also linked with a reduced risk of lung cancer according to this article. For prostate cancer, the same study indicates that 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day can reduce your risk. Exercise can help prevent ovarian cancer too according to this article. This article even goes as far as suggesting that your risk of skin cancer can be reduced through exercise.

Again, it is difficult to establish a causal relationship between exercise and cancer because there are so many other factors at play. Whilst some of the evidence is less than convincing (the skin cancer experiment was only performed on mice) and research into the links between cancer and exercise needs to be more conclusive, there does appear to be a connection. We are still quite a way from understanding exactly why exercise can reduce the risk for certain cancer types but surely it is worth investing 30 minutes per day until that conclusive evidence materialises? Doing more physical activity is not difficult. You just have to make the commitment and set aside the time each day. By doing this not only will you help potentially protect yourself against cancer but you will also realise many more fantastic benefits.

3) ALCOHOL:- According to this article, alcohol consumption can cause 7 types of cancer which are:

- Breast Cancer.
- Colon Cancer.
- Laryngeal Cancer (the voice box).
- Liver Cancer.
- Mouth Cancer.
- Oesophageal Cancer (the food pipe).
- Pharyngeal Cancer (the upper throat).

Drinking more alcohol increases your risk whilst cutting down reduces your risk. It also does not matter what type of alcoholic beverage you consume (wine, beer or spirit) because it is the actual alcohol that does the damage, not the other ingredients in the drink. There are however believed to be safe limits for alcohol consumption which are:

- 2 units/1 small drink per day for women.
- 3 or 4 units/2 small drinks per day for men.

Of the cancer types I have discussed in detail, alcohol affects breast cancer and colon cancer. It appears that reducing your consumption could really reduce your risk for these two types of cancer. Unlike the evidence on diet and exercise, the link between alcohol and cancer risk is much stronger as it is established that alcohol can damage your cells.

Cutting down on alcohol can be hard, especially when it has become part of your lifestyle. For me personally, taking alcohol out of my life completely would be nearly impossible. The key here is to make small changes. If you are used to drinking alcohol with every meal then instead try and drink it with every other meal instead. If you tend to drink a lot on nights out with friends then try and drink less next time or if you find this too difficult try and have fewer alcohol orientated nights out. Simply do whatever you can to reduce your alcoholic intake from what it was previously and you will be taking steps towards preventing a number of cancers.