Cancer: The 8 things you can do to reduce your risk

There are eight things you can do, starting today, in order to dramatically reduce your chances of developing cancer, according to a report from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF).

One of the key recommendations is to reduce the amount of red meat you eat, and avoid all processed meats, such as bacon, ham, salami, corned beef and some sausages.

The WCRF’s recommendations are:
1. Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.  You can maintain a healthy weight through a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.  Even walking works, and it can protect against breast and bowel cancer.
3. Avoid sugary drinks and fast foods.  Sugary drinks put on the weight, as can fast foods such as burgers, chips (fries), fried chicken, pizza, and snack foods such as chocolate, crisps and biscuits.  If you need a snack, try nuts or seeds instead.
4. Eat vegetables, fruit, wholegrains and pulses.  As well as your five-a-day fruit and vegetable servings, try to include wholegrains, such as brown rice, wholemeal bread and pasta and/or pulses with each meal.
5. Limit red meat and avoid processed meats.  Red and processed meats can cause bowel cancer.  Try to reduce your red meat intake to 500g a week, and avoid all processed meats.
6. Limit alcohol.  Try to keep your alcohol intake to just two glasses a day if you’re male, and one glass a day if you’re female.
7. Limit salty foods.  Salt and salt-preserved foods can cause stomach cancer.  Processed foods such as bread and breakfast cereals contain large amounts of salt.
8. Don’t use supplements.  It’s better to have a balanced diet than to continue with bad eating habits that you compensate for with supplements.  The WCRF says supplements are advisable for specific people, but get the help of a health professional first.

(Source: http://www.wcrf-uk.org/research_science/recommendations.lasso)