Dr Leigh Erin Connealy outlines her 10 essentials for cutting your cancer risk and upping your vitality and longevity
About 40 percent of Americans and almost half of people in the UK develop cancer in their lifetime, and the burden of the disease is projected to grow. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), more than 35 million new cancer cases are predicted in 2050—that’s a 77 percent increase from the estimated 20 million cases in 2022.
While some factors contributing to rising cancer rates, like aging and population growth, are out of our hands, we do have ways to lessen cancer’s global impact. And it starts with everyday actionable steps you have the power to control.
Here’s what you can do to take control of your health and give yourself the best chance of avoiding cancer, starting today.
You would be surprised by how many people don’t get annual physicals or check in regularly with their healthcare practitioners. Annual checkups are the bare minimum. This is your reminder to call and schedule that appointment.
Make sure your physician performs a thorough physical exam, conducts a deep dive into your blood work and orders all age-appropriate screening tests.
Better still, partner with an integrative physician who will go above and beyond to find health issues before they become problematic. Integrative and functional medical practitioners are skilled at identifying the root cause of problems and taking a holistic approach to your health (see below).
An ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure. Plus, having an annual baseline can help you stay on track and improve multiple health markers, such as blood pressure, blood sugar and inflammation levels.
Being metabolically balanced may be the key to optimal health. Ensuring that your blood sugar is in the healthy range, eliminating chronic inflammation, and fueling your ells with the proper support and nutrition go a long way toward protecting against all types of disease.
Simple lab tests can determine long-term blood sugar levels (A1c) and inflammation markers (C-reactive protein), and ATP levels can be measured to assess mitochondrial function.
Another excellent tool is the Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance test (HOMA-IR; see below). This calculation uses fasting blood sugar and fasting insulin levels to give insight into how efficiently your body responds to insulin.
It’s important because insulin resistance often develops years before diabetes, heart disease or metabolic syndrome are officially diagnosed. Identifying it early gives patients ample time to make meaningful lifestyle and nutritional interventions to help reverse the process.
Blood sugar balance, inflammation and overall cellular health are profoundly affected by lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity, sleep quality, stress levels and toxin exposure—all of which we will explore in the next steps.
The most straightforward anticancer diet advice I can give is to eat the rainbow and focus on clean, organic sources of protein:
Incorporate plenty of healthy fats from avocados, nuts and coconut oil. And avoid or severely limit known inflammatory foods such as refined carbohydrates, toxic seed oils, deep-fried foods, sugary beverages, and processed meat and dairy items.
Even if you were to eat a perfect diet—which isn’t always possible—there would still be gaps in your nutrition. Our soil has been depleted of minerals, and even organic produce may be exposed to small amounts of pesticides or toxins.
That’s where targeted vitamins, supplements and nutrients come in. Work with a practitioner well versed in nutritional supplementation to determine which strategic nutraceuticals will bolster your health to help prevent cancer and other diseases.
Practicing daily detoxification is a crucial step in cancer prevention. Environmental toxins from air and water pollution, pesticide and chemical exposure, and not-so-clean self-care and cleaning products assault us daily.
Regularly ridding the body of these toxins will help you feel better and is an excellent defense against disease. Here are a handful of my favorite detox methods.
Infrared sauna. I practice sauna therapy as often as I can and highly encourage everyone to do the same. The skin is the body’s largest detoxification organ, and inducing sweating via infrared sauna not only helps you detox but also confers multiple other health benefits, from reducing inflammation and stress to lowering blood pressure and boosting the immune system.
Join a local gym or wellness center that offers this perk or consider purchasing an at-home unit for daily use.
Nightly hot bath. Taking a soothing hot bath with Epsom salt, baking soda and detoxifying clay is an excellent way to unwind after a long day. Epsom salt is comprised of magnesium and sulfate, which work synergistically to flush out toxins and balance enzyme reactions throughout the body.
Baking soda has sodium and bicarbonate ions that oxygenate and alkalize the body while removing toxins from the system. It’s also helpful for a wide range of skin conditions. Adding detoxifying minerals, such as Enviromedica’s Magnetic Clay Bath (or a similar product), draws out additional impurities, enhancing detoxification and relaxation.
Lymphatic drainage. The lymphatic system’s role in the human body is the trash collector, removing toxins, cellular waste and other “garbage” from all areas of the body. But for this vital detoxification system to do its job, stimulation, either manual or with movement, is required.
Exercise is the easiest way to keep lymph moving, especially rebounding on a mini-trampoline or bouncing on a rubber exercise ball.
Dry brushing is another excellent practice that stimulates lymphatic movement. If it’s financially feasible, you can also get a lymphatic drainage massage from a skilled masseuse.
Optimal hydration. It seems like a no-brainer, but drinking plenty of clean filtered water every day is essential for proper detoxification. Adequate hydration flushes toxins out of the kidneys and liver and escorts toxic buildup out of the body via sweat, urine and bowel movements.
It also helps the body maintain its fluid and electrolyte balance. If you wait until you’re thirsty to drink, your body is already in the early stages of dehydration.
Maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm is also key to preventing cancer and other health issues. Your internal 24-hour clock affects your body temperature, mood, sleep-wake cycles and hormone levels, so getting into a regular, healthy rhythm is essential.
To naturally ease into a healthy cycle, try these tips:
It might be worthwhile to try supplemental melatonin if you’re having trouble sleeping. Talk to your doctor about the optimal dose for you. In my experience, most people do well with 3–5 mg for occasional sleeplessness. (In the UK, melatonin is available only on prescription.)
Mental health plays a pivotal role in physical health. If you’re not well emotionally, being physically healthy is next to impossible. Take whatever steps are necessary to reduce the stress in your life, such as these:
On the flip side, be that emotional support for a friend or family member who needs it. Bring light and joy to others around you. Doing so can also positively affect your emotional well-being.
Inactivity breeds more inactivity, but the same is true for getting up and getting moving every day. Scores of studies have highlighted the importance of regular physical activity in sidestepping cancer and other serious diseases.
The best way to engage in regular physical activity is to find something you genuinely enjoy doing. Whether it’s walking or jogging with a friend, playing a racquet sport such as tennis or pickleball, or going to the gym for a group workout class, just get out and do it.
You should aim to get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Make sure your workouts include at least two resistance training sessions each week. You don’t have to lift heavy, but you do want to retain and build lean muscle mass.
You can also incorporate NEAT habits throughout the day. Examples of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis practices include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, standing instead of sitting during work, fidgeting, and doing housework or gardening intermittently throughout the day. Any form of movement and calorie burning can have positive impacts on your health.
Removing toxic beauty and cleaning products, eliminating endocrine-disrupting plastics, avoiding heavy metals, and staying away from environmental toxins are musts if you want to minimize your cancer risk.
Fortunately, many personal care and beauty product manufacturers are shifting toward clean, natural ingredients. And non-toxic household cleaning product swaps are abundant. Plastics are everywhere, but replacing plastic water bottles and food storage containers with glass or stainless steel is one easy step you can take to limit your exposure.
Invest in a HEPA air filter for your home and office, and ditch synthetic fragrances often found in dryer sheets, candles and air fresheners to cut down on indoor air pollution. Finally, if you have metal amalgam fillings, consider seeing a biological dentist for safe removal and replacement.
Our near-constant exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from Wi-Fi, smartphones, computers and other household appliances is wreaking havoc on our health. These invisible dangers are being linked to everything from seemingly innocuous symptoms like headaches and fatigue to more serious conditions like reproductive issues and cancer.
These daily practices can reduce your exposure and help keep you healthier.
Our bodies crave connection with the natural world. But in today’s fast-paced, artificially lit society, we spend less time outdoors and more time shuttered inside our homes and offices. While our ancestors hunted, gathered and enjoyed the fruits of Mother Nature’s bounty, we toil away indoors on repeat.
One way to help reverse the adverse effects of the EMF onslaught and all things digital is grounding, also called earthing, which simply involves direct contact with Earth’s surface. This practice helps us repolarize our bodies, boost our cells’ voltage and engender better overall health.
I find time almost every day—even when I’m working—to get outside and walk barefoot in the grass or take a stroll on the beach. In addition to taking advantage of Earth’s natural healing frequencies, grounding helps you get outdoors and experience nature’s beauty.
Almost all conventional medical care focuses on managing symptoms rather than uncovering why those symptoms developed in the first place. Medical schools teach physicians to diagnose disease and prescribe medications or procedures to control lab values or suppress discomfort. Unfortunately, little time is spent investigating the underlying imbalances that drive chronic illness.
That is why integrative functional medicine is essential. Physicians like me ask more profound questions, such as why a symptom is occurring. What bodily systems are out of balance? What triggered the dysfunction in the first place?
Holistic and functional medical doctors are trained to evaluate the body as an interconnected system, examining a wide range of factors such as insulin resistance, inflammation, hormone balance, gut health, nutrient deficiencies, toxin exposure, infections and chronic stress. Most of these can be detected early and corrected, often long before they’re flagged on standard lab tests.
However, not all functional medicine practitioners are the same. True root-cause care requires more than ordering advanced labs—it demands real-life experience and a willingness to go beyond the surface.
Look for an experienced integrative and functional medicine physician who can take steps like these to look deeper:
The purpose of integrative and functional medicine is not to replace conventional care but to improve it, moving beyond treating symptoms toward restoring balance, resilience and long-term health. Given the right tools and scenarios, the body often has an extraordinary ability to heal.
To find a functional medicine practitioner near you, visit acam.org or ifm.org.
The Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) test uses fasting blood sugar and fasting insulin levels to calculate how efficiently your body responds to insulin.
The formula may seem technical, but your doctor or lab can calculate it easily:
How to interpret HOMA-IR results
Ideal ranges can vary depending on age, health status and population. For accurate results, the test should be done after eight to 10 hours of fasting.
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