I heard yesterday on the news that the eminent Dr David Servan Schreiber lost his battle against cancer. Dr Servan Schreiber, author of best-sellers books about food and cancer
Now the best oncologists around the world confirms the recommendations made by Dr Servan Schreiber. In fact, a document has been published that compiles 500 000 studies conducted over 10 years on the relation between lifestyle and cancer.
With this unique compilation, the best researchers on cancer have put together 10 recommendations for cancer prevention.
10 Top Recommendations for Cancer Prevention
#1 Stop smoking. This is now a no-brainer. We don’t need more studies to remind us of the link between cancer and cigarettes.
#2 Keep a Body Mass Index between 21 and 23. Maximum. And this is very important. A body mass index of 21 to 23 is very low. In fact it’s lower than what is recommended for simply “not being overweight” and what is recommended to prevent diabetes. Weight management is one of the most important things for cancer prevention and health in general. Find your BMI here.
#3 Exercise at least 30 minutes per day, EVERYDAY. It can be playing with kids, walking, dancing, yoga, anything, but you must get your body moving every single day.
#4 Avoid processed foods. This includes soft drinks, fatty foods, sugary foods and foods that contain additives, chemicals or other ingredients generally tagged as unhealthy.
#5 Eat plenty of fresh, whole foods. Of course, this means eating at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables, but it also means to eat fiber-rich foods such as beans, legumes and whole grains, as well as other plant-based super foods such as nuts and seeds.
#6 Reduce your meat consumption. Researchers advise not eating more than 1 lb of red meat per week. Cured and processed meats should be avoided altogether as it contains nitrites and nitrates which converts into nitrosamines within the body, a potent carcinogenic substance.
#7 Limit your alcohol consumption. No more than 1 glass of wine per day for women, or 2 for men. Of course, thanks to its antioxidant content, red wine has a clear advantage over any other type of alcohol.
#8 Go low sodium. This one is interesting as salt intake is usually associated with high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases. However research shows that too much salt also plays an important role in cancer development.
#9 Avoid taking unnecessary vitamin supplements. Aside from vitamin D supplements, which it’s advised to take between 1000 to 2000 UI daily, vitamin supplements has shown no improvement when it comes to cancer prevention. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take supplements for other health conditions, such as vitamin B12 for vegans as example, but keep in mind that too much vitamins taken in supplement form could increase your cancer risks.
#10 Breastfeed your child for the first 10 months. We’re not sure yet exactly how, but mother’s milk shows many health benefits over infant formula or other breast milk substitutes. On top of that, breastfeeding also protects the mother. Breastfeeding lowers the cancer risks of mothers, particularly for cancer types linked to hormones such as breast, ovarian and uterine cancers.
It’s interesting to note that most of the recommendations made by the best oncologist correspond to what you should do to detox naturally. As promoted by Dr David Servan Schreiber, toxins are clearly linked to cancer. Adopting a clean lifestyle, with an abundance of detox foods and regular exercise is one of the best ways to prevent cancer along with many other health conditions.
Are you following all the recommendation on this list?