Unknown Facts About Cancer Can Kill You

Robert Preidt, a HealthDay Reporter, reveals from a new survey that cancer isn’t inevitable, but many don’t know that several lifestyle factors affect their risk of developing the disease. In fact, just 1 in 2 Americans is aware that obesity can raise the risk of cancer and less than half understand that alcohol, inactivity, processed meat, eating lots of red meat and low consumption of fruits and veggies are linked to cancer risks.

There is a crisis in the awareness of cancer prevention, according to Alice Bender, head of nutrition programs at the American Institute for Cancer Research. More of a percentage of Americans believe that stress, fatty diets and other unproven factors are linked with cancer. This information comes from the institute’s 2017 Cancer Risk Awareness Survey.

It’s a real concern that people don’t recognize alcohol and processed meats increase our cancer risk. The established factors that do affect cancer risks are confused with headlines where the research is unclear or inconclusive. Some highlights of the survey findings are:

❖ Fewer than 40% of Americans know that alcohol affects cancer risk.
❖ Only 40% know that processed meats are associated with cancer risk.
❖ 50% of Americans are aware that being overweight spurs cancer risk, which is up
from 35% in 2001.

In the U.S. nearly 1/3 of common cancers could be prevented through diet, weight management and physical activity, which equates to ½ when factors like not smoking and avoiding sun damage are added. Alcohol has been linked to at least six cancers. These include colon, breast, liver and esophageal. Bacon, hot dogs and other processed meats may raise the risk of colon and stomach cancers. Only ½ of Americans know that obesity increases the risk of several cancers and a healthy weight is the second most important way, after NOT smoking, to reduce the cancer risk.

It seems it’s easier to worry about genes or uncontrollable things rather than your everyday choices in preventing cancer. Being physically active, staying a healthy weight and eating a plant-based diet has the potential to prevent hundreds of thousands of cancer cases each year. We all need to do our part in these simple eating habits to combat our cancer risks. Healthy eating each day may not prevent cancer, but it will certainly lessen our risks.

Let’s all do our part in protecting our family with offering the healthy and safe foods while avoiding the previously mentioned cancer causing foods.

–Dr Fredda Branyon