4 minute read
Lifestyle Medicine for Preventing & Beating Cancer
By Megan Wroe MS, RD, CNE, CLEC
Fall is a big season for cancer awareness, with each month having a national focus on various types of cancer. While screening, prognoses and treatments are very different for every cancer type and every individual person, preventive lifestyle strategies for all cancer types are similar across the board. Moreover, research from the National Institute of Health suggests that only 5-10% of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetics alone, with the remaining 90-95% of cancers rooted in environmental and lifestyle factors that are completely within our control. How encouraging is that!?
Here are 5 ways to make a significant difference in your cancer risk right now:
1. Eat More Fiber.
Fibrous foods have a double whammy impact on your body since they help remove toxins and create a healthy microbiome so that your immune system is super powered.
Your Goal: 5 cups per day of fruit/veggies with a minimum of 3 different colors.
2. Eat Less Sugar & Ultra processed Foods.
Americans eat on average twice as much sugar as the maximum national guidelines. This leads to insulin resistance and an internal environment where cancer thrives. Add this to the oxidized oils and artificial ingredients in fast foods on a regular basis and we create a cancer-friendly body.
Your Goal: Limit daily added sugar intake to no more than 6 teaspoons per day and read ingredient labels on processed foods so you recognize everything on the list as real food.
3. Intermittent Fasting. Research shows that overnight fasts allow autophagy to occur, which is the cellular cleanup crew process that gets rid of old, tired, mutated cells that can increase risk of cancer occurrence.
Your Goal: Fast for 12-14 hours overnight every night.
4. Move Move Move.
Endorphin production, insulin sensitivity and lymph movement – these are the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise, ANY exercise. From walking to swimming to weightlifting to yoga – as much daily movement as you can do is a huge cancer preventive strategy.
Your Goal. Move at least 30 minutes every single day in any capacity. Ideally, aim for 10-20 minutes of high intensity movement each week and 2-3 days of resistance training.
5. Become Stress Resilient.
Chronic stress and the resulting effect on hormones and inflammation is thought to significantly increase the risk of all cancers. Stress can come in many many forms and may not feel like what we think of as psychological stress. Stress can also be in the form of inadequate sleep, shallow breathing, multi-tasking or environmental toxin exposure.
Your Goal: Examine your areas of stress and choose at least one of the following techniques to improve your body’s reaction to it: sleep environment at night, breath work, meditation, aromatherapy, gratitude journaling, yoga, tai chi, massage therapy, acupuncture.
...research from the National Institute of Health suggests that only 5-10% of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetics alone, with the remaining 90-95% of cancers rooted in environmental and lifestyle factors that are completely within our control
St. Jude Wellness Center offers nutrition, fitness and stress resilience services to help optimize your health. The Wellness Center also offers an innovative Cancer Wellness Program for cancer survivors that is completely free.
To learn more about services, programs and the October Open House for the Cancer Wellness Program, visit the Programs & Events page at
714-578-8770
Megan Wroe, MS, RD, CNE, CLEC manages St. Jude Wellness Center, an integrative wellness department of St. Jude Medical Center. St. Jude Wellness Center is located in Brea, CA and offers a variety of nutrition, fitness and restorative programs and services for prevention and condition management such as PD.
Visit their website for more information: www.stjudewellnesscenter.org
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