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One in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. And while cancer can certainly come out of nowhere – many cases may be preventable, by making some nutrition and lifestyle changes.
Evidence shows that your lifestyle can have a dramatic impact on your risk of cancer over the long term. Read on to find out more about simple changes you can make.
Diet and cancer
There is no single ‘superfood’ that can prevent cancer. A combination of good eating habits and food variety offer the greatest benefit.
It’s probably no surprise that fruit, vegetables and unprocessed grains come out on top as the best ‘cancer-preventing’ foods. Try to eat five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruits each day, with the emphasis on eating different types – use colour as your best guide to variety.
Getting more fibre in your diet by eating more wholegrain foods and cutting back on processed foods may help lower your risk of bowel cancer .
It is also wise to cut back on the amount of red meat and processed meat in your diet – with research suggesting it may increase your risk of bowel cancer risk. Having fish in place of meat occasionally could give you a double benefit, as the omega-3 oils in fish have been linked to lowering the risk of colon, breast and prostate cancer.
When it comes to alcohol, it’s best to limit your drinking . Alcohol is linked to cancer of the mouth, oesophagus, breast, bowel and liver, and the more you drink, the greater the risk. Of course, it’s not realistic for all of us to give up drinking altogether – but cutting back where you can is a good way to balance your risk.