Feb 25, 2009: Cancer-Resistant Lifestyle

Cancer has touched most of our lives. It’s the all-too-real boogeyman of our century. While we can’t eliminate the possibility of getting cancer, we can make healthy lifestyle choices that will minimize our risk.

In the March/April 2009 issue of AARP The Magazine, David Servan-Schrieber, M.D., Ph.D., outlines five simple and positive steps toward a cancer-free lifestyle.

First step, cut down on refined sugar. Sound odd? Cancer feeds on your body, and sugar is the easiest fuel. Side benefits of less sugar in your diet may include weight loss and lessening of inflammation. According to U.S. News & World Report, Americans have gone from consuming 114 pounds of sugar per capita per year in 1967, to 142 pounds in 2003. That’s too much sugar!

Second step is to eat lots of cancer-fighting foods. Herbs, Omega-3 fatty acids, greens, berries, dark chocolate, and green tea are all familiar and proven cancer fighters. Next week we’ll take a look at some specific cancer-fighting foods.

Third step, take a walk. How healthy is walking? Look at how many times it turns up in this column! Brisk exercise several times a week builds your immune system, and a healthy immune system is your best defense against all diseases including cancer.

Step four, minimize stress. We all have stressful people and situations in our lives. Keep them gently on the sidelines. Focus on what nourishes you. To relieve the stress that inevitably builds up in everyone’s life, try a relaxing form of exercise, like yoga. Full disclosure: I’m a yoga instructor, and I firmly believe yoga helps just about everything.

Final step, get rid of toxic elements in your environment. If a soap smells too strong to you, don’t use it. Don’t cook on scratched Teflon. The Mayo Clinic warns that exposure to pesticides may lead to increased risk of breast cancer. You may have read not to heat water in hard plastic containers. Did you know that the chemicals released by plastic shower curtains are also toxic? That “new curtain smell” is bad for you.

Do these five steps offer a guarantee? Unfortunately not. My father, the healthiest person I’ve ever known, died at a young age of colon cancer. But I take comfort in knowing he enjoyed his life, a healthy life of playing tennis with his buddies twice a week, eating fruit for dessert, and relieving the stresses of a high-power job by walking for miles.

We can’t predict the outcome, but we can choose the path. Choose a healthy lifestyle for yourself, and enjoy!