Parents, don't always feel sorry for money! Some cancers may be saved

A few days ago, the topic "Cancer may be caused by saving" topped the Weibo hot search list, sparking heated discussions.

Image source: Weibo screenshot

The so-called "saving" should refer to some people's excessive frugality in life, unwilling to spend money, or afraid of trouble, trying to save trouble, or being too lazy to move, trying to save effort, which may increase the risk of cancer. Obviously, the essence of "saving" is actually some related bad habits and lifestyles that increase the risk of cancer.

So which "saving" practices may increase the risk of cancer? In summary, there are mainly three "savings": saving money, saving trouble, and saving effort.

Saving money may not be worth it

Don't be extravagant and wasteful in life. Frugality is a virtue worth promoting, but it should be noted that you should save where you should save, and never save when you shouldn't save. Otherwise, you may "save" money and cause health problems, which will not be worth the loss.

1. In order to save money, people are reluctant to throw away expired, spoiled or moldy food

Beans, nuts and other foods at home may become spoiled and moldy due to being left out for too long, exceeding their shelf life, or being stored in improper conditions, breeding mold and producing aflatoxin, a clear class of carcinogens that increase the risk of various cancers including liver cancer.

2. To save money, people don’t turn on the range hood when cooking because they are worried about wasting electricity

Conditions are better now, and kitchens are basically equipped with range hoods. However, some people, especially the elderly, are afraid of trouble and electricity consumption, so they do not turn on the range hood when cooking, or turn it off too early, resulting in serious kitchen fume pollution. Fumes contain a variety of harmful substances, such as benzopyrene, dinitrophenol and other carcinogenic compounds. Long-term inhalation increases the risk of lung cancer. Kitchen fume is an important risk factor for lung cancer in non-smoking women.

3. Trying to save money and not willing to spend money on fresh fruits and vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and dietary fiber, which play a very important role in health. They are not only good for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, but also help reduce the risk of cancer. Now that conditions are better, many people are still willing to eat them, but the combination is unreasonable, and the intake of fruits and vegetables is generally insufficient. What we emphasize is to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.

The reality is that many people either don't eat enough or eat a limited variety of food. Some elderly people are even reluctant to spend money and buy fruits that are not fresh, are about to go bad or are already partially rotten in order to save money.

Save trouble, you may get into trouble

1. To save trouble, use the refrigerator as a universal fresh-keeping box

Some people, in order to save trouble, put all kinds of food in the refrigerator, thinking that leftovers and all kinds of cooked food can be kept fresh forever. However, they do not know that the refrigerator is not a universal fresh-keeping box. When food is kept for a long time, especially when it is taken out and heated repeatedly, not only the nutritional value is reduced, but it may also cause secondary pollution and may produce certain carcinogenic compounds.

2. Eating processed food is a daily routine

They are unwilling to cook and buy a lot of ready-to-eat processed foods, especially processed meat products, which may contain nitrites to save trouble. They also often eat instant noodles and packaged snacks as staple foods, or order takeout for every meal. A high-sugar, high-fat, and high-salt diet has become a habit, which brings health risks and invisibly increases the risk of cancer.

3. They are reluctant to take the initiative to have a physical examination because they want to save trouble.

Cancer is not acquired in one day, and it does not take overnight for cancer to develop from early stage to late stage. Regular physical examinations can detect potential health problems, such as precancerous diseases, and timely intervention and treatment to prevent them from developing into cancer. Even if you have cancer, early detection and early treatment through physical examination screening can also help you achieve a cure. However, many people are afraid of finding problems and dare not do physical examinations. They are afraid of trouble and are unwilling to take the initiative to do physical examinations unless they feel uncomfortable. As a result, they miss the opportunity to block cancer again and again. When it comes to physical examinations, you cannot save trouble or be afraid of trouble.

Save effort, and your health may pay the price

The so-called saving of effort is essentially the unwillingness to move and the laziness to move. Sitting for a long time and lack of exercise are becoming more and more common problems for modern people.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of deaths caused by lack of exercise is as high as 3.2 million per year. People who lack exercise are prone to obesity and increase the risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, colon cancer and other cancers.

A study shows that people who sit for a long time have a 40% to 50% higher risk of colon cancer than those who exercise regularly. The number of human immune cells increases with the amount of activity, and a decrease in immune cells in people who sit for a long time will also increase the risk of cancer. Exercise must not be skipped, it is the most convenient and cheapest secret recipe for preventing diseases.

Can cancer be prevented?

People often ask, can cancer really be prevented? The key to this question is to find out the cause of cancer, but the exact cause has not been fully understood so far. Cancer is the result of a combination of multiple factors, not a single cause. It is basically unrealistic to absolutely prevent all cancers. But does this mean that we have no way to deal with cancer and can only leave it to fate? Of course not.

Based on the current research results, it is believed that:

About 1/3 of cancers can be prevented (primary prevention);

About 1/3 of cancers can be detected early and cured (secondary prevention);

Another one-third of cancers can be controlled through treatment, prolonging survival time or alleviating pain and improving quality of life.

Many of the risk factors for cancer are relatively clear, which provides possibilities and opportunities for cancer prevention. In other words, as long as you avoid exposure or contact with cancer risk factors as much as possible, you may be able to reduce the risk of cancer.

In fact, the above-mentioned habits and lifestyles related to "saving" are only part of the many cancer risk factors. There are many other factors that we should also pay attention to. Cancer prevention requires a multi-pronged approach, such as quitting smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, keeping a regular schedule and not staying up late, getting the HPV vaccine, and maintaining a good attitude.

Cancer cannot be prevented 100% absolutely, but the risk of developing it can be reduced. The key is to take action, put it into practice, start with the details, start from now, and continue to persevere.

Author: Pan Zhanhe, Chief Physician, Master's Supervisor, Department of Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association

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