Harvard University study shows: 3 changes to reduce cancer risk

Cancer is a medical problem for all mankind. Many people are reluctant to talk about cancer, but the reality is that cancer is very close to everyone.

According to the latest global cancer data for 2020 released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there are 4.57 million new cases of cancer in my country, and more than 10,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every day.

The World Health Organization has stated that nearly half of cancers are preventable. Recently, researchers from Switzerland and the United States have confirmed that making three simple changes in life can reduce the risk of cancer.

3 changes to reduce your cancer risk

Recently, researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland and Harvard University in the United States published an article in the journal Frontiers in Aging, stating that the risk of cancer in people over 70 years old can be reduced by 61% through three simple methods. The three methods are:

High doses of vitamin D

High dose of omega-3 fatty acids

Simple strength exercises

Early studies have shown that vitamin D can regulate cell proliferation and differentiation, thereby inhibiting tumor growth, omega-3 may inhibit the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells, and exercise can improve immune function and reduce inflammation, helping to prevent cancer.

In the latest study, researchers conducted a three-year trial in five countries, including Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria and Portugal, and included a total of 2,157 healthy adults with an average age of 74.9 years.

Participants were randomly divided into 8 groups and given vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, strength training, or a placebo to test the preventive effects of the three interventions alone and in combination.

Participants were followed up by telephone every 3 months for 3 years, and underwent standardized examinations at baseline, 1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year.

The results showed that all three approaches had a benefit on the risk of invasive cancer, with each approach having a small individual benefit, but when the three approaches were used together, there was an overall 61% reduction in cancer risk.

The researchers said this randomized controlled trial showed that daily supplementation with vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, combined with simple strength training, can reduce the risk of cancer in people aged 70 and above. Future studies should verify the benefits of combined treatment in preventing cancer and should also extend to longer follow-up periods of more than three years.

How to make "anti-cancer changes"

The cancer prevention methods mentioned in the above study must be used in moderation in life to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Vitamin D supplementation

People who spend most of their working time indoors, those who often work night shifts, those who do not like to eat meat or are vegetarians, and the elderly are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D.

Enjoy the sun

The daily sun exposure time for adults should be 30 minutes to 1 hour; for infants and children, the time can be shortened to 15 to 30 minutes; and the sun exposure time for the elderly can be appropriately extended.

It is best to avoid sunbathing at noon, and choose before 10 am and after 4 pm; you can expose your forearms, hands, calves and other parts of your body, but do not sunbathe through glass; the weak, those with high blood pressure and heart disease should not sunbathe for too long.

Eat the right food

Oily fish, especially salmon, sardines, and tuna, sun-dried mushrooms, as well as egg yolks, animal offal, dairy products, and grains all contain vitamin D and can be supplemented in a targeted manner.

Take supplements in moderation

To meet the needs of the body, children, pregnant women, and the elderly can take vitamin D supplements under the guidance of a doctor. The maximum tolerable intake of vitamin D for infants is 20 micrograms per day, and for adults it is 50 micrograms. Excessive supplementation is not advisable.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation

EPA stands for eicosapentaenoic acid and DHA stands for docosahexaenoic acid. They are two polyunsaturated fatty acids of the Omega-3 family and have the effects of lowering blood lipids, inhibiting atherosclerotic plaques and thrombosis. For infants, DHA is an indispensable nutrient for vision and brain development.

The human body is very inefficient in synthesizing EPA and DHA, so they must be taken from daily diet. Fish and aquatic products are the best way to get them.

Learn to eat fish

Both marine and freshwater fish contain EPA and DHA. For marine fish, you can choose salmon, hairtail, large yellow croaker, tuna, and sea bass; for freshwater fish, you can choose sea bass, river eel, catfish, and silver carp.

Eat the recommended amount

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization jointly recommend that adult men and non-pregnant or lactating women supplement 250 mg of EPA+DHA per day. Pregnant and lactating women should supplement 300 mg of EPA+DHA per day, of which at least 200 mg should be DHA.

my country's dietary guidelines recommend a daily fish intake of 40 to 75 grams.

Cooking method is important

Try not to choose cooking methods such as frying or deep-frying. The best way is to steam. The steaming time should also be controlled. Studies have found that EPA and DHA begin to be lost when steaming for more than 30 minutes.

Simple strength exercises

Strength training, also known as resistance training, refers to the exercise of a part of the body against resistance, which improves muscle strength through multiple sets of rhythmic weight bearing. Here are some strength training exercises that you can do at home:

Plank

Exercise the abdominal and buttocks muscles. Open your elbows to the same width as your shoulders, and keep your upper arms and torso at 90 degrees. Keep your chest straight, keep your head, shoulders, hips and lower limbs in the same plane, and tighten your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

Hip Bridge

Exercise your gluteal muscles, core muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps and hip flexors. Bend your knees, push your heels into the ground, and squeeze your buttocks and posterior thighs to lift your hips off the ground. Hold at the top for 3 seconds and return to the starting position.

Squat

Exercise the thigh and buttocks muscles. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel to each other. When squatting, keep your knees in the same direction as your toes. After squatting, push your thighs forward to stand up straight. Your knees should not exceed your toes when squatting.

push-up

The person lies prone on the ground or mat, with the front of the feet on the ground, keeping the abdomen tight, and the hands slightly wider than the shoulders, then flexes and extends the elbows, using the strength of the arms to drive the body up and down. The practitioner's feet and hands are on the same horizontal plane.

If the elderly want to gain muscle, they can do some simple bodyweight training or light equipment training at home, such as squats, dumbbell lifting, etc.

Cancer prevention also needs to pay attention to these details

If you want to stay away from cancer, prevention is more effective than treatment. Whether you are young or old, everyone should keep in mind the following four "cancer prevention tips" in their daily lives:

1

Stay away from carcinogenic factors

Stay away from the following 23 common carcinogens identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the World Cancer Research Fund.

2

Promote effective physical examination

A routine physical examination is like a big sieve, which first filters out the "big stones". Cancer screening is a physical examination for common cancers based on a cancer risk assessment. It allows the examinee to know his or her own cancer risk and detect early cancer or precancerous lesions so that early intervention can be carried out.

3

Control precancerous lesions

It usually takes 10 years or more for precancerous lesions to develop into invasive cancer. Chronic atrophic gastritis, liver cirrhosis, mucosal leukoplakia, chronic cervical inflammation, breast cystic hyperplasia, junctional nevus, etc. are common precancerous lesions in clinical practice. Remember to treat and control them in time to prevent minor illnesses from becoming major ones.

4

Keep a cheerful mood

Long-term depression and excessive mental stress will suppress the body's immune function and allow tumors to take advantage of the situation. Keeping a stable mood and a peaceful state of mind in life and learning to properly relieve stress will help prevent cancer.