Byrner
03-19-2008, 01:25 PM
1. Brush your teeth
We're always being told how to prevent cancer, but what does the latest research say works?
Brushing your teeth properly - using small, circular movements - is one way to prevent pancreatic cancer. Experts say gum disease caused by inadequate brushing increases the risk of developing the cancer by a massive 63%. Click through our gallery for the low-down on other new ways to beat Britain's biggest killer.
2. Drink green tea
Scientists already know that green tea contains anti-oxidants, but its ability to fight cancer is even more potent and varied than first suspected.
It has recently been shown to prevent skin, lung, kidney and liver cancers, and just two cups a day can cut your risk of digestive cancers by 32%. Men who drink five or more cups a day could halve the risk of developing prostate cancer.
3. Take aspirin
The one-penny wonder drug slashes the risk of breast cancer by 20%, it was revealed this month.
Aspirin is also believed to reduce the risk of skin, colorectal cancers and breast tumours.
4. Eat your greens
Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is a major protection factor, with watercress, raspberries, carrots, blueberries and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, being star performers.
5. Avoid traffic fumes
Exposure to traffic fumes can damage human DNA, potentially raising the risk of cancer.
A recent study found that women who live in cities are one-and-a-half times more likely to have cancer than women who live in the country.
Traffic emissions contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which act like oestrogen in breast cells.
Avoid fumes by closing windows and walking on quieter roads - especially in the morning, when the cooler air traps particles at street level.
6. Take vigorous exercise
Aerobics, jogging or swimming protects women against breast cancer - but only if you do it for more than five hours a week.
A new study in the US found a significant correlation between taking regular vigorous exercise and lower rates of the disease.
Moderate activity, such as brisk walking or playing golf, did not have an influence.
Exercise reduces levels of hormones that cancers need to grow.
7. Don't binge drink
A daily pint of beer or a large glass of wine raises the risk of bowel cancer by about 10%, and it's estimated that each drink increases women's risk of breast cancer by 2%. Binge drinking doubles this risk. Booze has also been linked to liver cancer.
8. Stay clear of sunbeds
Modern high-powered lamps emit ultraviolet rays between two and three times higher than in 1997, meaning the risk of developing skin cancer from using them has more than doubled in a decade.
Old-fashioned sunbeds produced UV radiation equivalent to British summertime, while the new ones are more like being exposed in the Mediterranean.
9. Avoid red meat
Eating red meat introduces a potentially dangerous molecule into the body tissues and is linked with DNA damage which raises the risk of bowel cancer. Women who eat red meat more than three times a week may be at increased risk of getting breast cancer, with post-menopausal women particularly at risk.
10. Don't worry
People who worry too much have a 50% higher risk of early death from all causes, including cancer, a recent report found. Stress and worry release hormones into your body that have harmful effects. Stress doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.
11. Cut out junk food
Eating processed foods such as ham, bacon and sausages every day increases the risk of bowel cancer by 21% and potentially cancers of the oesophagus, lung, stomach and prostate.
12. Eat eggs
Women who eat six eggs a week cut their risk of breast cancer by 40%. Sphingolipids, substances that interfere with cancer-cell growth, are believed to be the magic ingredient.
13. Avoid smoky areas
Non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke are between 20% and 30% more likely to develop lung cancer.
14. Watch your weight
After smoking, obesity is the most important risk for developing cancer and it is thought one third of the 300,000 cases of cancer in the UK every year are linked to diet.
Excess body fat can cause six different types of common cancers, including those affecting the breast, bowel and pancreas.
15. Drink milk
The latest research shows that drinking one cup of skimmed milk a day cuts women's risk of ovarian cancer by 40% as it interferes with production of parathyroid protein, a substance that's linked with the development of the cancer.
However, consuming large amounts of milk may increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer. A study of more than 60,000 women found drinking more than two glasses of milk a day significantly upped the risk of the most serious form of the disease.
16. Avoid oral sex
Using contraception during oral sex is high on the new list of rules - scientists say it can cause throat cancer.
Researchers believe this is because oral sex may transmit human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus implicated in the majority of cervical cancers.
17. Suckle your baby
Breastfeeding for at least six months has recently been shown to reduce risk of both breast and ovarian cancer in mothers by about 7% for every baby they feed.
And if you are expecting, welcome morning sickness - it means you're producing a hormone that stops cancer cells developing.
18. Go on the pill - for a while
Taking the contraceptive pill may reduce a woman's chances of getting cancer - but taking it for more than eight years increases the risk.
Researchers found that this protection lasted for more than 30 years after a woman had stopped taking the oral contraceptive. Up to 29% had a reduced risk of developing one of the main gynaecological cancers.
However those who took the pill for more than eight years had an increased risk of developing all forms of cancer, particularly cervical and central nervous system cancer.
19. Don't forget your sunscreen
We all know to slap on the cream while we're sunbathing, but what about when we are exercising? Only 56% of outdoor exercisers remember to wear cream, leaving them more prone to skin cancer.
20. It's OK to use your mobile
And finally, mobile phone use does not raise the risk of cancer, at least in the first 10 years of use, the largest investigation to date shows.
The latest Institute of Cancer Research work includes data from five European countries and more than 4,000 people.
However children should not be given mobile phones because of the long-term implications.
Expert advice is still to limit mobile phone use as a precautionary measure.
News Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/picture_gallery/0,,91251-1308311,00.html
We're always being told how to prevent cancer, but what does the latest research say works?
Brushing your teeth properly - using small, circular movements - is one way to prevent pancreatic cancer. Experts say gum disease caused by inadequate brushing increases the risk of developing the cancer by a massive 63%. Click through our gallery for the low-down on other new ways to beat Britain's biggest killer.
2. Drink green tea
Scientists already know that green tea contains anti-oxidants, but its ability to fight cancer is even more potent and varied than first suspected.
It has recently been shown to prevent skin, lung, kidney and liver cancers, and just two cups a day can cut your risk of digestive cancers by 32%. Men who drink five or more cups a day could halve the risk of developing prostate cancer.
3. Take aspirin
The one-penny wonder drug slashes the risk of breast cancer by 20%, it was revealed this month.
Aspirin is also believed to reduce the risk of skin, colorectal cancers and breast tumours.
4. Eat your greens
Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is a major protection factor, with watercress, raspberries, carrots, blueberries and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, being star performers.
5. Avoid traffic fumes
Exposure to traffic fumes can damage human DNA, potentially raising the risk of cancer.
A recent study found that women who live in cities are one-and-a-half times more likely to have cancer than women who live in the country.
Traffic emissions contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which act like oestrogen in breast cells.
Avoid fumes by closing windows and walking on quieter roads - especially in the morning, when the cooler air traps particles at street level.
6. Take vigorous exercise
Aerobics, jogging or swimming protects women against breast cancer - but only if you do it for more than five hours a week.
A new study in the US found a significant correlation between taking regular vigorous exercise and lower rates of the disease.
Moderate activity, such as brisk walking or playing golf, did not have an influence.
Exercise reduces levels of hormones that cancers need to grow.
7. Don't binge drink
A daily pint of beer or a large glass of wine raises the risk of bowel cancer by about 10%, and it's estimated that each drink increases women's risk of breast cancer by 2%. Binge drinking doubles this risk. Booze has also been linked to liver cancer.
8. Stay clear of sunbeds
Modern high-powered lamps emit ultraviolet rays between two and three times higher than in 1997, meaning the risk of developing skin cancer from using them has more than doubled in a decade.
Old-fashioned sunbeds produced UV radiation equivalent to British summertime, while the new ones are more like being exposed in the Mediterranean.
9. Avoid red meat
Eating red meat introduces a potentially dangerous molecule into the body tissues and is linked with DNA damage which raises the risk of bowel cancer. Women who eat red meat more than three times a week may be at increased risk of getting breast cancer, with post-menopausal women particularly at risk.
10. Don't worry
People who worry too much have a 50% higher risk of early death from all causes, including cancer, a recent report found. Stress and worry release hormones into your body that have harmful effects. Stress doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.
11. Cut out junk food
Eating processed foods such as ham, bacon and sausages every day increases the risk of bowel cancer by 21% and potentially cancers of the oesophagus, lung, stomach and prostate.
12. Eat eggs
Women who eat six eggs a week cut their risk of breast cancer by 40%. Sphingolipids, substances that interfere with cancer-cell growth, are believed to be the magic ingredient.
13. Avoid smoky areas
Non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke are between 20% and 30% more likely to develop lung cancer.
14. Watch your weight
After smoking, obesity is the most important risk for developing cancer and it is thought one third of the 300,000 cases of cancer in the UK every year are linked to diet.
Excess body fat can cause six different types of common cancers, including those affecting the breast, bowel and pancreas.
15. Drink milk
The latest research shows that drinking one cup of skimmed milk a day cuts women's risk of ovarian cancer by 40% as it interferes with production of parathyroid protein, a substance that's linked with the development of the cancer.
However, consuming large amounts of milk may increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer. A study of more than 60,000 women found drinking more than two glasses of milk a day significantly upped the risk of the most serious form of the disease.
16. Avoid oral sex
Using contraception during oral sex is high on the new list of rules - scientists say it can cause throat cancer.
Researchers believe this is because oral sex may transmit human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus implicated in the majority of cervical cancers.
17. Suckle your baby
Breastfeeding for at least six months has recently been shown to reduce risk of both breast and ovarian cancer in mothers by about 7% for every baby they feed.
And if you are expecting, welcome morning sickness - it means you're producing a hormone that stops cancer cells developing.
18. Go on the pill - for a while
Taking the contraceptive pill may reduce a woman's chances of getting cancer - but taking it for more than eight years increases the risk.
Researchers found that this protection lasted for more than 30 years after a woman had stopped taking the oral contraceptive. Up to 29% had a reduced risk of developing one of the main gynaecological cancers.
However those who took the pill for more than eight years had an increased risk of developing all forms of cancer, particularly cervical and central nervous system cancer.
19. Don't forget your sunscreen
We all know to slap on the cream while we're sunbathing, but what about when we are exercising? Only 56% of outdoor exercisers remember to wear cream, leaving them more prone to skin cancer.
20. It's OK to use your mobile
And finally, mobile phone use does not raise the risk of cancer, at least in the first 10 years of use, the largest investigation to date shows.
The latest Institute of Cancer Research work includes data from five European countries and more than 4,000 people.
However children should not be given mobile phones because of the long-term implications.
Expert advice is still to limit mobile phone use as a precautionary measure.
News Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/picture_gallery/0,,91251-1308311,00.html