How we live and the choices we make influences our overall well being and health. Cancer prevention is not a guarantee that you will never be diagnosed with cancer. But there are preventative measures you can take to reduce the chances that you will battle cancer in your lifetime. There are four such preventative measures and each is a lifestyle choice.

In this article, we will learn about four lifestyle choices that may lead to cancer, the types of cancers that each lifestyle choice has been linked to through research and scientific studies.

Let's get started . . .

4 Lifestyle Choices that may Lead to Cancer

The following four lifestyle choices through this study have been shown to potentially be a cause in the growth and development of cancer:

1. Smoking

Here are six known facts about the link between smoking and the development of cancer:

  • 1964: In 1964, US Surgeon General's Advisory Commission Report found smoking to be the leading cause of why people in America were developing lung cancer.

  • 25-30%: The percentage of cancer deaths connected to smoking is 25-30%.

  • 87%: The percentage of lung cancer deaths associated with smoking is 87%.

  • Males smokers: The male smoking population is 23 times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer.

  • Female smokers: The female smoking population is 17 times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer.

  • 14 types of cancer: If the habit of smoking is picked up by a person it increases their chances of developing fourteen different types of cancers:

  1. Lung cancer

  2. Bladder cancer

  3. Cervix cancer

  4. Ulva cancer

  5. Penis cancer

  6. Oropharynx cancer

  7. Larynx cancer

  8. Renal parenchyma cancer

  9. Oropharynx cancer

  10. Anus cancer

  11. Uterus cancer

  12. Pancreas cancer

  13. Stomach cancer

  14. Renal pelvis cancer

If you would like to increase your overall health and wellness and are ready to stop smoking, one way to help yourself achieve this health-related goal is to use hypnotherapy. To learn more about how hypnotherapy works for smoking cessation read: Hypnotherapy for Smoking Cessation

2. Alcohol

Here are five known facts about the link between alcohol and the development of cancer:

  • 1910: The first time the connection between alcohol consumption and cancer development was in 1910.

  • 7.1%: For every 10g of alcohol consumption a day, women increase their chances of breast cancer by 7.1%.

  • 4%: of all women diagnosed with breast cancer can be linked back to alcohol consumption.

  • 50-70 g/day: The development of both colorectal and liver cancers are connected to the consumption of 50-70g a day of alcohol.

  • 9 types of cancer: If the habit of drinking alcohol is picked up by a person it increases their chances of developing nine different types of cancers.

  1. Oral cavity cancer

  2. Pharynx

  3. Hypopharynx

  4. Larynx

  5. Esophagus

  6. Liver

  7. Pancreas

  8. Mouth

  9. Breast

Want to increase your level of cancer prevention? And say goodbye to an addiction to alcohol? Hypnotherapy can be a great way to achieve both goals. Read more: Hypnotherapy for Alcohol Addiction

3. Diet

Here are four known facts about the link between alcohol and the development of cancer:

  • 1981: In the year 1981, the connection between diet and cancer was established through a study.

  • 30-35%: The percentage of cancer deaths in America is 30-35% are associated with diet.

  • Cancer type: The rate to which cancer development is tied to diet is directly connected to the type of cancer.

  • 70%: Diet has been tied to about 70% of people battling colorectal cancer.

Many people want to know the answers to the following two questions . . .

What Diet Causes Cancer?

It's not always a particular type of cancer that causes cancer. The reality is that it is known that diet and nutrition are connected to overall wellness. However, research and science are still developing an understanding of how diet causes cancer. What is known is that there are four carcinogens or substances capable of causing the development of cancer cells are when digested through food or cooking. They are:

  1. Nitrates

  2. Nitrosamines

  3. Pesticides

  4. Pioxins

What Foods Increase Cancer Risk?

There are seven different foods that have been demonstrated to increase a person's risk of developing cancer.

1. Heavy consumption of red meat: Red meat has been linked to the following cancers gastrointestinal tract cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and oral cancer.

Why is eating red meat connected to the development of cancer? There are three main reasons and they are all liked to different carcinogens:

Heterocyclic amines: Are chemicals that are produced when red meat is cooked and are carcinogens.

Pyrolysates and amino acids: These carcinogens are created when meat is cooked with either charcoal or when meat is smoked.

Nitrites: These carcinogens are found in meat because they are used to bind the myoglobin in meat and to inhibit botulinum exotoxin production.

2. Food additives: The food additives nitrite preservatives and azo dyes have been connected to the start of cancer cell formation.

    3. Plastic food containers: The chemical bisphenol is often found in plastic food containers. The bisphenol may at times transfer into the food that it holds. This can increase the risk of both breast and prostate cancer.

    4. Saturated fatty acids: Saturated fatty acids have been associated with different cancers.

    5. Trans fatty acids: Trans fatty acids have been linked to various cancers

    6. Refined sugars: Refined sugars have been documented in having a connection to the development of several types of cancers.

    7. Refined flour: Refined flour has been linked to a diverse number of cancer types.

    4. Obesity

    Here are six known facts about the link between obesity and the development of cancer:

    1. 14%: Out of all male deaths associated with cancer in America on a yearly basis, 14% are connected to obesity as a cause.

    2. 20%: Out of all the female death associated with cancer in America on a yearly basis,

    3. 10 cancers: According to a study conducted by the American Cancer Society over the span of 16 years, obesity plays a role in not only cancer development but also a higher rate of mortality from the following ten cancers:

      1. Colon cancer

      2. Breast cancer in postmenopausal women

      3. Endometrium cancer

      4. Kidney cancer

      5. Esophagus cancer

      6. Gastric cardia cancer

      7. Pancreas cancer

      8. Prostate cancer

      9. Gallbladder cancer

      10. Liver cancer

    Because of the role obesity can have on the development of cancer, weight management is often seen as a great way to help prevent cancer.

    So if you would like to reduce your chances of developing a type of cancer in the future, all while gaining control over your weight, one way to help yourself achieve this health-related goal is to use hypnotherapy. To learn more about how hypnotherapy works for weight loss read: Hypnotherapy for Weight Loss

    References

    Anand, P., Kunnumakkara, A. B., Sundaram, C., Harikumar, K. B., Tharakan, S. T., Lai, O. S., Sung, B., ... Aggarwal, B. B. (2008). Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes. Pharmaceutical research, 25(9), 2097-116. Retrieved January 25, 2019 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515569/

    E. E. Calle, C. Rodriguez, K. Walker-Thurmond, and M. J. Thun. Overweight, obesity, and mortality from cancer in a prospectively studied cohort of U.S. adults. N Engl J Med. 348:1625-1638 (2003) doi:10.1056/NEJMoa021423. Retrieved January 26, 2019 from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa021423