One out of every two people will develop cancer at some point in their lives. With those kinds of statistics, it can really feel like cancer is inevitable. Experts from Cancer Research UK have warned that diet has the same impact on cancer risk as alcohol with the latest research suggesting diets may be responsible for as many as 5 per cent of all cancer cases which is the same percentage of cancer cases associated with drinking alcohol.
Eat more carbs
The biggest dietary risk contributing towards cancer, is not eating enough whole grains aka carbohydrates. If you want to reduce the risk of cancer, then you should eat more whole grains, dairy, fruit & veg and reduce meat consumption, and eliminate sweetened drinks from your diet. Of the cancer cases related to diet 16 per cent were obese patients. 25 per cent of all people in the UK are obese and a third of all UK children are considered obese or overweight.
Half of the UK will be obese by 2030
If this trend continues, then estimates suggest by the year 2030, half of the UK population will be obese. Despite the significant improvements in cancer treatments obesity continues to fuel an increase in the number malignant tumour diagnoses. Researcher say the evidence that links low whole grain, low dairy and high processed or red meat to increases to the risk of bowel cancer.
Not enough fruit and veg
A lack of fruit and veg has a link to greater risk of mouth cancer whilst processed meat increases stomach cancer risk. Sugary drinks cause obesity that is associated with 13 types of cancer. Fizzy drinks, sports and energy drinks that have additional sweetening with sugar not only make use fatter but are thought to make us more prone to cancer the study determined.
Diet Coke not good either
The new study follows on the back of a report released earlier in the year that found that drinking diet coke every day increases the likelihood of early death from heart disease and cancer. In fact, sugary fizzy drinks were fond to increase the risk of early death by as much as 20 per cent and experts from Harvard think are also responsible for the increase in cancer cases.
Cancer risk increases
Whilst it is better to drink Diet Coke than the regular version, people who drink more than four a day still remain at risk of dying early. The study found that drinking just two fizzy drinks every day raised the risk of early death by 14 per cent and those who drank more than that increased their risk of early death by a fifth. They also have a 31 per cent higher change of dying early as a result of heart disease. Every additional drink consumed, raises the risk by an additional 10 per cent.
5 per cent of cancer cases are a result of obesity
According to Cancer Research UK more than one in 20 cancer cases are the result of obesity. For people seeking to reduce the risk of cancer, they should have a diet that consists of as much non processed whole food as possible. They should also try and consume fruit and veg about at least five times a day and keep their meat consumption to a minimum. Everything is about moderation though we cannot stress that one can never have enough veg. Also, it is worth noting that there are some cancers that cannot be avoided regardless of what you eat.
