Avoid tobacco, follow a healthy diet, be physically active in everyday life, limit the time spent sitting down, and maintain a healthy weight are just some of the recommendations of the new “European Code Against Cancer” published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Neolife medical management
In the majority of cases, cancer is a disease that is related to getting older and is exacerbated by external factors and bad lifestyle habits.
The new European Code against Cancer has just been published (1). The document is presented by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), under the WHO (World Health Organization), with the participation of the European Community. This code is very similar to that published by American institutions such as the American Cancer Society (ACS), the NIH (National Institutes of Health) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This is the fourth version of the European code and provides updates to the previous edition published in 2003.
The code lists 12 actions that anyone can take in order to help prevent against cancer:
1- Avoiding tobacco remains the first and most important recommendation (incorporated in the first version of the code in 1987), as tobacco is undoubtedly the main cause of cancer.
2- The new version of the code emphasizes living in a smoke-free environment, both at home and in the workplace. This recommendation is good for helping smokers to quit, as well as preventing second-hand smoking.
3- Maintaining a healthy body weight is the third recommendation to help prevent against cancer. In the previous version it was recommended to avoid obesity; however, advances in scientific knowledge have made recommendations with regards to a healthy body weight even stricter, avoiding class 2 obesity or pre-obesity, as even small increases in weight have been linked to slight increases in the risk of cancer.
4- You should maintain an active everyday life avoiding a sedentary lifestyle. Even little changes can help in this regard, such as climbing two floors of stairs a day or walking to the shops, can have a preventive effect against developing cancer.
5- Follow a healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruit and whole grains, avoiding processed foods, sugary drinks, red meat, salt, sugar and high-calorie foods.
6- Limit your alcohol intake of any type. Although a glass of wine a day is known for its preventive effects against cardiovascular disease, when it comes to cancer the advice is not to drink alcohol at all.
7- Avoid too much sun, especially for children. Use sunscreen and do not use sunbeds for tanning.
8- Follow health and safety instructions against cancer causing substances in the workplace.
9- Avoid exposure to radiation from naturally high radon levels in your home. You should measure radiation levels and take appropriate action to reduce your exposure.
10- In women, breastfeeding is recommended to prevent against breast cancer in mothers along with closely controlled hormone replacement therapy with synthetic hormones.
11- Vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B to help prevent against liver cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) in girls in order to prevent endometrial cancer.
12- Take part in early detection screening programs for bowel cancer in men and breast and cervical cancer in women.
Neolife Age Management programs act directly on at least half of these recommendations. In the majority of cases, cancer is a disease that is related to getting older and is exacerbated by the avoidable external factors mentioned above. As part of our programs, we monitor the effects on the biomarkers in questions, and prescribe actions ranging from a healthy diet with supplements tailored to the individual, to personalized exercise plans and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
We recommend taking a look at the new European Code Against Cancer website.
Although this type of document is prepared and directed at the population in general, it represents a good starting point from which to then personalize each of the recommendations on an individual basis according to our personal circumstances. This is precisely what we do at Neolife.
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