Landmark cancer prevention report puts forth a blueprint to reduce the risk of cancers

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recently issued an evidence-based blueprint for healthy living that could prevent nearly half of all cancer cases.

This is the 3^rd report in the series of expert reports Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Cancer: A Global Perspective, and updates the two previous comprehensive reports, which were published in 1997 and 2007.

The report has distilled evidence of 30 years of research into 10 recommendations that could help prevent cancer by lifestyle modification. The report is based on a review of data from 51 million people, including 3.5 million cancer cases in 17 cancers.

The evidence shows that a modification in your diet, staying physically active, having a healthy body weight and other health-related choices can prevent 12 cancer diagnoses. These include breast, colorectal, pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, bladder, stomach and esophageal cancers.

In 2012, an estimated 14.1 million new cases of cancer occurred worldwide, with nearly 1 in 6 deaths due to cancer.

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“The evidence is clear that making changes to diet and exercise and maintaining a healthy weight cuts cancer risks, regardless of age. The message may not be glamorous, but these changes can save your life,” said Kelly Browning, Chief Executive Officer of AICR.

The ten recommendations are:

1) Maintaining a healthy weight is the most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of cancer. Aim to be in the lower end healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) range.

2) Be physically active-incorporate physical activity as a part of your daily life. Walk more and sit less, for maximum health benefits, aim for 150 minutes of moderate, or 75 minutes of vigorous, physical activity a week.

3) Eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans. AICR recommends a plant-based diet that forms at least two-thirds of your plate.

4) Limit the intake of fast food. There is strong evidence that consuming "fast-foods" and a "Western-type" diet are causes of weight gain, overweight and obesity, which are linked to 12 cancers. Glycemic load also increases the risk for endometrial cancer.

5) Limit red meat and avoiding processed meat - red meat includes beef, pork and lamb and processed meat includes ham, bacon, salami, hot dogs, sausages.

6) Limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages- Whenever you feel thirsty drink water or unsweetened beverages.

7) Limit alcohol consumption- alcohol in any form is a potent carcinogen. It's linked to 6 different cancers. The best advice for those concerned about cancer is not to drink.

8) Do not take the supplement for cancer prevention-Aim to obtain nutrition from diet instead of popping the supplements. The panel doesn’t discourage the use of multivitamins or specific supplements for those sub-sections of the population who stand to benefit from them, such as women of childbearing age and the elderly. But, dietary supplements will not avoid cancer.

9) Mothers, please breastfeed your baby- There is a strong evidence that breastfeeding your baby protects against breast cancer later in life.

10) If you are already diagnosed with cancer, you should follow the nutritional advice from an appropriately trained professional. For breast cancer survivors, there is persuasive evidence that nutritional factors and physical activity reliably predict important outcomes from breast cancer.

The report emphasizes the need for knowledge about the link between lifestyle and cancer. In a 2017 AICR Cancer Risk Awareness Survey more than 50% of the population who responded was not aware of the link between obesity and cancer.

The report provides robust evidence for healthcare professionals and government officials to advise the patients about healthy eating and making policies that make healthy eating more affordable.  

AICR today launched Cancer Health Check – an easy-to-use tool, which shows how your lifestyle stacks up against known cancer risks and outlines the changes you can make to follow AICR’s evidence-based Cancer Prevention Recommendations.

ACIR News Release

Cancer Health Check – an easy-to-use tool

Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Cancer: A Global Perspective, the Second Expert Report

Ob/Gyn Updated Facebook page

Here is a video about AICR 10 recommendations for cancer prevention.

Evidence link habitual physical exercise to proven health benefits in postmenopausal women.

Habitual physical exercise incorporated into daily life have proven benefits in improving many health parameters and quality of life in post-menopausal women. Multiple studies have beneficial impact on many organs and systems.

Members of the Spanish Menopause Society, Spanish Cardiology Society and Spanish Federation of Sports Medicine convened to formulate the recommendations on physical activity for older women and they also reviewed the quality of evidence for the various possible health benefits of exercise.

The new position statement was published in the forthcoming issue of Maturitas.

The panel concluded that resistance and weight training improves the bone health and also improves osteoporosis, benefits not seen by walking alone. But, walking is preferred by many postmenopausal women. In addition, it helps maintain the muscle mass, improves movements and flexibility.

Specific form of exercises like Pilates improves balance and thereby reduces the risk of fall and fractures, a major cause of morbidities in elderly.

Regular and intense exercise has been said to improve sleep quality, reduces anxiety and depression and decrease pain due to fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions. But it needs to be performed regularly and over extended period of time.

Dr. Wolfgang Kemmler of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany told Reuters health via email “A plethora of randomized controlled studies determined the positive effect of 'exercise' on risk factors, diseases or complaints related to menopause or increased age. "However, 'exercise' is a rather comprehensive term: there are numerous variations of exercise regimen that may emphasize speed, strength, power, endurance, or coordination."

A British study found that women who are active 3-6 times a week, reaped cardiovascular and cerebrovascular benefits, including protection against blood clots.  Menopause is a good time of life to introduce exercise as a part of daily routine.  

He also opined that most postmenopausal women and elderly people in Germany and US do not do the recommended amount of exercise.

"Thus, the critical issue is much more, whether a single multi-purpose (weekly) exercise program conducted with reasonable exercise frequency (2-3 sessions) and duration (45-60 min) is effective in reducing the most important postmenopausal risk factors and complaints," he said.

The study author  Antonio Cano Sánchez quoted that "Thus, the critical issue is much more, whether a single multi-purpose (weekly) exercise program conducted with reasonable exercise frequency (2-3 sessions) and duration (45-60 min) is effective in reducing the most important postmenopausal risk factors and complaints." 

He also said that to guard against osteoporotic bone loss, a lot of muscle training and high endurance exercise needs to be put in, but some light physical exercise may protect against risk of falling which is as good as good bone density in the event of fragility fracture.

A group exercise class is very good for boosting mood, socializing and motivation to come to the gym daily.

So, mixing endurance, general coordination and resistance exercise is the best choice for postmenopausal women including a balancing aspect for older or less functional women.

 The study highlights by de Guevara, Nicolás Mendoza Ladrón et al are:

1. Physical exercise is a principal strategy for preventing and treating sarcopenia and its effects by increasing muscle mass and function.
2. Physical exercise improves flexibility, balance, and physical function, and corrects disability.
3. Physical exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.
4. Both aerobic exercise and strength exercises can partially or totally counteract the changes associated with metabolic syndrome in sedentary postmenopausal women.
5. Physical exercise is inversely related to the risk of dementia and improves the cognitive function of middle-aged women.
6. Physical exercise improves osteoarticular pain in postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia or breast cancer

References:

http://www.maturitas.org/article/S0378-5122(16)30096-2/fulltext

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27137981

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-fitness-post-menopause-idUKKCN0YB1Q0