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Healthy Living Can Help to Lower your Risk of Cancer

Tips from the Experts

“Of course a healthy lifestyle is thought to lower your risk,” says breast cancer navigator, Mary Pare, RN, BS, with Sutter Cancer Center.  “But remember that there’s no ‘magic bullet’ that can stop cancer.”

Eat Colorfully
Pare and her colleague, nutritionist Sue Hazeghazam, RD, agree that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains, can aid in reducing your cancer risk. “Eat foods with color. Get a variety of color in your diet,” says Hazeghazam. “I recommend that people ‘eat with the season.’ Produce in season often costs less, tastes great and is an easy way to vary eating habits throughout the year.”

Cut the Fat
Both experts stressed that a low-fat diet is critical to reducing cancer risk. “Eat foods low in fat and keep your body fat low,” says Hazeghazam. “We’ve learned more about body fat in the past years. At one time, it was thought to be relatively dormant, but now we’re finding that fat cells produce enzymes and hormones like estrogen – which is of particular concern to those at risk for breast cancer.”

Be Active
Pare recommends exercise: “Yes, exercise for yourself and your children. Get kids into the habit of physical activity when they’re young. Find out which activities are most fun for your family so it doesn’t become a chore.” Since exercise burns calories and builds muscles, Pare believes that it goes a long way to reduce body fat and conditions associated with a sedentary lifestyle, like cancer and heart disease.

“Walking is a wonderful and convenient way to get exercise,” adds Hazeghazam. “Twenty to thirty minutes every day can do a lot.”

Don’t Drink Your Calories
Hazeghazam encourages people to quench their thirst with water. “Too many of us drink our calories,” she says. Fancy coffee drinks, sugary juice drinks, alcohol, fattening smoothies and soft drinks are all culprits in Americans’ battle with the bulge. “It’s best to rely on food to get our nutrition since so many specialty drinks are adding unnecessary calories to our diet,” says Hazeghazam.

For more information about the programs and services offered by Sutter Cancer Center, check our Support for Patients & Families site.