Besides genetic factors, some bad habits such as unhealthy eating, drinking alcohol, lack of exercise... increase the risk of cancer by 30-50%.
Doctor Tran Vuong Thao Nghi - Head of Oncology Department, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - pointed out the following 10 habits that can cause cancer.
Eat a lot of fast food and canned food
Doctor Thao Nghi cited research showing that when consuming 50g of processed meat per day, the risk of colorectal cancer increases by 18%. The more and longer the amount consumed over time, the higher the risk. Therefore, people should limit processed foods, fast foods; supplement green vegetables, fresh fruits...
Eat lots of sugar and artificial sweeteners
A diet high in sugar or carbohydrates does not directly increase the risk of cancer. However, a diet high in carbohydrates can cause overweight, obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. Overweight and obesity are factors that increase the risk of cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute (NIH), some animal studies have suggested that the sweeteners saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, and cyclamate may increase the risk of cancer. However, there is currently no research that can directly prove this.
Drink a lot of alcohol
Drinking a lot of alcohol over a long period of time can increase the risk of cancers such as esophageal, stomach, breast, and liver cancer. Doctor Thao Nghi cited research statistics showing that drinking 14 grams of alcohol a day or more increases the risk of breast cancer by 23%, colon cancer by 17%, and esophageal cancer by 17%.
Smoking
Nicotine and many other chemicals in cigarettes are factors that increase the risk of many cancers such as lung, pancreatic, esophageal, bladder cancer...
Smoking is one of the risk factors for cancer. Photo: Freepik
Not drinking enough water
Drinking water helps dilute harmful substances in urine and push them out of the bladder faster, limiting the accumulation of toxic substances that can cause mutations in body cells. Drinking enough water also ensures that the organs in the body function normally. Although there is no clear evidence that drinking enough water reduces the risk of bladder cancer, drinking enough 2-2.5 liters of water per day can reduce the risk of bladder infections.
Poor oral hygiene
A study by Tufts University (USA) and several other units published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute of America in 2018 with more than 7,400 people showed that people with periodontitis have a higher risk of lung cancer and colorectal cancer than people without periodontitis. However, according to scientists, more in-depth studies are needed to determine this clearly.
Sitting in one place for a long time
The University of Regensburg (Germany) analyzed statistics from 43 observational studies (over 4 million people and more than 68,900 cancer cases) published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2014. The results showed that for every additional 2 hours of sitting per day, the risk of colon, endometrial, and lung cancer increased by 8%, 10%, and 6%, respectively. Sitting for a long time may not be a risk factor, but may be related to other factors such as eating a lot of sweets, canned foods, processed foods, alcoholic beverages... while watching TV. More in-depth studies are needed to clearly determine this result.
Doctor Thao Nghi advises that office workers should try to stand up, stretch, and move around their desks every 2 hours to help blood circulate better. You can also combine walking, climbing stairs, using a suitable chair with a backrest, using a standing desk... to limit sitting in one place for too long.
Prolonged stress
Prolonged stress does not directly cause cancer, but it is a factor that causes a series of bad habits for the body such as smoking, loss of control in diet, lack of exercise and use of alcoholic beverages... The combination of prolonged stress and other bad habits can cause physical and mental health to decline. This can also disrupt the self-defense mechanism, causing the body to lose the ability to repair cellular disorders.
Stress causes a series of bad habits that increase the risk of cancer. Photo: Freepik
Stay up late
Staying up late can have a negative impact on health, and can also disrupt the body's self-regulatory mechanism. A disrupted self-regulatory mechanism can cause the body to lose its ability to repair cellular disorders, which is a prerequisite for the formation of precancerous lesions. Building and maintaining good habits for physical and mental health; nutrition, and daily exercise contribute to reducing cancer risk factors.
Little exercise, playing sports
Regular exercise and sports can help the body fight against breast, colon, bladder, kidney, lung, stomach cancer... Doctor Thao Nghi cited statistics from many studies showing that the risk of colon cancer is reduced by 27% for people who exercise regularly.
You should maintain at least 3 hours of exercise per week, depending on your physical condition to adjust the appropriate intensity. For those who often work with computers, sit for long periods of time, exercise is very important.
Doctor Thao Nghi noted that people with risk factors for cancer need to have regular health check-ups and cancer screenings for early detection and timely treatment.
Tue Tram
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