About 30% of cancer cases are attributed to diet and lack of exercise. It is in your hands to reduce the risk with some simple habits, without sacrifice, without pain and with minimal effort..
The continued rise of non-communicable diseases around the world such as cancerhas direct relationship with eating patterns, characterized by high levels of processed meats and refined grains, and high levels of saturated fat, sugar and salt, at the expense of fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, which are essential in a healthy diet.
Therefore,What is healthy eating and what are the guidelines?? Over the years, the definition has undergone several changes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a healthy eating It is one that provides the person with all the necessary foods and nutrients, in sufficient quantities to meet nutritional needs, and is adapted to age, gender and physical condition..
But moreover, a healthy diet is sustainable from a social and ecological perspective.
AND,how we can eat healthy? To know what a healthy diet entails and how to implement it, you can use the nutritional guides, national recommendations drawn up by national health organizations so that their populations can eat better and have optimal health.
In fact, there are more than one 100 food guides around the world paying attention to foods and patterns that differ from country to country because they have been created based on their availability, customs, economy and gastronomic tradition and culture.
Many of these manuals have icons of different shapes, such as the Harvard record from the United Statesthe food wheel in Germany, or the toll in Japan, which allow greater understanding among the population. In addition, Food guides not only tell us about food, but also give advice about an adequate lifestyle..
In Spain, the person responsible for generating these guides is the Spanish Community Nutrition Association (SENC)prepared by various groups of experts in the field of public health, food and nutrition, where, in addition to the explanatory document, all guidelines are collected in the form of a pyramid.
The latest published includes, in addition to the group and frequency of food consumption, physical activity, the recommendation to maintain emotional balance and a energy balancethe use of healthy culinary techniquesthe recommended utensils for food preparation and the advice of the water intake.
The New Year is an excellent time to make decisions to live a healthier lifestyle
A study published in ‘cancer medical science‘ can provide the motivation to stick with it: Healthy choices can lead to an overall reduction in cancer risk by about one-third.
The New Year is an excellent time to make decisions to live a healthier lifestylebut by the end of the first week of January, even the best intentions can start to fade.
Researchers led by Professor Peter Elwood of Cardiff University, UK, examined preliminary data from the UK Biobank, a prospective study of half a million subjects.
They sorted the data to identify healthy behaviors, such as not smoking, maintaining a low body mass index (BMI), being regularly physically active, eating healthy and limiting alcohol consumption, and compared this to cancer risk over several years ..
All told, the collection of healthy behaviors contributed to an overall reduction of about one-third in cancer risk and possibly a greater reduction in cancer mortality..
These results may not sound surprising, as most people are aware that healthy behavior has a general benefit; otherwise they would not be ‘healthy’.
The real problem is the translation of the vague idea that the elections produced healthy lifestyle They are ‘good’ at useful tests, and this is evident from this study.
And then comes the challenge of translating this evidence into actionable (and realistic) recommendations. «Perhaps the advice to engage in additional healthy behavior is the most acceptable message for most subjects.says Professor Peter Elwood, from Cardiff.
«In our study each additional healthy behavior is associated with an approximately 8 percent reduction in cancerregardless of the effects of other behavior. The take-home message is that healthy behavior can have a real tangible benefit,” he emphasizes.
Professor Elwood adds: “A healthy lifestyle can have additional benefits in reducing cancer: it costs nothing, has no unwanted side effects… and is better than any pill!«.