Promoting wellness and disease prevention involves adopting a healthy lifestyle and minimizing exposure to known risk factors. A healthy lifestyle has the power to prevent many diseases. And while there’s no guaranteed way to prevent cancer, you reduce your risk by following practical recommendations and making intentional choices.
Keys to Promoting Wellness and Disease Prevention
Want to discover the keys to promoting wellness and disease prevention? Here are some essential tips you can start implementing today:
Choose Not To Use Tobacco or Vape
Tobacco use is a leading cause of various types of cancer including lung, throat, mouth, and pancreatic cancer. Therefore, avoiding tobacco in all forms — including secondhand smoke — significantly lowers your risk.
Vaping, or the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), is relatively new and research is still needed to understand its long-term effects. However, evidence suggests that e-cigarettes produce aerosols containing harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, acrolein, and volatile organic compounds. Exposure to these chemical substances has toxic effects on various organs and bodily systems.
Choose To Move
Be physically active. Regular exercise is key to promoting wellness and disease prevention. In fact, it lowers the risk of developing various cancers like breast, colon, and lung cancer. Strive for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity every week. Additionally, engaging in strength-training exercises twice weekly supports disease prevention.
In addition, maintain a healthy weight. Obesity and excess body weight are linked to an increased risk of cancers including breast, colorectal, kidney, and pancreatic. Therefore, engage in regular physical activity and follow a balanced diet to maintain a healthy weight
Choose To Practice Safe Sun Exposure
Protect your skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation by seeking shade and wearing protective clothing (like wide-brimmed hats and long-sleeved shirts). Additionally, use sunscreen with a high sun protection factor (SPF) and reapply every two hours.
Choose To Limit Alcohol Consumption
Excessive alcohol intake increases your risk of various diseases including cancers of the mouth, throat, liver, colorectal, and breast. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Experts recommend one drink (or less) per day for women and two drinks (or less) per day for men.
Choose To Screen
Regular screenings and early detection significantly improve cancer outcomes. Follow recommended guidelines for screenings like mammograms, pap tests, colonoscopies, and prostate checks. Additionally, opt for any other relevant screenings based on your age, gender, and family history.
Choose To Get Vaccinated & Practice Safe Sex
Certain infections, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) and Hepatitis B (HBV) increase your risk of developing cancer. However, vaccinations help prevent some of these infections (HPV for cervical and other cancers and HBV for liver cancer). Consult with your healthcare provider about recommended vaccinations.
Additionally, engaging in safe sexual practices reduces the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like HPV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As you might already know, these lead to certain types of cancer.
Choose To Be Aware
If you work in an industry associated with potential carcinogens (like asbestos, benzene, or certain chemicals) follow appropriate safety precautions and guidelines to minimize exposure.
Choose To Support Your Immune System
A strong immune system helps prevent the development of certain cancers. Support your immune system by getting adequate sleep, managing stress, staying hydrated, and avoiding exposure to infections whenever possible.
Your Patient Cancer Advocate
In the end, we can only control so much. Therefore, it’s important to remember that while these recommendations are ideal for promoting wellness and disease prevention, they do not provide absolute protection. Obsessing over every minute of exercise, every ounce of water intake, and every ingredient on our food labels affects our stress levels – which negatively impacts our wellness.
Unfortunately,despite our best efforts, 1 in 3 of us will be directly or indirectly affected by cancer in our lifetimes. If you or someone you know has been touched, Dana offers a FREE complimentary call where she listens to your story and offers ways to help you in your unique circumstance.
We also offer an educational resource designed to help flatten your learning curve as you navigate the complex and unfamiliar nuances of a cancer diagnosis. This resource consists of a series of short videos, downloadable worksheets, and weekly live 1:1 Q&A with Dana.
Cancer is common however, each person’s experience is unique. We are here to help. Contact our team to get started.