Top 5 Causes for Cancer

by Bobby Sedlachek

Environmental factors, the food you eat, and the lifestyle you choose play an important role in determining if you are susceptible to cancer.

Many people perceive cancer as unavoidable. If anything, recent research indicates that cancer is definitely preventable—you just have to understand what to avoid.

Take a look at the top 5 causes for cancer and consider how you can change your lifestyle to prevent it.

1. Tobacco

All over the world, tobacco use is the number one cause of cancer. Consider a recent study in the United Kingdom that determined that 23% of all cancer in men and 15.6% of all cancer in women was tied to tobacco use.

Lung cancer is the most common type associated with cancer—likely due to cigarette popularity. Behind that, was cancer of the oral cavity and esophagus. Not smoking can significantly reduce your chances of developing these types of cancer.

2. Nutrition

What you eat—it’s actually more about what you don’t get enough of—can impact your chances of getting cancer. Again, British researchers are on top of the latest cancer and nutrition research in four linked studies designed to determine the impact of diet on cancer formation. Scientists studied fruit and vegetable intake, meat consumption, fiber intake, and dietary salt to see how cancer is linked to what we eat.

Just over 9% of cancer cases in the United Kingdom in 2010 were attributed to not eating enough fruits and vegetables. After that, scientists found that processed meat might also be a culprit—with almost 3% of cancer cases linked. The results from fiber and salt were relatively low.

3. Body Weight

Scientists also studied body weight and its relationship to cancer. Being overweight can cause a myriad of metabolic problems, including diabetes. Their study estimated that 5.5% of cancer cases in the United Kingdom were related to being overweight.

The most common types of cancer that overweight people get are uterus, kidney, and esophagus. Body weight is definitely tied to what you eat and there is a genetic component. Based on this research, it looks like there is even more incentive to get your weight down.

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4. Occupational Hazard

Exposure to asbestos was one of the most common reasons people developed cancer due to their occupation. As part of their research, scientists determined that almost 4% of all cancer cases in the UK were due to occupational exposure. You defiantly need to consider the impact of what you do  on your health. Sometimes, avoiding work where you are exposed to environmental toxins can extend your life.

5. Environmental Pollution

There are many other ways to contract cancer—radiation, alcohol, infection, lack of physical activity, hormone imbalance—but the fifth most common type of cancer people can prevent is that which is derived from too much exposure to harmful sunlight. Cancer from exposure to the sun occurs almost as frequently as cancer due to asbestos exposure. Protect yourself when you are outside!

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