Simple Ways to Greatly Reduce Your Cancer Risk

In 2024 the number of cancer cases in the US exceeded 2 million for the first time in history. I’ve personally lost a friend to cancer in the last couple of years. Some close relatives have contracted cancer and survived.

Could be my age. I’m 57. Maybe it’s just time for the people around me to start seeing it.

I don’t see a whole lot of people in my assisted living homes with cancer. I think it is because people with cancer often stay at home, unless they have other problems like dementia.

Nevertheless I understand how devastating cancer can be. I’m always looking into what we can do to avoid any chronic disease.

Especially when the answer to so many chronic diseases is often simple lifestyle changes.

Recently I came across a study that shows cancer prevention very well may just need some lifestyle changes as well.

There was a study published in 2022 in the journal Frontiers in Aging, that looked at three lifestyle interventions to see if they would help reduce your risk.

The interventions?

• Vitamin D

• Omega-3 fatty acids

• A ‘moderate’ exercise program

Or in other words:

• Spend time in the sun

• Eat more fish

• Get off your butt

The study looked at 2,157 European participants aged 70 or older from 2012 to 2017. It was a double-blind, randomized controlled study so it was pretty scientific.

The participants were divided into different groups with different combinations of interventions, including a control group. They received Vitamin D (2000 IU/day) and Omega-3 (1 gram/day) as their sources of these two interventions.

Interestingly, the control group received placebo pills consisting of sunflower oil. Given what we know about sunflower and other seed oils, I wonder if taking those pills over 5 years had a detrimental effect on the control group?

The exercise program participants did was a ‘Structured Home Exercise Program’ (SHEP), which consisted mostly of resistance exercise either with body weight or resistance bands for 30 minutes a day, three times a week.

At the end of the 5 years the cancer incidences were measured:

Each intervention helped lower the risk of cancer in the individuals. However, none on their own were as powerful as all three together. According to this study, all three interventions lowered your risk of cancer by 60%.

To determine the 60% (actually 61%) figure, notice the hazard ratio in the picture of 0.39. A hazard ratio compares the risk of an event happening in one group vs another. You take the ratio and subtract it from 1. The result is the reduction in risk.

At our assisted living homes we test for Vitamin D levels, and an Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio for our residents who have dementia. Many times both are way off.

We also try to have our residents exercise on a regular basis.

It’s amazing how all these interventions tie together. It’s also amazing to me that these interventions rarely receive more than lip service in medical establishments.

If you’re interested in reading more of the study, you can find it here.