HEALTH
Prevent Cancer Check lifestyle
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that prevention offers the most cost-effective, long-term strategy for the control of cancer and that at least one-third of cases are preventable. Most cancer risk factors are environmental or lifestyle-related and, so, the disease can be prevented by pursuing a healthy lifestyle and diet.
Vital factors
According to the American Cancer Society, dietary practices and physical activity – along with avoidance of smoking an occupational carcinogens, and early detection – are important factors for the prevention of cancer and cancer death. Occupational carcinogens are substances which people get exposed to at their workplace, e.g. chemicals, pesticides, asbestos, etc., leading to cancer.
The Report – “Food, Nutrition, physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective” – prepared by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, also recommends this.
Body Fat
Maintain body weight within the normal range from age 21. The size of waistline is considered an approximate measurement of abdominal fat. Avoid weight gain and increase in waist circumference throughout adulthood. An expert at the American Institute for Cancer Research says that men’s waistlines should be larger than 37 inches and women’s 31.5 inches. For children, ensure that body weight through childhood and adolescent growth period is at the lower end of the body mass index (BMI)
Physical Activity
Be physically active in everyday life. Limit sedentary habits such as watching television. Brisk walking for at least 30 minutes a day is essential. As fitness improves, aim for 60 minutes or more of moderate or 30 minutes or more of vigorous, physical activity every day. Physical activity of longer duration or greater intensity is more beneficial. It can also be incorporated in occupational, transport, household or leisure activities.
Foods and beverages
Consume energy-dense foods like fast foods sparingly, if at all. Those foods with energy content of more than 225-275kcal per 100g are considered energy-dense. Avoid beverages with added sugar. Fruit juices should also be limited.
Starch
Eat mostly foods of plant origin. Limit starchy foods. If you consume starchy roots or tubers like potato or sweet potato as staples, ensure that you eat non-starchy vegetables, fruits and pulses in sufficient quantity, including tomato-based products and garlic. Consume fruits of different colours, including red, green, yellow, white, purple and orange. Eat at least five servings (400g) of non-starchy vegetables and fruits everyday. Eat relatively unprocessed cereals and/or pulses with every meal. These foods are low in energy density and promote healthy weight.
Meat
Avoid processed meat and limit intake of red meat. Beef, pork and meat from domesticated animals like lamb and goat are red meat. ‘Processed meat’ refers to meat preserved by smoking, curing, slating or addition of chemical preservatives. Meat contained in processed foods should also be avoided. If you eat red meat, consume less than 500gm a week.
Salt
Salt and salt-preserved foods are a probable cause of stomach cancer. Limit consumption of salt; ensure an intake of less than 6g (2.4g sodium) a day. Avoid salt-preserved or salty foods limit consumption of processed foods with added salt. Preserve foods without using salt. Refrigeration, freezing, drying, bottling, canning and fermentation are some methods that need not use salt.
Foods contaminated with aflatoxins are a cause of liver cancer. Do not eat mouldy cereals or pulses.
Alcohol
If you consume alcohol, limit consumption. Men should not consume more than two drinks a day and women not more than one drink. One ‘drink’ contains about 10-15g of alcohol. Children and pregnant women should not consume any alcohol.
Dietary supplements
According to the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, dietary supplements are not recommended for cancer prevention. Increase the consumption of relevant nutrients through usual diet. In some cases of illness or dietary inadequacy, supplements may be valuable.
Breastfeeding
Evidence on cancer and other diseases shows that sustained, exclusive breastfeeding is protective for both mother and child. It prevents not only breast cancer in mothers but also obesity in children. Aim to breastfeed infants exclusively up to six months and then continue with complementary feeding. During the first six months of infancy, your baby should get human milk only, with no other food or drink, including water.
For cancer survivors
People who have recovered from cancer should take nutritional care under a trained professional. They should follow the recommendations on diet, healthy weight and physical activity, unless otherwise advised by their doctor.
Drunken driving linked to mental problems
Drunken driving is not just an indication of a deeply seated alcohol problem but is also very often connected to psychological disease and chronic criminal background, says a doctoral thesis presented at the Karolinkska Institute (KI).
Psychologist Beata Hubicka has in collaboration with the Swedish traffic authority, Vagverket, and the police, carried out a nationwide study involving 1,200 drivers who were charged with drunken driving. The suspect alcoholic offenders, along with a research group of 786 assuredly sober drivers, were called upon to answer a questionnaire on their alcohol consumption habits. The psychosocial and psychotic health condition of some of the drunken drivers was examined too.
“Earlier research in this area was mostly undertaken in the US,” Hubicka told IANS, after her dissertation at the KI. “However, it became essential to carry out an entirely Swedish study since we have different promille (alcohol in the blood permissible for driving) limits and different attitudes towards drunken driving compared to the US. Such variables have also to be taken into account when dealing with this problem in other countries.”
The well-received study shows that “more than a half of the suspected alcohol abusers had earlier committed criminal offences. A large number among the abusers were also found to be suffering serious psychotic problems.”
“Since such a large number have a psychotic problems and a criminal background,” says Hubicka, “one should not direct attention solely towards their alcohol problem in any pre emptive efforts to resolve drunken driving".
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that prevention offers the most cost-effective, long-term strategy for the control of cancer and that at least one-third of cases are preventable. Most cancer risk factors are environmental or lifestyle-related and, so, the disease can be prevented by pursuing a healthy lifestyle and diet.
Vital factors
According to the American Cancer Society, dietary practices and physical activity – along with avoidance of smoking an occupational carcinogens, and early detection – are important factors for the prevention of cancer and cancer death. Occupational carcinogens are substances which people get exposed to at their workplace, e.g. chemicals, pesticides, asbestos, etc., leading to cancer.
The Report – “Food, Nutrition, physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective” – prepared by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, also recommends this.
Body Fat
Maintain body weight within the normal range from age 21. The size of waistline is considered an approximate measurement of abdominal fat. Avoid weight gain and increase in waist circumference throughout adulthood. An expert at the American Institute for Cancer Research says that men’s waistlines should be larger than 37 inches and women’s 31.5 inches. For children, ensure that body weight through childhood and adolescent growth period is at the lower end of the body mass index (BMI)
Physical Activity
Be physically active in everyday life. Limit sedentary habits such as watching television. Brisk walking for at least 30 minutes a day is essential. As fitness improves, aim for 60 minutes or more of moderate or 30 minutes or more of vigorous, physical activity every day. Physical activity of longer duration or greater intensity is more beneficial. It can also be incorporated in occupational, transport, household or leisure activities.
Foods and beverages
Consume energy-dense foods like fast foods sparingly, if at all. Those foods with energy content of more than 225-275kcal per 100g are considered energy-dense. Avoid beverages with added sugar. Fruit juices should also be limited.
Starch
Eat mostly foods of plant origin. Limit starchy foods. If you consume starchy roots or tubers like potato or sweet potato as staples, ensure that you eat non-starchy vegetables, fruits and pulses in sufficient quantity, including tomato-based products and garlic. Consume fruits of different colours, including red, green, yellow, white, purple and orange. Eat at least five servings (400g) of non-starchy vegetables and fruits everyday. Eat relatively unprocessed cereals and/or pulses with every meal. These foods are low in energy density and promote healthy weight.
Meat
Avoid processed meat and limit intake of red meat. Beef, pork and meat from domesticated animals like lamb and goat are red meat. ‘Processed meat’ refers to meat preserved by smoking, curing, slating or addition of chemical preservatives. Meat contained in processed foods should also be avoided. If you eat red meat, consume less than 500gm a week.
Salt
Salt and salt-preserved foods are a probable cause of stomach cancer. Limit consumption of salt; ensure an intake of less than 6g (2.4g sodium) a day. Avoid salt-preserved or salty foods limit consumption of processed foods with added salt. Preserve foods without using salt. Refrigeration, freezing, drying, bottling, canning and fermentation are some methods that need not use salt.
Foods contaminated with aflatoxins are a cause of liver cancer. Do not eat mouldy cereals or pulses.
Alcohol
If you consume alcohol, limit consumption. Men should not consume more than two drinks a day and women not more than one drink. One ‘drink’ contains about 10-15g of alcohol. Children and pregnant women should not consume any alcohol.
Dietary supplements
According to the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, dietary supplements are not recommended for cancer prevention. Increase the consumption of relevant nutrients through usual diet. In some cases of illness or dietary inadequacy, supplements may be valuable.
Breastfeeding
Evidence on cancer and other diseases shows that sustained, exclusive breastfeeding is protective for both mother and child. It prevents not only breast cancer in mothers but also obesity in children. Aim to breastfeed infants exclusively up to six months and then continue with complementary feeding. During the first six months of infancy, your baby should get human milk only, with no other food or drink, including water.
For cancer survivors
People who have recovered from cancer should take nutritional care under a trained professional. They should follow the recommendations on diet, healthy weight and physical activity, unless otherwise advised by their doctor.
Drunken driving linked to mental problems
Drunken driving is not just an indication of a deeply seated alcohol problem but is also very often connected to psychological disease and chronic criminal background, says a doctoral thesis presented at the Karolinkska Institute (KI).
Psychologist Beata Hubicka has in collaboration with the Swedish traffic authority, Vagverket, and the police, carried out a nationwide study involving 1,200 drivers who were charged with drunken driving. The suspect alcoholic offenders, along with a research group of 786 assuredly sober drivers, were called upon to answer a questionnaire on their alcohol consumption habits. The psychosocial and psychotic health condition of some of the drunken drivers was examined too.
“Earlier research in this area was mostly undertaken in the US,” Hubicka told IANS, after her dissertation at the KI. “However, it became essential to carry out an entirely Swedish study since we have different promille (alcohol in the blood permissible for driving) limits and different attitudes towards drunken driving compared to the US. Such variables have also to be taken into account when dealing with this problem in other countries.”
The well-received study shows that “more than a half of the suspected alcohol abusers had earlier committed criminal offences. A large number among the abusers were also found to be suffering serious psychotic problems.”
“Since such a large number have a psychotic problems and a criminal background,” says Hubicka, “one should not direct attention solely towards their alcohol problem in any pre emptive efforts to resolve drunken driving".
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