Health Tip: Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
No one knows precisely why people get cancer, and there's no surefire cure.
But if you maintain a healthy lifestyle, you can help reduce your risk. Here are some suggestions, courtesy of AARP:
- Eat a healthy diet, including plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Limit intake of red meat, saturated fats, smoked and salt-cured foods, and foods preserved with nitrates.
- Get regular exercise of 30 minutes or more at least five days a week.
- Maintain a healthy body weight.
- If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
- Wear sunscreen and avoid prolonged exposure to direct sun during the midday hours.
- Get screened for cancers for which you may be most susceptible.
Early detection, by way of regular screening, is one of the best ways to beat cancer.
The American Cancer Society offers these guidelines for cancer screenings:
- Women, starting at age 40, should get an annual mammogram to screen for breast cancer. Breast exams should start at age 20. An annual exam is recommended at age 40. Before that, women at normal risk should be examined about every three years.
- Beginning at age 50, women and men need regular screening for colorectal cancer. People at an increased risk for colorectal cancer should be tested earlier.
- Women need regular Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer. Pap smears should be given within three years of starting intercourse, or by age 21, whichever is earlier.
- Men 50 and older should get the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test and a digital rectal examination annually. Men at higher risk should begin testing at age 45.
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