Get Your Rear in Gear: Healthy Lifestyles
People of any age can start to prevent colon cancer right now by living a healthy lifestyle!
Step 1: Eat healthy foods
Healthy eating habits not only help prevent colon and other types of cancer, but also protect against obesity, diabetes, and heart disease! Aim for a balanced diet incorporating whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Portion size counts, too! Small steps—like splitting an entrée at a restaurant or using a salad plate instead of a dinner plate—can add up to big calorie savings. Visit www.cancer.org/eatright for tips to help you maintain a healthy diet!
SuperFoods for Healthy Living
There are 14 SuperFoods that have been identified as being dramatically better than others for promoting health and longevity.* All are noted in the chart below. A diet containing these foods not only helps prevent colon cancer, but helps prevent numerous other diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and other cancers.
Of these SuperFoods, those that specifically help prevent colon cancer are noted with asterisks (*), with the foods most beneficial containing more asterisks. While changing one’s diet is not always easy, by making gradual changes and learning more about finding and using healthier foods, we can help fight back against this terrible disease.
| SuperFood | Serving Recommendations |
Clarifications or Close Substitutes |
| Brocolli *** | 1/2 to 1 cup daily |
Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, turnips, collards, bok choy, mustard greens, Swiss chard |
| Yogurt*** | 2 cups daily | Kefir |
| Spinach** | 1 cup steamed or 2 cups raw daily | Kale, collards, Swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, romaine lettuce, orange bell peppers |
| Caffeinated Tea ** | Up to 4 cups daily | Green tea or black tea, cold or hot |
| Beans* | Four 1/2 cup servings per week | All bean types including pinto, navy, Great Northern, lima, garbanzo, lentils, green beans, sugar snap peas and green peas |
| Blueberries* | 1 to 2 cups daily | Purple grapes, cranberries, boysenberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, cherries, and most other berry types (fresh, frozen, or dried) |
| Pumpkin* | 1/2 cup daily | Carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers |
| Wild Salmon* | 2 to 4 servings per week | Halibut, Albacore tuna, sardines, herring, trout, sea bass, oysters, clams |
| Soy* | 15 grams daily in two separate meals or snacks | Tofu, soymilk, soy nuts, edamame, tempeh, miso |
| Tomatoes* | 1 serving per day processed; multiple servies per week fresh | Red watermelon, pink grapefruit, Japanese persimmons, red-fleshed papaya, strawberry guava; also processed tomato products such as catsup, tomato sauce, pizza sauce |
| Oranges* | 1 serving daily | Include the pulp! Also lemons, white and pink grapefruit, kumquats, tangerines, limes |
| Oats | 5 to 7 servings daily | Wheat germ, flaxseed, brown rice, barley, wheat, buckwheat, rye yellow corn, spelt, couscous, quinoa, amaranth, triticale, kamut, wild rice (usually in breads) |
| Skinless Turkey Breast | 3 or 4 servings per week | Skinless chicken breast |
| Walnuts | handful per day or 1 oz 5 times per week | Almonds, pistachios, sesame seeds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews |
* From Super Foods, by Steven Pratt, M.D, and Kathy Matthews
Step 2: Exercise
Regular exercise, along with a healthy diet, is so important to colon cancer prevention. In fact, physical activity has been linked to a 40 to 50 percent reduction in colon cancer!
Most experts recommend 30 minutes of moderate activity at least 5 days a week. But if you think that means you need to hit the gym every day and run ’til you drop, think again! Follow these simple fitness tips to help stay healthy:
- Turn daily activities into exercise: The possibilities are endless! Instead of scouring the parking lot for the closest space, park far away. Opt for the stairs instead of the elevator, clean the house, or walk the dog. Rather than lounge on the couch to watch TV, try sitting on a balance ball. Anything that adds movement to your everyday life really adds up!
- Find a sport or activity you love: Try your community rec and ed department or your local YMCA to dabble in activities you might never have considered. Who knows—hula hooping, zumba dance, or racketball could become your next fitness passion!
- Pencil it in: Schedule your workout the same way you would a business meeting or appointment, and then stick to it!
- Find strength in numbers: Exercising with a friend or group can help keep you accountable and motivated. It’s a lot easier to wake up for a 6 a.m. workout if you know that someone else is counting on you to be there!
Regular exercise can help you feel better, lose weight, and prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other serious health conditions. For more information on staying active, please visit the American Cancer Society’s fitness resource page.
