Certain words and phrases send shivers down our spines. These include things like “we need to talk”, “pandemic” and the biggy – “cancer”. In 2022, there were an estimated two million new cancer cases diagnosed in the United States – along with over six hundred thousand cancer deaths.

Cancer is a cruel beast, sparing no thought for how it tears families apart each day. It is the second-leading cause of death in adults in America, second only to heart disease. Although there is nothing you can do to guarantee that you will not develop cancer, there are multiple ways to reduce your risk.

These five below are the best ways to protect your body and keep it functioning optimally:

• Practice Moderation

Death and taxes are the only two things guaranteed in this life. Everything else gets determined by genetics, circumstances, decisions, and attitudes. When it comes to consumption – humans tend to go overboard; it is one of our greatest downfalls.

Practice consumption in moderation. You don’t need to starve your bodies of the good things in life, like chocolate and pizza – you must moderate your intake. Have a slice or two, but don’t go wild. 

• Lose Weight

Obesity is linked to some of the most common cancers affecting children and adults. Breast, colorectal, kidney, and liver cancer are among those linked to carrying excess weight. Almost 10 percent of all cancers can be attributed to obesity.

The signals released by fat cells affect your growth hormones, which, in turn, can cause your cells to divide more often – increasing your risk of developing cancer. Focus on losing weight if you are overweight – it will do wonders for your health and mood.

• Early-Detection Tests

Cancers develop because of a unique combination of chance, genetics, and our environment. Medical advancements in screening and testing, such as the grail cancer test, are revolutionizing the way we find cancer when it is still in a treatable stage.

GRAIL are the makers of the Galleri Test, which is a multi-cancer early detection test (MCED) and detects a shared cancer signal across 50 types of cancer using a simple blood draw.

• Reduce Stress

Chronic stress is a silent killer. It can lead to cancer growth, causing it to spread in numerous ways. Stress hormones inhibit a bodily process called anoikis, which is necessary for killing diseased cells and stopping them from spreading.

When you’re stressed, neurotransmitters are triggered into releasing too much norepinephrine, which stimulates cancer cells and causes them to spread like wildfire in certain cancers.

• Sleep Better

Many clinical studies suggest that short or poor sleep duration increases the risk of cancer. Other studies have found that sleeping too much can also increase the risk of developing certain cancers. Play it safe by getting the recommended amount of sleep a night, which is seven hours.

Sleeping less, or more, than that is associated with adverse health outcomes, including obesity, heart diseases, depression, and some cancers. Who knew getting a nap would be so good for us?