About Cancer Cells and the 12 Articles to Prevent Cancer
Cancer is the leading cause of death among Japanese people; one in three people dies from cancer.
Therefore, it is important to prevent cancer.
If you do get cancer, get proper treatment and aim for a cure.
These two things are the shortcut to a long life.
In today's world, we are inundated with all kinds of information about cancer.
Some of the myths are so ridiculous that without medical knowledge, it may be difficult to know what to believe. Therefore, I would like you to at least have a basic knowledge of how cancer develops. If you do, you will be able to make a basic decision.
How does a person get "cancer"?
The answer, in a nutshell, is due to cell miscopying.
According to a recent study, there are about 37 trillion cells in total that form our body, and one trillion of them are replaced every day.
In other words, old cells are being reborn as new cells. The materials used to make new cells are the nutrients we eat, such as proteins and amino acids.
When these cells are reborn, some miscopies inevitably occur. Think of these miscopies as cancerous cells. The frequency of mis-copying is approximately 5,000 out of 1 trillion cells. In other words, 5,000 cancer cells are born every day.
However, since our bodies have the ability to eliminate miscopied cells, not all 5,000 cells will become cancerous.
Some of them cannot survive because they are miscopies, or immune cells determine that they are miscopies and kill them off.
Nevertheless, the more we can reduce the number of miscopies in our cells, the less likely we are to develop cancer. Therefore, in order to prevent cancer, we should first focus on the foods that are used as materials for reborn cells.
Cells are reborn every day, so it is very important to eat every day. There are two extreme things that we should pay attention to in our daily diet.
The first is to avoid or reduce cancer-causing foods.
Secondly, there are foods that prevent cancer, and we should actively eat them.
In 2011, the National Cancer Center published the "New 12 Articles for Preventing Cancer," and even in these 12 articles, dietary precautions are the most common.
1. Do not smoke cigarettes.
2. Avoid the smoke of other people's cigarettes as much as possible.
3. Drink alcohol in moderation.
4. Eat a well-balanced diet.
5. Avoid salty foods.
6. Do not be deficient in fruits and vegetables.
7. Exercise moderately.
8. Maintain a proper weight.
9. Prevention and treatment of viral and bacterial infections.
10. Have regular cancer checkups.
11. If you notice any abnormality in your body, see a doctor immediately.
12. Learn about cancer with accurate cancer information.
Articles 1 and 2 are about tobacco, followed by articles 3 to 6 about diet, so half of the 12 articles are about being careful about what goes into your body.
Pay attention to your daily diet to reduce the number of miscopies of cells that are born every day. That is the first step and the most important one to prevent cancer.
To briefly explain the 12 articles, first of all, the carcinogenic substances contained in cigarettes are so powerful that not only the smoker but also those close to him who inhale secondhand smoke should be careful.
In terms of diet, it is important to eat a well-balanced diet with moderate amounts of alcohol, moderate amounts of salt, and a good amount of fruits and vegetables.
Of course, moderate exercise is essential to maintain an appropriate weight that is neither too fat nor too thin.
Prevention of infection is because many cancers are caused by viral and bacterial infections.
Cancer screening and early diagnosis is a matter of course, and the last 12 articles are about correct information on cancer, but people find it hard to make calm decisions when they are worried.
I think it is good to try to judge the truth of the information from a calm perspective while you are still healthy.
I will explain more specific dietary advice in another article.