Medical Questions » Cancer Questions » Question No. 1253
| Question: | Is it true that cancer is largely genetic? |
| Answer: | Scientific research categorically shows that cancer is largely caused by diet and lifestyle choices rather than inherited risk. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that identical twins - who have the same genetic make-up - had no more than a 15 per cent chance of developing the same cancer. This shows that most cancers are at least 85 per cent due to environmental factors such as diet, lifestyle and exposure to toxic chemicals. A report by the World Cancer Research Fund found that you could halve your risk by eating lots of fruit and vegetables, and severely limiting alcohol or red meat. Also supplementing antioxidant nutrients and avoiding known carcinogens can probably cut your risk by 85 per cent or more.
So it' s up to you, not your genes - increase your fruit and vegetable intake, take antioxidant supplements, avoid toxins by eating organic and not smoking and you' ll be optimizing your protection from one of the biggest killers. |
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