At least in my section of this world people don't feel out of control about cancer. Trying to avoid things that "give you cancer" seem to be normal, even in lesser educated groups. Can't imagine it's so different in the US.
Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
81–90 of 171 posts
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it because they are vegan or because vegans live healthier lifestyles?
Exactly. If there was strong evidence for causality I would make a real effort to go vegan. But I suspect it's about being thin and having a high fiber diet, which doesn't require being vegan.
There is strong evidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Cornell%E2%80%93...
It's the ratio of plant protein to animal protein in the diet. So no you don't need to go hard vegan. But yes, it is the diet and there is hard evidence.
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#83Two books on the subject I would recommend to the interested. One is "The China Study" and the other is "Cancer-Gate".
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#84BMI is so bad. I'm 6'0 and the last time I was under BMI 25 I was a triathlete. The only way I could be I did quit smoking though: - Really wanted to - Picked a good mental argument against it ($100k CAD over 20 years) - Picked a quit date - Patch + zyban + nicotene lozenges If you live in British Columbia, the government will pay for your patches or lozenges (hint: ask a friend)
I'm 6'1 and I had a BMI of about 26 until recently - I was definitely pudgy. I also claimed that BMI was worthless until I dropped a few pounds and realised that it was right and I was just making excuses.
If you're an athlete, or a bodybuilder, or particularly tall or small, it won't necessarily fit you. but if you're of normal-ish stature (ie 5'4 to 6'3), and don't keep track of your weight, it's probably bang on.
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. If there was strong evidence for causality I would make a real effort to go vegan. But I suspect it's about being thin and having a high fiber diet, which doesn't require being vegan.
There is strong evidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Cornell%E2%80%93... It's the ratio of plant protein to animal protein in the diet. So no you don't need to go hard vegan. But yes, it is the diet and there is hard evidence.
This is something I've had a great interest in for years and have read many studies where there is clearly correlation but so many obvious confounders that claims of casuality are just not supported by the data. If the summary of the sudy you linked is accurate (http://web.archive.org/web/20090223222003/http://www.nutriti...) it is an example in that they studied people with low fat and high fiber diets, but had no group of high fat and high fiber diet. So is it the fat or the fiber or both? They also made no attempt to distinguish between types of fats. So is it animal fat +/- fiber or any/all fats +/- fiber? Further, they talked about fat and fiber not protein. Ultimately they made no claims about casuality, only correlation. Given more recent reports of the effects on diseases of fiber-fed gut bacteria it might be that it's the fiber that's important.
My personal question is, does a high fiber ketogenic diet (high fiber, high fat, low carb) raise or lower cancer risk? I don't know of strong evidence either way.
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#86BMI is so bad. I'm 6'0 and the last time I was under BMI 25 I was a triathlete. The only way I could be I did quit smoking though: - Really wanted to - Picked a good mental argument against it ($100k CAD over 20 years) - Picked a quit date - Patch + zyban + nicotene lozenges If you live in British Columbia, the government will pay for your patches or lozenges (hint: ask a friend)
> The only way I could be You could weigh 184 pounds and have a BMI <25. Even with a sedentary lifestyle you'd still burn 2,199 calories a day. This is patently false.
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#87To guys out there who still smoke. Please quit. It can be done.
Yesterday I promised myself to not buy cigarettes anymore nor ask anyone to do it on my behalf. This first step only requires tremendous willpower when visiting a store, as the dispensers are placed at checkouts so I must stand right next to them when I'm in the queue.
My dad also quit a long time ago; he's really proud of it, because he just decided to quit one day and it worked, without ever relapsing and without very negative effects. Or so he says. I don't really believe all of it, but the point to take away seems to be that it's all about willpower.
Good luck to you!
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#88To guys out there who still smoke. Please quit. It can be done.
I think as a culture (speaking here in the US) we've made quitting smoking out to be much harder than it actually is. One of the problems with this massive marketing campaign saying things like "You can quit with help!", etc.. is it's focusing on how difficult it's supposed to be.
After 20 years or so of being a smoker, I just decided I didn't want to be embarrassed about the way I smelled in elevators anymore, and quit. I was a competitive cyclist, despite being a smoker, so it wasn't helping me in those social situations either.
When I did stop, it was hard for about a single day. Irritation and not being sure what to do with your hands are the biggest "withdrawal" symptoms you'll have from quitting. If I'd known just how easy it is to stop, I would have 10 years prior.
So yes, listen to the above poster. It won't kill you to quit, it will kill you not to. If you honestly think you can't, it's a very simple problem to solve. There are really only three components to quitting. Nicotine addiction (easy to taper off with substitutes like gums, switching to vaping with decrementing nicotine levels, etc), Habit (the act of smoking, vaping/e-cigarettes/gum chewing/going on walks instead can help replace this) and the social pressure, which is usually smoking with your smoker friends or partner. Fun fact, they all want to stop too, even if they don't say so. Get them to quit with you, and if one or more refuse or abandon, ignore them and be selfish with your health.
All that said - the "pain" of cold turkey lasts a day and all the anecdata that I've collected seems to make it the most effective way to stop.
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#89I'd like to see a statistic that accounts for the fact that we all eventually die from _something_. If we measure success only by how many people eventually die from a particular disease, then increasing life expectancy doesn't count as success at all. Dying from cancer at the age of 90 should not be counted the same as dying of cancer at the age of 45. So the statistic I want to see would count cancer free years.
The NHS in the UK uses the concept of QALYs to measure the effectiveness of interventions: Quality Adjusted Life Years.
If you have to avoid a certain activity, or take up a certain activity, in order to enhance your longevity, doing or not doing something you'd rather do (or not) may still affect your quality of life.
Re: Helpless to Prevent Cancer? Actually, Quite a Bit Is in Your Control
#90To guys out there who still smoke. Please quit. It can be done.
Yesterday I promised myself to not buy cigarettes anymore nor ask anyone to do it on my behalf. This first step only requires tremendous willpower when visiting a store, as the dispensers are placed at checkouts so I must stand right next to them when I'm in the queue.
Focus on the smell. Make it long enough (about 24 hours) to notice other smokers smell. That is the smell of other people being repulsed by you. You smell like that in every elevator, every time you introduce yourself to someone, and no amount of gum or tooth brushing covers it up. You can't smell it while you smoke, but the rest of the world can.
It was enough to keep me dedicated knowing I could confidently talk to anyone after I quit without having to wonder if they were immediately put off by my smell.
People who still smoke always complain that ex-smokers are the worst and most judgmental about smoking, and it's 100% true. It's because we feel seriously ashamed of ourselves for being so stupid for so long, it comes out as assholishness sometimes.