To reduce the risk of relapse, cancer survivors must adopt an optimally balanced lifestyle combining healthy eating and regular exercise. In its latest report, the World Cancer Research Fund listed 8 recommendations:
Keep your weight low within the healthy range, i.e. a body mass index ranging from 21 to 23.
Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day. Regular exercise positively impacts your general health, while reducing fatigue, anxiety and depression that often afflicts cancer survivors.
Avoid soft drinks and high-energy foods with high concentrations of sugar and fat (fast food).
Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole-grain foods. We recommend 5 to 10 portions of fruit and vegetables, specifically those containing high concentrations of anticancer molecules (cauliflower and garlic, berries, green tea, turmeric, red wine, algae, mushrooms, probiotics). These foods could play a key role in secondary prevention by interfering with the growth of tumors that survived the cancer treatment.
Cut down on red meat (beef, lamb, pork) by reducing your intake to 500 g per week and replace them with fish (ideally omega-3 rich fatty fish), eggs or plant proteins. In addition, completely eliminate deli foods because they significantly increase the risk of cancer.
As for alcohol, opt for red wine and limit your consumption to 2 glasses for men and 1 glass for women.
Limit your intake of products preserved in salt (cured fish for example) as well as foods with high salt content.
Do not ingest supplements or other natural products to prevent cancer relapse.