Ten tips to reduce your cancer risk

medicine. But the deeper I got into study and then my career, the more interesting it became and the more I was drawn in.

“What keeps me going now is that I feel I have a responsibility to help, to make a difference. Maybe that’s why I became a surgeon. I am a practical person, I like to be hands-on.”

Today, he mostly operates on cancer patients, because they have a high priority, but also on people with obesity.

In the last few years, he says there’s been a noticeable cross-over between his cancer patients and obesity patients.

“We now know that obesity is a major risk factor for cancer. In the coming years obesity will over-take smoking as the No 1 cause of cancer,” he says.

“It’s worrying because the population is getting bigger and bigger. There are many cancers for which obesity is a risk factor.”

And those cancers are becoming more common. While weight-loss surgery can reduce cancer risk, he says, we can’t fix an entire population through surgery.

At a time where a quarter of Kiwis are considered clinically obese — and two million of us will fit the criteria as soon as 2035 — we need to change our food environment, and fast.

Babor argues that fat isn’t just a personal problem, but a collective one.

“And being fat isn’t your fault if you live in a world saturated with unhealthy food,” he says.

“We all have a duty not to judge, but to take responsibility and push for policy change.

The food industry is in charge of our food environment. The government is not doing enough to change that.

“Smoking is an obvious one that still is not sorted yet. And in New Zealand society our relationships with things like alcohol and meat, as well as UV exposure need particular attention because their effects on cancer risk are strong and they are potentially so fixable.”

Of course, there’s also plenty of little things that we can do in our day to day lives that can nudge our health, and cancer risk in the right direction.

He says his series isn’t just the instructional guide its name suggests, but a personal journey through the foreign land of prevention.

“I have to admit that cancer prevention is something I knew little about,” he says.

“My job as a cancer surgeon is like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. I wanted to know the rest of the story. I took a sabbatical, and

2 3 4 Keep to a healthy weight — be as lean as possible, especially around your waist.

Be physically active as part of everyday life.

Avoid sugary drinks and processed sugary foods.

Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and pulses, such as beans and lentils.

Limit the amount of red meat (beef, pork and lamb) you eat, and avoid processed meat, for example bacon and salami.

went out into the world to look for answers.”

The four episodes focus on food, lifestyle, medicine and technology, and the environment.

“I met some incredible people preventing cancer, and some amazing doctors and scientists, here in New Zealand, and across the world.

“The show asks some of the world’s most brilliant people how not to get cancer. Their answers make for a pretty fascinating series.”

He explores how ancient eating patterns could hold the key to cancer prevention and the efficacy of so-called “superfoods” like kale.

He also explains how meat, sugar and ultraprocessed foods affect our cancer risk, the latest science around obesity, and the power of fasting.

“There’s a lot of talk about diet, but not much action,” he says.

“Beyond 5+ A Day, we’re not really sure what we are supposed to be doing. The link between diet and cancer is well-established and if you don’t smoke, diet is the single most modifiable factor. “That’s why it’s so important we talk about it.” The show takes a fascinating look at the diets of people who live the longest for clues to avoiding cancer.

“I’d like to know how to live to 100.

So we visited a place that’s teeming with centenarians — and asked them how they did it.”

He further examines the impact of sleep and stress; our relationship with our most popular vices; and what hope genetic engineering could offer for ultimate cancer prevention.

In the last episode, he delves into how the environment can influence our cancer risk, through our relationship with the sun, air pollution and chemicals — and whether an ancient way of life can unlock more secrets of cancer prevention.

“We need to do much better on our approach to diet, exercise, smoking, drinking, and sun exposure,” he says. 7 8

How Not To Get Cancer airs at 8.30pm, Tuesday July 2 on TVNZ 1 or Tvnz.co.nz Limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women a day or less.

Limit the amount of salty processed food that you eat. Get as many nutrients and minerals from food rather than taking supplements (vitamin pills).

It is best to breastfeed your baby for the first six months then continue while offering new foods.

After cancer treatment, follow the tips above.

Source: Cancer Society of New Zealand.

“We have a small country that could produce most of its own food, we shouldn’t be exposed to so much unhealthy food. We are obsessed with sport, yet we’re moving less. We need to encourage sport and exercise for everyone. We have an amazing and modern medical system with access to all sorts of information, vaccines, interventions and preventative strategies that could have more of an impact. As individuals we really need to make the most of free screening.”

But he adds this isn’t just a challenge for New Zealand.

All industrialised countries are suffering higher rates of cancer — and some are now taking obesity more seriously, and slapping more restraints on the food industry, especially around sugar.

Other countries such as Australia are investing in skin cancer prevention.

“Some countries and societies place more value on health, communities, and how we all support one another and our environment than we do,” he says.

“But there are lessons to be learned from the Japanese, the French, the Americans and the Greeks.

“These are some of the places we visit in How Not To Get Cancer.”

He says the ultimate goal of the series isn’t just to help us all reduce our risk of cancer, but also to demystify it a little.

“It doesn’t have to be so scary. There are loads of takeaways in every episode. We look at coffee, alcohol, meat, mobile phones and even sex.

“We can all integrate simple changes into our daily lives. I was really surprised by what we found out, and deeply heartened. But everyone seems to pick up on something different.

“Cancer prevention is the opposite of the pain and suffering we associate with the disease. It’s a goodnews story, that’s the big take-away for me.”