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Brain tumors kill more children and adults under 40 than any other type of cancer in the UK.
Every year, more than 12,000 Britons receive the devastating news that they have this cancer, and only one in 10 are expected to survive over the next decade.
But experts say just a few lifestyle changes could help reduce your chances of contracting the disease.
Watching what you eat, how you sleep, and managing stress are just some of the things brain cancer specialists themselves do in an attempt to keep their gray matter in tip-top shape.
Here, Dr Sara Meade, consultant clinical neuro-oncologist at Birmingham’s Harborne Hospital, part of HCA HealthHe tells MailOnline what healthy habits he prioritizes to keep his brain healthy.
Dr Sara Meade, Consultant Clinical Neuro-Oncologist at Birmingham Harborne Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare
Get outdoors and exercise.
Making sure to include a walk with the family or a refreshing swim is always a priority for Dr. Meade.
She believes that doing enjoyable activities that also keep you fit and healthy is vital for your brain health.
“Every day, I make it a point to do something I enjoy for my own physical and mental health,” he told this website.
‘This could be going swimming, which is my favorite pastime for fitness and wellbeing, going for a walk with my family, dog or friend, or even something as simple as leaving the clinical area for 20 minutes. have coffee with a colleague.
‘Engaging in activities that bring joy helps reduce stress and promotes a positive outlook on life. In turn, this helps maintain good physical and mental health.’
Being active and having a healthy weight can boost your immune system, he says.
Keeping your immune system in top shape can help it work better, its role is to detect and deal with cells that could develop into cancer, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
The charity also highlights that being active reduces inflammation which, if left unchecked, can cause our cells to divide more frequently, increasing the risk of cancer.
“Although there is no specific risk of brain cancer from not being active, it can be applied to reduce the risk of all types of cancer in general,” emphasizes Dr. Meade.
Doing enjoyable activities that also keep you fit and healthy is also vital for your brain health.
Enjoy a balanced and healthy diet
Eating lots of healthy foods not only keeps your body fit and healthy, but also your mind.
“Healthy eating is the cornerstone of maintaining good health,” said Dr. Meade.
“I believe in the principle of moderation and making good food choices most of the time to maintain a healthy balance,” he added.
‘A balanced diet helps provide us with the necessary nutrients for the body and brain to function optimally and promotes general well-being.
“This habit ensures that I have the energy and concentration needed in daily life.”
Oily fish is an important source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for brain health.
Plus, eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer fatty and sugary foods will help you maintain an overall healthy weight.
However, although a healthy, balanced diet can help reduce the risk of cancer, Dr Meade said it is unlikely that there is a single food that definitively reduces the risk.
“There is no strong evidence that you need to eat anything specific to avoid brain cancer; it’s all about eating well and maintaining a normal weight for overall health,” Dr. Meade said.
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of 13 types of cancer, including meningioma (a type of brain tumor), according to CRUK.
One reason for this is that being too fat causes the level of growth hormones in the body increases, causing cells to divide more frequently.
Each of these additional divisions represents another potential opportunity for cancer cells to appear, increasing the risk of contracting the disease.
Another factor that increases the risk is that immune cells are attracted to areas of the body where there are many fat cells.
This can cause a spike of inflammation in these areas which, as highlighted above, causes cells to divide faster, increasing the risk of cancer formation.
Eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer fatty and sugary foods will help you maintain a healthy weight
Close enough each night
A quality dose of closing our eyes can do wonders for our brain health.
“We all function better with a healthy sleep pattern,” Dr. Meade said.
“While everyone’s sleep needs are slightly different when it comes to sleep duration, good quality sleep is crucial for a healthy mind and maintaining cognitive function.
“I prioritize getting enough sleep each night to ensure I am well-rested and able to perform at my best both professionally and personally.”
A healthy adult should sleep between 7 and 9 hours a night, but age and health can change the amount of sleep we need, according to the NHS.
Poor sleep for long periods can have a negative impact on everyone’s mental well-being and also influence the decisions they make.
In the short term it can also make us feel depressed, be more irritable with others, eat more and have difficulty concentrating.
A healthy adult should sleep between 7 and 9 hours a night, but age and health can affect how much sleep we need, says the NHS.
But in the long term, not getting enough sleep has also been linked to greater “wear and tear” on our cells.
This type of cellular alteration is believed to increase the risk of cancerous tumors.
A 2019 study found that people who work night shifts have 30 percent more damage to their DNA compared to those who work normal hours.
In this study, researchers from the University of Hong Kong looked at about 50 doctors at two local hospitals, half of whom had to work through the night and only got two to four hours of sleep. The rest scored seven or more.
Other study suggests that fragmented sleep may trigger types of inflammation that promote tumor growth and progression. But this 2014 study from the University of Chicago was done on mice, not people.
But in 2021 study In people over 50, it found that there was an increased risk of cancer in those who rated their sleep quality as “intermediate” or “poor.”
However, Dr. Meade said more research is needed to confirm whether a lack of good quality sleep can directly increase cancer risk.
But he added that making sure you get enough, good quality sleep can’t hurt and that those who don’t get enough sleep may also have other lifestyle factors, such as a poor diet, that could increase their risk of cancer.
She said: “Those with poor sleep hygiene can often be overweight, have a poor diet, have poor work patterns, so it often all goes together.”
‘It can lead to poor judgment and poor decision making. After a bad night’s sleep, you may find yourself leaning on things you wouldn’t normally want to do: poor dietary choices.’
Keep stress in balance
According to Dr. Meade, staying organized and maintaining a good work-life balance is key to maintaining a healthy mind.
“Daily planning and prioritization are essential to ensuring a healthy work-life balance,” he said.
‘Every day, I plan ahead to manage my responsibilities effectively. This habit helps me stay organized, reduce stress, and maintain a balance that supports my overall well-being.’
“Everyone will have different habits and daily routines that work for them, but these are the habits that I find help improve my mental well-being.”
There is some evidence that improving your mental well-being and reducing stress could also reduce your risk of cancer.
There is also some evidence that boosting your mental well-being and reducing stress could also reduce your risk of cancer.
One paper in 2022 suggested there could be a connection between the body’s exposure to the stress hormone cortisol and cancer.
And another study conducted in February of this year suggested that stress causes cancers to grow and spread.
Although stress has not been directly linked to the disease, according to the NHS, prolonged periods of stress have been linked to high blood pressure and depression.
It may also be more difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle, such as not smoking or drinking, during stressful situations. These habits can lead to an increased risk of cancer, warns CRUK.
However, the charity says there is not enough evidence to show that “those who are more stressed are more likely to get cancer.”
Although there is no direct link, Dr. Meade maintains that controlling your stress levels will, in general, help you have a better “quality of life.”
‘It’s about giving ourselves the best opportunity. “Many of us cannot control whether or not we will get brain cancer in our lives,” she stated.
«For the vast majority of people, there is nothing they have done wrong in their lives that causes it; Brain cancer is usually very random and sporadic. But it is about having the best chances of longevity and quality of life.”