It's hardly breaking news that living a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and plenty of exercise will pay off in dozens of ways. New research into colon cancer, specifically patients who have survived Stage 3 disease, shows that after surgery and treatment, diet and exercise are key to upping the odds of survival. Colon cancer is one of the more treatable forms of cancer, but a study that followed 1,000 patients who had been treated for Stage 3 cancer showed that lifestyle changes definitely were a factor in reducing the risk of a recurrence.
For seven years patients were followed, with diet tracking, exercise monitoring and other lifestyle factors being recorded. Those patients who had the healthiest habits also had the highest rates of survival. Factors that upped survival times and recurrence rates were limiting red meat and processed foods, adding in more plant based foods, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight. Another factor? Nuts. Tree nuts like almonds and walnuts, even as an occasional snack, were shown to cut the risk of the cancer coming back almost in half. Many patients might feel that diet and exercise don't matter because the diagnosis of a malignant cancer is so daunting, but the study results show that even once diagnosed, there are still ways to fight back with food choices and healthy habits.