Weight loss saves woman's life

Can losing weight save your life? For one mum losing 6 stone helped her spot 3 cancerous tumours in her breast. Read more about this story here.

Sitting on a big problem - Reason to lose weight #241

As someone who gave up smoking to reduce my cancer risk, I found this article really hit home. While we can't really prevent hereditary dispositions to cancer, we can reduce the risk of cancers caused by the environment.

So, think about it:

You're sitting in a freshly drywalled house, drinking coffee from a Styrofoam cup and talking on a cellphone. Which of these is most likely to be a cancer risk? It might be the sitting, especially if you do that a lot.


Despite all the recent news coverage about cancer links to mobiles, coffee, styrofoam and formaldehyde-based building materials, our biggest risks - according to health experts - are inactivity and obesity.

This article ends with a great quote that goes beyond cancer, beyond weight loss... just beyond everything. It's a mantra to live by:

You can't live in fear. You have to live life.

Less weight... more vitamin D

Stuck for a good reason to lose weight?

Well, another benefit of weight loss is enhanced protection against osteoporosis! Losing just 5 per cent of your body weight increases vitamin D levels in the obese, according to research released by the Fred Hutchinson Research Centre.

So what does this mean?

Vitamin D - which isn't technically a vitamin - is used by the body to help improve muscle strength, boost immunity, reduce inflammation, increase absorption of calcium and monitor calcium and phosphate levels in the bloodstream. The latter helps to protect against rickets and osteoporosis as it maintains bone strength and density.

Some studies have linked Vitamin D with reduced risk of cancer, but according to the the National Cancer Institute, the findings of some of these studies have been inconsistent.