A balanced lifestyle is the key to healthy living. CANSA encourages all South Africans to make smart choices and to embrace a balanced lifestyle in order to help reduce their cancer risk. There are five ‘key behaviours’ characteristic of a balanced lifestyle, which can promote health & reduce the risk of cancer: - Eating & Drinking Smart - Being Physically Active & Maintaining a Healthy Weight - Avoiding Carcinogens (cancer- causing agents) - Being Pro-Active and Taking Control to Reduce Cancer Risk - Keeping Food Safe Read press release: http://www.cansa.org.za/leading-a-balanced-lifestyle-the-key-to-healthy-living/

2. • Eat at least five (5) portions of fresh fruit and vegetables each day.
• Choose a variety of fruit and vegetables of different colours to take in enough
nutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
• Eat more fibre, for example fruits and vegetables with skins included.
• Eat more whole-grain foods such as Bokomo Weet-Bix and Bokomo Oats,
mealie pap, brown rice and sorghum.
Look after your body
• Avoid food that is fatty, sugary and salty
such as chips, potato crisps, sweets and
fast foods.
• Restrict salt intake to not more than 2 gms
(1 tsp) of Sodium per day – rather
substitute SALT with fresh herbs and
spices.
• Avoid sugary soft drinks, sweet and fatty
foods, which cause obesity, which
increases your cancer risk. Water is better.

3. Look after your body
• Avoid food that is fatty, sugary and salty
such as chips, potato crisps, sweets and
fast foods
• Restrict salt intake to not more than 2
gms (1 tsp) of Sodium per day – rather
substitute SALT with fresh herbs and
spices
• Avoid sugary soft drinks, sweet and fatty
foods, which cause obesity, which
increases your cancer risk. Water is
better

4. Look after your body

5. Lifestyle Choices
• Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous
physical activity on 5 or more days of the week.
• Children and adolescents should engage in at least 60min
of moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 5 days
per week.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Be as lean as possible within
the normal range of your body weight.
• Avoid direct sunlight between 10am and 3pm. Stay in
the shade or under an umbrella as much as possible
• Wear protective clothing; thickly-woven fabric hats with
wide brims, UV protective clothes/swimsuits
• Always apply sunscreen regularly (SPF 20-50)
according to skin type
• Avoid sunbeds and sunlamps
• Wear sunglasses with a UV protection rating of UV400

6. Lifestyle Choices
• Protect yourself from the sun
• Avoid direct sunlight between 10am and
3pm. Stay in the shade or under an
umbrella as much as possible
• Wear protective clothing; thickly-woven
fabric hats with wide brims, UV protective
clothes/swimsuits
• Wear sunglasses with a UV protection
rating of UV400
• Always apply sunscreen regularly
(SPF 20-50) according to skin type
• Avoid sunbeds and sunlamps

7. Spirituality
• Religious and spiritual values are
important
• Spirituality is defined as an individual’s
sense of peace, purpose and connection
to others, as well as belief in the meaning
of life
• Spirituality may be found and expressed
through an organised religion or in other
ways
• Research shows that individuals who
have a strong spirituality cope better with
illness, stress or death

8. Go for Regular
Screening
CANSA offers screening tests at our CANSA
Care Centres & Mobile Health Units
countrywide:
• FotoFinder - cutting edge technology for
skin cancer
• Prostate cancer - Prostate Specific
Antigen (PSA) tests - blood test for
PSA levels, high levels may require
referral for further tests like a Digital
Rectal Exam by your doctor
• Guidance on Testicular & Breast self-
examinations

9. Go for Regular
Screening
• SureTouch - the latest non-invasive
technology for safe breast health
examinations. If needed, you may be
referred to your doctor for a
mammogram – it’s not a diagnostic tool,
it aids in detecting abnormalities
• Cervical cancer - go for Pap Smears
every 2 to 3 years at least from age 30
• Lifestyle risk assessments

10. Life is Beautiful
• Produced to make essential translated
research available to members of the
public.
• The 65-page full-colour booklet covers
important topics such as balanced lifestyle,
healthy living, nutrition (where the ‘good,
bad and ugly’ in our kitchens are dealt
with), physical activity, carcinogens, and a
history of both cancer and CANSA.
• Contains a foreword by Dr Aaron
Motsoaledi, Minister of Health as well as
recipes by celebrities like Evita and radio
personality and cancer survivor, Jeremy
Mansfield
• The book is for sale at all CANSA Care
Centres. Get your copy NOW!
ONLY
R79.80

11. Balanced Lifestyle Fact Sheet
Visit www.cansa.org.za and follow
the links to read more about
balanced lifestyle