Adequate Water Intake Reduces Risk Of Cancer— Nutritionist

A Nutritionist with Nutrition and Health Managers, Lagos, Dr Paul Nanna, said on Tuesday that drinking adequate water increased the chances of a person being cancer-free for life.

Nanna spoke at a press briefing organised by The Bloom Cancer Care and Support centre, a Lagos based cancer support group.

He said that adequate water intake helped in building the immune system to become resistant to cancer.

“Acid is responsible for 80 percent of diseases including cancer and drinking enough water would prevent accumulation of waste in the body”, he said

Nanna said that dehydration of the body caused the cells to lose 56 percent of water, become soft and flaccid.

He explained that such a development caused an accumulation of waste in the body due to insufficient water in the system.

The nutritionist said that an environment where acidic waste could not be passed out of the body encouraged the growth of cancer.

“It is advisable to drink at least two glasses of water first thing in the morning, and the amount of litres one should drink in a day should be your weight divided by 10,” he said.

Nanna also encouraged Nigerians to reduce the intake of sugary drinks and processed foods such as biscuits and pastries, white sugar, white flour, white rice and white salt, as much as possible.

He said that unrefined foods were healthier as they contained natural chemicals which were vital to the build-up of the immune system against diseases.

Nanna added that the consumption of fruits and vegetables were also very essential in the prevention of cancer.

He said that the acid contained in fruits, which were not good for the body, would be neutralised by adequate water in the system.

The nutritionist advised the public to introduce fruits and vegetables into their diet and avoid overcooking of food, so as to retain their nutrients.

“It is advised that people should endeavour to eat foods as naturally as possible, drink lots of water and avoid stripping off nutrients contained in food by overcooking them”, he said.

The Deputy Executive Director, The Bloom Cancer Care and Support Centre, Dr Mario Adelaja, said that studies had shown that 60 to 80 percent of cancers were preventable.

He said that taking preventive measures was therefore, very essential.

Adelaja said more awareness campaigns, preaching prevention,  should be conducted in Nigeria to reduce the burden of cancer.

He added that the issue of inadequate manpower to treat and cater for cancer patients in the country must also be addressed.

Adelaja said that even though there were about 50,000 doctors in the country, more than half of them were practising abroad while only 30 of the ones available were Oncologists cancer specialists.

He said that adequate funding should be pushed towards cancer management and every member of the public should be an advocate of cancer prevention in the country.

“We need more hands and more treatment centres to reduce the burden of cancer in the country

“More funds need to be allocated to cancer care and management to ensure that cancer related deaths are reduced and everyone should endeavour to become an advocate for its prevention,” he said.