Health News Online

How to Prevent Cancer

Posted by admin on December 19, 2009 | No Comments

How to Prevent Cancer
The media frequently pours out new information on how to prevent cancer or the causes of cancer, and then later dismisses the advice. It is confusing for the average person to know what the truth is on how to prevent cancer. Only scientifically proven information will be discussed in this article on how to prevent cancer.
The scientific evidence states that 80% of all cancers are caused by identified factors: 30% is caused by smoking; 35-50% is caused by the food we eat. This scientific evidence is backed up by the National Cancer Institute. Knowing these risk factors and doing something about it is the best way to know how to prevent cancer.

How to prevent cancer-diet
 Certain foods contain higher amounts of nutrients and chemical substances that our bodies need in order to delay or prevent some cancers.  Knowing which foods are anti-carcinogenic will help you know how to prevent cancer.

How to prevent cancer- Eat fruits and vegetables                       
This is first on the list because it is probably the most important. They contain hundreds of ingredients including vitamins and minerals, fiber and phytochemicals. Dark colored fruits and vegetables have a pigment that is called Carotenoids and these have been scientifically proven to help prevent cancer.

The substance present in dark green and yellow vegetables is called beta-carotene, a known anti-carcinogencic.  Equally healthy are vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, turnips, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. Vitamin C helps neutralize cancer-causing chemicals.

How to prevent cancer- High fiber diet
Grains and dry beans are good sources of fiber, minerals, vitamins and other plant compounds.
Whole grains contain selenium which also fights cancer.  Countries with diets high in fiber have fewer cases of cancer. Fiber moves through the digestive tract quickly, helping the body to get rid of carcinogens. It’s important for the prevention of breast cancer because the fiber helps to move the estrogen out of the body more quickly.

You can get your fiber from whole grains, lentils, beans, fruit and vegetables. If you know how to prevent cancer in your diet, and you still aren’t getting enough fiber, you may want to consider taking a supplement.

How to prevent cancer- Reduce fat in your diet
Scientific evidence shows that cultures with higher fat diets have a higher cancer rate. Animal fat is more deadly than vegetable fat. Fat increases hormone production and therefore increases the chances of some types of cancer. It also increases the bile production in the body which increases the chance of colon cancer.

How to prevent cancer-reduce/ eliminate toxins from your life

How to prevent cancer- Reduce or avoid alcohol and avoid smoking
It’s very simple: excessive alcohol intake increases the risk for breast, mouth, pharynx and esophagus cancers. If you smoke and drink, then your risk multiplies. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths and most of these cancers (80-90%) are directly linked to smoking. Knowing how to prevent cancer by quitting smoking is well known and documented.

How to prevent cancer- Reduce exposure to toxins
When our bodies are exposed to toxins they eliminate these toxins through our kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system, lungs, bowels and skin. Toxins damage our cells and rob our bodies of oxygen. Toxins are everywhere and they are hard to avoid, but if you want to know how to prevent cancer, then you’ll need to reduce your exposure to these toxins.

While the methods mentioned in this article is great advice on how to prevent cancer, following the advice to the letter doesn’t guarantee that you won’t get cancer. It will decrease the likelihood that you will, and/ or decrease the likelihood that you’ll die from cancer. Knowing how to prevent cancer is your first line of defense, and the second is trying your best to follow these recommendations on a daily basis.