All-natural tips to prevent cancer

Delving into the link between lifestyle and cancer, the American Institute of Cancer Research believes that 40 percent of US breast cancer cases could be prevented if only people made wiser lifestyle choices.

So, what, for instance, are your breast bets against the Big C?

Here are some all-natural cancer prevention tips from the mouths of naturopathic doctors:

• Eat at least one-third of your food raw. Avoid frying or charbroiling; instead, boil, poach or steam your food. Add cancer-fighting whole foods, herbs, spices, and supplements to your diet, such as broccoli, curcumin, and resveratrol (red wine is a fine source and it also reduces your risk of heart disease).

• Avoid carbohydrates and sugar. Reduce or eliminate processed foods, sugar/fructose and grain-based foods from your diet. Sugar (all forms), especially fructose (fruit sugar), feeds cancer cells and promotes their growth.

• Decrease protein and increase fat. Dr. Joseph Mercola says, “It would be unusual for most adults to need more than 100 grams of protein and most likely close to half of that amount. Replace excess protein with high quality fats, such as organic eggs from pastured hens, high quality meats, avocados, and coconut oil.”

• Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens (or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones). Some studies show that “soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells.”

• Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats. You can do this by taking high-quality krill oil and reducing your intake of processed vegetable oils.

• Optimize your gut flora to reduce inflammation and strengthen your immune response. Studies indicate that inhibiting inflammatory cytokines may slow cancer growth and improve the response to chemotherapy. Add naturally fermented food (or healthy bacteria) to your plate to prevent cancer or speed recovery.

• Exercise regularly to lower insulin levels. Creating a low-sugar environment discourages the growth and spread of cancer cells. A study shows that exercise can alter immune cells into a more potent disease-fighting form in cancer survivors who had just completed chemotherapy. There’s evidence that exercise can help trigger apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells.

• Maximize your vitamin D level. There’s scientific evidence that you can decrease your cancer risk by more than half simply by maximizing your vitamin D levels with appropriate sun exposure. If you have cancer and you take oral vitamin D, you should monitor your vitamin D blood levels regularly, as well as take your vitamin K2, as K2 deficiency is what produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity.

• Get plenty of natural vitamin A. There is evidence that vitamin A also plays a role in helping prevent breast cancer. It’s best to get your vitamin A from vitamin A-rich foods, rather than a supplement. The best sources include organic egg yolk, raw butter, raw whole milk, beef or chicken liver.

• Try curcumin. In high concentrations, this active ingredient in turmeric can be very helpful in the treatment of breast cancer.

• Get enough zzzz. Poor sleep can interfere with melatonin production, which is associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance and weight gain, both of which promote cancer.

• Limit your exposure to toxins. Do not expose yourself to environmental toxins (for instance, pesticides, herbicides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners, and toxic cosmetics). Avoid BPA, phthalates, and other xenoestrogens or estrogen-like compounds that have been linked to increased breast cancer risk.

• Limit your exposure to radiation. Protect yourself from radiation produced by cell phones, towers, base stations, and Wi-Fi stations. And minimize your exposure to radiation-based medical scans, including dental X-rays, CT scans, and mammograms. .

• Avoid synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Breast cancer is an estrogen-related cancer, and a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reports that breast cancer rates for women dropped simultaneously with the decreased use of hormone replacement therapy.

• Make sure you’re not iodine deficient as iodine deficiency is associated with breast cancer. Dr. David Brownstein, author of the book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It, says that iodine has potent anticancer properties and has been shown to cause cell death in breast and thyroid cancer cells.

• Manage stress. Stress, whatever its cause, is a major contributor to disease. The less you stress, the better it is for your health.

Don’t stress, don’t sweat the small stuff.  Beating cancer can be a walk in the park.