The Best Tips for Avoiding Cancer

by Heidi Stevenson

As documented in Cancer Is Defeated by a Healthy Immune System, the most important factor in preventing cancer is a strong immune system. Unfortunately, we're bombarded with toxic products and toxic medical advice, both of which conspire to harm our body's defences against all diseases. So, by following the suggestions offered here, you'll be doing wonders towards bringing yourself to optimal health—and that, in fact, is the key to preventing cancer.

(There is no particular order to these suggestions. All are important.)

Sunlight

Sunlight has been targeted by conventional medicine as a terrible evil that causes cancer and aging. While there's a kernel of truth inside the claim, the reality is far different. Excess sun, to the point of getting burned, is harmful and has been linked to melanoma. However, many things that we require for good health can, in overuse, become harmful. Consider salt, which is absolutely necessary for life, but devastating in excess, or any of the B vitamins, which cause the same symptoms in excess that are produced in deficiency. Sunlight is absolutely essential.

Of course, the best way to get your sunlight is naturally, by going outside in the sun. In today's world, though, that can be difficult. So, second best is Vitamin D, which is the substance your body is able to make from sunlight. The only common food source of D is mushrooms. Cod liver oil, though rich in D, is highly toxic; the risks likely outweigh the benefits.

Tanning beds are a third way of obtaining adequate vitamin D. Ultraviolet rays, the primary ones produced by tanning beds, are used to make vitamin D, and studies have shown that people who use have significantly higher levels of it. The whole story about tanning beds, though, is unknown—and Gaia Health thinks it should be noted that, since the full spectrum from the sun is not obtained artificially, it must be assumed that tanning beds are not the optimal approach.

People who live in northern latitudes are most at risk from vitamin D deficiency, and those with dark skin are at most risk. Therefore, if you are dark skinned and live in a northern clime, it's likely a good idea to take a vitamin D supplement. Be aware, too, that optimal levels of vitamin are probably significantly higher than the current standards state.

Diet

As with so much else associated with health, diet is central. The bottom line is, of course, that you truly are what you eat. If your diet is insufficient, unbalanced, or contains too many toxic elements, your health will suffer. This area of health covers a huge range of topics and is far from a one-size-fits-all means of approaching health. Here the discussion will, of necessity, be limited to highlights:

• Insulin Levels: You probably know that insulin deficiency is the culprit behind diabetes. It is, however, far more than that. A definitive connection between insulin resistance and breast cancer has been made. To make matters more confusing, high levels of insulin have also been shown to be associated with breast cancer. Gaia Health, though, believes that there is no conflict. Insulin resistance generally develops from a history of uncontrolled insulin—spikes and drops—that results from poor diet.
• Sugar and Carbohydrates: Regulation of insulin, for most people, is a matter of limiting unbound sugars and carbohydrates. When these are eaten immoderately, as is the case in virtually any modern diet, results in spikes of insulin, followed by drops of it in the blood. It isn't insulin itself that's the issue, but the abnormal peaks and valleys resulting from high concentrations of foods that release sugar into the blood system rapidly. As a rule, the harmful sugars are processed ones. Fruits, though high in sugar, have it tightly bound so that it's released gradually during digestion and doesn't usually cause insulin spikes. Carbohydrates are very rapidly converted to sugar, which is virtually immediately absorbed into the blood, again resulting in insulin spikes. Although whole grains are better than processed ones, the reality is that unprocessed grains are also guilty and should be limited in the diet.
• Omega 3 Fats: You have likely heard that the important issue is the balance between omega 3 and omega 6 fats. While this is technically true, it doesn't address the reality of modern diets. The real issue is that most people take in massive quantities of omega 6 fats and minimal amounts of omega 3's. Thus, it is exceedingly rare for someone to have too little omega 6 fat. Your focus needs to be on replacing omega 6 with omega 3 fats. Sources of omega 3 fat include olive oil, nut oils, and avocados.
• Fruits and Veggies: Naturally, it comes down to this. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Do not overcook them. To gain the most nutrition, eat as much raw as possible, and try to make it organic. Aside from the harm caused by pesticides, conventionally grown produce lacks nutritionally, since it's grown in played-out soil.

Exercise

There's that old idea that just keeps coming up again and again. If you want to be healthy, you need to exercise. There is no easy way to sugarcoat it. If you've been indolent, your health will deteriorate. There is good news here, though. Exercising releases endorphins. They're the feel-good drug of the body. Endorphins alleviate pain. They make you feel good. And the effect lasts. Exercise for just a few minutes in the morning and you'll feel better for the rest of the day.

Exercise is so important because your body is meant to move. The modern lifestyle—sitting in front of TVs, sitting in front of a desk, sitting in a vehicle to get to and from home, in short, watching rather than partaking—simply is not the sort of behavior that we're designed to do. To keep joints healthy and, quite literally, lubricated, we must move them. To remove built-up toxins, the lymph system must be able to flow—and nothing comes close to exercise for moving lymph around the body.

So, you must simply face it. If you truly want to minimize your risk of cancer, then exercise needs to be included in your life.

Toxic Substances

Though many harmful toxic substances are difficult to avoid, there is much you can do to protect yourself. The typical household is full of them, and many lurk where you probably don't suspect. Nearly all modern cleansers contain extremely toxic substances. Even the dyes used to make them attractive have been noted as carcinogens. Use safe natural alternatives. This guide from Canada (PDF format) offers suggestions: The Dirt on Cleaners: Toxic Ingredients on Cleaning Products. Stay away from anything with these ingredients: formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, xylene, methanol, and ethylbenzene. (This is far from a complete list.)

Be aware that many of these ingredients, among other toxic substances, are used in our most personal "health" products, including shampoos and conditioners, make-up, cleansers, and sunscreens. Yes, sunscreens, the very products that mainstream medicine have been pushing people to use to avoid sun exposure, are themselves guilty of increasing the odds of cancer. People, such as hairdressers, who work with these chemicals on a daily basis suffer from increased rates of cancer.

Psychology

Stress is a killer. In today's world, we live with constant stress. It elevates our fight or flight hormones, putting constant stress on the body's physical aspect and depresses the immune system, which, as documented in Cancer Is Defeated by a Healthy Immune System, results in increased cancer risk. One study documented that stress increases the risk of breast cancer more than two-fold.

The question is how to deal with it. The first step for most of us is simply to acknowledge the reality of stress in our lives. Pretending that we're unaffected or stuffing the emotions is not the solution. Neither is feeling guilty for having emotions that are defined as negative. Simply trying to have a positive outlook won't resolve the problem. We need to learn how to deal with stress. No one method works for everyone. In this arena, you need to figure out what works for you, but here are some techniques that are effective for many people:

• Meditation or, if it better suits you, prayer. Taking yourself outside routine daily life has been shown to have dramatically calming results.
• Learning not to be proud: Ask for help. This can accomplish several things. First, you learn to accept your limitations, which can go a long way towards decreasing stress. Second, you may actually get some of the load taken off your shoulders. It can bring companionship, a significant factor in easing stress.
• Find a companion or support network. Nothing eases stress more than spending time with friends.
• Exercise. It gets the endorphins flowing, which can help make stress melt away.
• Avoid stresses that you don't need in your life. Much of this sort of stress can be avoided by changing your needs. If you avoid going into debt for things you don't need, you won't find yourself worrying about how to pay the bills. Take a look at what appear to be needs, but may merely be adding to your stress—and consider eliminating them.
• Yoga and other mental/physical techniques help millions deal with everyday stresses.

Keep in mind that we're all individuals. There is no absolute rule for managing and preventing stress. The very thing that most upsets one person can be the bees knees for another. Some people thrive in a driven environment, while others shrivel. Some people find doing repetitive things calming, which others find it maddening. Keep tabs on yourself to figure out what does and does not work to ease stress, and be aware that we change through life. So what once might have made you feel like you were useless could become a soothing activity. Just remember that the only person who can possibly decide what is or is not stressful is you.

The Upshot

Each of the areas discussed here deserves much deeper treatment, and future Gaia Health articles will address them individually. The bottom line is that cancer avoidance is best accomplished through the same techniques that bring good health. Cancer is a breakdown of the body's defenses. Obviously, we cannot ultimately prevent death. Part of our programming on entering life leads to its end. However, we certainly do not have to hasten death, nor must we live in the misery of poor health.

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