Cancer prevention and possible cancer causes
1 Diet and Lifestyle
This section covers a number of diet and lifestyle factors implicated in the cancer process.
There can be little doubt that Poor Diet is a major contributory factor in the cancer process. The connection between Diet and cancer is a focal point for much of the work by health bodies in preventing cancer - estimates vary from 30 to 70 per cent of all cancers.
Do you think Smoking is the biggest cause of cancer? Think again.
Depending upon which research study you read , smoking increases risk by about 25 per cent while being overweight by more than 7 kilos can increase risk by as much as 60 per cent! Please read our article on Obesity.
A basic lack of minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium can imbalance your cells, as can too much sodium (salt). This can lead to a lack of oxygen in your cells - one of the contributors to cancer. More on all of this in Poor Diet as a contributor to cancer.
You will also find much on our site about the importance of having an alkaline body - read our article on acid bodies by clicking the link on the left.
But even the best food cannot yield its nourishment and vitamins to you if you do not have the right balance of beneficial bacteria in your gut. We have two articles on the crucial importance of eating a bit of dirt in your life. Did you know that children brought up on farms have stronger immune systems than kids raised in urban flats - its their beneficial bacteria. We encourage you to read the articles - beneficial bacteria are cancer preventions at work.
Oestrogen can have toxic effects on the workings of your cells. We cover that here too. However your diet and lifestyle can increase your blood oestrogen levels - if you are overweight, sleep badly, drink too much, eat poorly (too many fats, large meals). In section 2 (Dangers) we will tell yopu how pesticides, plastics in bottles and white can linings, and chemicals in toiletries and personal care products, amongst others, can also increase your blood oestrogen levels.
And then there are foods which may be linked to cancer according to expert research studies. We look at Cows dairy, and acrylamides (produced by baking and heating to high temperatures) and even GM Crops. Who knows? Then there is glucose - the favourite food of a cancer cell. People with the highest blood glucose levels get more cancers and survive less.
We also look at cancer prevention in your lifestyle. Lets get it clear. YOU NEED SUNSHINE. Vitamin D prevents cancer and it is sparse in food (best is fish oil). You make it from cholesterol in your body when you are in the sun.
There is much you can do to correct a poor diet, stress, poor sleeping habits etc. And remember: While these factors may or may not cause direct DNA damage, they can severly reduce your immune systems function and a cancer cell could exploit this weakness.
2 Mental State
The World Health Organisation quote poor diet, toxins (including smoking) and disease as the prime causes of cancer - but we feel they ignore the contribution of mental state.
People touched by cancer are often the nicest people - they rush round trying to please everyone (which is impossble so they start to feel stressed and guilty). They dont make time for themselves - to go to the gym, to relax, to watch old movies, to laugh. And they get stressed, often ending up in unsatisfactory jobs (because they dont like to complain). Often they store up all their problems and simply cannot get them off their chest - read about this and more in Stress and Mental State as contributors to cancer. Of course, stress is not an independent factor - science has shown it links to hormone levels, oxygen levels and body energy levels.
We also have an article on melatonin - the hormone produced about 90 minutes after you fall asleep in a totally darkened room. IARC has declared lack of sleep to be carcinogenic because a lack of full melatonin levels in your body allows oestrogen and IGF-1 hormones to be uncontrolled. And both are known to increase cancer risk. Melatonin prevents cancer (It is also lowered in the presence of EMFs, but that is in section 2)
So Sleep, perchance to make melatonin and ye shall prevent cancer.
Sorry, William.
3 You can also read two articles on the benefits of Exercise in preventing cancer.