10 Cancer Prevention Tips for this New Year

Cancer Prevention Tips. Can you believe we are in our last week of January 2020? No joke when they say time flies! I know many of us have started the year with new diet goals or exercise regimens to keep us healthy. While this is wonderful, unfortunately, it is not long-lasting for most. Why is that? I truly think it is not about a short term program but instead, a long term commitment to implement a sustainable and healthy lifestyle that makes sense to your individual needs.

Cancer as many of you already know is a fast-paced growing disease worldwide. Research indicates that 70% of the risk to develop cancer can be prevented through lifestyle changes. Furthermore, studies show how nutrition and diet can aid in cancer prevention.

On this blog post, I share some of my top cancer prevention health tips to maintain a healthy diet and overall well-being for this 2020.

Tip #1 Eat Whole foods

Diet is frequently considered as a food regimen focused on weight loss, while it is actually the sum of food consumed by the individual. Eating whole plant foods is linked to lowering the risk of lung, breast, esophageal, stomach, and colon cancers. Research shows a plant-based diet as a primary measure for prevention is the way to go. Enjoying a variety of nutritional whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, can most definitely aid in cancer prevention. These plant-based foods are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes that help boost your immune system and help protect against cancer.

Tip #2 Limit Processed Foods & Red Meat

There is extensive research indicating that processed meat prepared using traditional methods was inversely associated with colon cancer and CRC risk. Processed meat such as bacon, sausages, hotdogs, pepperoni, and salami are highly connected to colorectal cancer due to nitrate preservatives and other substances. A research group from the UK showed for the first time that volunteers consuming large amounts of red meat excrete high amounts of nitroso compounds via feces. It has been demonstrated that the enhanced formation of nitroso compounds in the gastrointestinal tract results in the formation of the promutagenic DNA lesions. This consequently could lead to gene mutations and, subsequently to the development of colorectal cancer.

Tip #3 Cut Down on Processed Sugar and Carbs

You will find sugar on most labels out there, making it extremely difficult to stop consuming it or even cutting it down. You will find sugar in sweetened beverages, cookies, ice-creams, salad dressings, sauces, pasta, canned vegetables, etc. I believe we all need some sugar in our diets but we must be informed as to the type of sugars we are consuming. Some products disguised the “sugar” ingredient under a different name. Here is a list of them to look out for:

• fructose (sugar from fruits)
• lactose (sugar from milk)
• sucrose (made from fructose and glucose)
• maltose (sugar made from grain)
• glucose (simple sugar,)
• dextrose (a form of glucose)

Opting for natural sugars like honey, maple syrup, molasses, agave, yacon syrup, etc are packed with antioxidants and nutrients to protect you from cancer.

Avoid artificial sweeteners at all cause. Studies have found links between artificial sweeteners and cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, studies show a link to artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, cyclamate, amount others associated with the development of different types of cancer such as bladder, lymphoma, leukemia, and others. If you have a sweet tooth, it’s better to get your sugar fix from naturally sweet fruits than processed foods. Having a balanced diet can include a moderate amount of natural sugars to satisfy your cravings and reduce your cancer risk.

Tip #4 Limit Alcohol

Research shows that alcohol consumption may increase your risk to develop cancer. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Drinking alcohol raises your risk of getting six kinds of cancer:

• Mouth and throat.
• Voice box (larynx).
• Esophagus.
• Colon and rectum.
• Liver.
• Breast (in women).

All types of alcoholic drinks, including red and white wine, beer, cocktails, and liquor, are linked with cancer. The more you drink, the higher your cancer risk. When you drink alcohol, your body breaks it down into a chemical called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde damages your DNA and prevents your body from repairing the damage. DNA is the cell’s “instruction manual” that controls a cell’s normal growth and function. When DNA is damaged, a cell can begin growing out of control and create a cancer tumor.

Tip #5 Lower your Risk with Superfoods

Superfoods are packed with a variety of nutrients, such as antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, known to ward off cancer. A developing field called nutriepigenomics examines the connection between diet and chemical marks that can be attached to or removed from our DNA, thereby turning genes on or off. Many new studies suggest that certain foods or supplements may be able to adjust the expression of our genes, potentially influencing our health, for better or worse. Eating foods that contain flavones, might be able to epigenetically reduce cancer risk. Superfoods, rich in flavones such as parsley, celery, spinach, maca, kiwi, camu camu, and the list goes on, are considered to be a powerful arsenal for any type of cancer prevention diet.

Tip #6 Choose Healthy Fats

Healthy types of fat are known to fight inflammation, support the brain, and heart health as well as protect against cancer. Omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, tuna, and flaxseeds are great choices along with olive oil, nuts, and avocados. A professional-grade supplement can also be used.

Tip #7 Must Have Supplements

These are the must-have supplements that I can not be without.

Vitamin D3 Complete vitamin D3 reduces chronic illness risk by interacting with other substances in the body. The body makes a protein called GcMAF that is critical for a healthy immune response; GcMAF can actually aide in cell growth and differentiation. GcMAF is produced by modification of a vitamin D-binding protein, which is naturally promoted by lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell found in the lymphatic system. But when the body is deficient in vitamin D it’s deficient in GcMAF as well. This means that one is not getting the advantage of the GcMAF’s health benefits abilities.

Probiotics a professional grade probiotics formula for supporting healthy gastrointestinal microbiota and immune function. Your gut is the cornerstone of your immune system, and as most of you may already know, 70-80% of your immune tissue is in your gut. Taking a good quality probiotic formula, it’s an excellent choice for daily use to maintain a diverse beneficial gut microbiota.

Iodine is an essential mineral to support thyroid function, protect your body from toxins and build your immunity. Also, iodine plays a powerful role as an antioxidant and scavenger of free radicals in thyroid and breast disease.

Beta 1,3-D Glucan helps naturally modulate a healthy immune system to provide support and balance. Beta Glucans have been shown through years of study to boost and improve the immune response through enhancing macrophages. These are immune cells that fight off harmful invaders in our bodies. They also send signals to other immune cells to attack the invaders. During these attacks, they also release a compound known as cytokines. These are chemicals that allow immune cells to communicate with one another. During the multi-pronged attack on the unwanted invaders in our bodies, βeta Glucans stimulate white blood cells, which bind to tumors or viruses, and then release chemicals to destroy it.

Tip #8 Detoxify

There are multiple protocols available to rid your body from toxins and help you maintain a strong immune system. These are some of my favorites as I implement them in my health routine.

• Drink plenty of clean/ alkaline water
• Sweat out your toxins (exercise, infrared sauna)
• Massage
• Sleep (a good amount of sleep helps with detoxification and repair process)
• Go to Chiropractor (adjustments help with detoxification pathways and help your body perform at its peak level)
• Fasting
• Juice cleanse
• Coffee enemas
• Follow the tips mentioned above (will help with detoxification process)

Tip #9 Practice Prayer

Today there’s much research out there that supports and validates the power of prayer. For example, here’s what Jeff Levin said in 2016 about a pioneering study in this field:

“This conversation began with the publication, in 1988, of a now-famous double-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial of distant intercessory prayer among 393 cardiac patients in a San Francisco hospital (Byrd 1988). The study found that prayed-for subjects did significantly better on selected outcomes than the non-prayed-for control group.”

If having a group of strangers pray for you can “significantly” improve your health outcomes, imagine how much stronger the effect can be when the prayer is personal!

Engaging in prayer will contribute to your overall spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. I have witnessed how prayer shifts atmospheres from negativity and despair to feelings of unexplainable hope and joy. Prayer transforms attitudes, heals the heart and body, and changes mindsets for the better. Your outlook regarding what seems to be a hopeless situation can change after prayer. It is almost as if you unload all that heaviness and surrender it all to this higher being. Prayer is powerful, it works and it is free. I guarantee it!

Tip #10 Create your Future

A surprising reality is that your brain—your unconscious mind—can not tell the difference between an actual experience and “just” a thought. Just like experiences, our thoughts carry energy (which, by the way, may explain why our cells can hear our thoughts).

Whether we’re doing something or thinking about something, our brains just take it all in and store it in a way that then influences our emotions. This, in turn, influences our body chemistry, which can have a significant impact on our reality. Be INTENTIONAL to create now the future you seek, it all starts with your THOUGHTS. Let your thoughts take the lead into building your health at its optimum.

I sincerely hope you find these tips helpful in your journey. As always, I am grateful for you, for reading my blog and for sharing your journey with me. Please tell me if you have tried any of these tips or maybe you can share some tips with me. Until next time, happy 2020!