How You Can Prevent Cancer in 12 Steps

Choose healthy food items

• Eat plenty of green leafy vegetables: Dark green vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, chicory, kale etc. contain high concentrations of antioxidants that prevent many types of cancers.

• Eat plenty of fruits: Fruits such as berries, tomatoes, grapes and watermelon consist of vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals that have shown to decrease the risk of neoplastic growth and spread.

• Increase the intake of freshly grown sprouts: Freshly grown sprouts of beans, nuts, legumes, seeds, and grains are rich sources of protein, fiber and several important enzymes. These phytonutrients have a protective effect against many types of cancers.

Avoid harmful items

• Avoid saturated fats: Foods rich in saturated fats such as animal butter, fatty meat or processed cheese are harmful as they cause the formation of reactive oxygen species that may damage your cells leading to cancer. Also, avoid deep fried foods that form carcinogenic byproducts such as heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Instead, choose healthy fats which include extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and fish oil.

• Do not consume canned food items: The packaging material used for canned items is made of certain carcinogenic substances such as Bisphenol-A (BPA). The increased levels of BPA may have an estrogenic effect and may cause breast cancer in females and prostate cancer in males. In addition, the preservatives and chemicals that have been used to keep the food fresh can itself cause cancer.

• Do not eat processed food: Processed foods such as bacon, ham, sausages have high concentrations of nitrites and nitrates. These chemicals in a large amount can cause free radical-induced cell damage and promotes growth of cancer.

• Avoid tobacco: Both active and passive smoking increases the likelihood of getting lung cancer. In addition, chewing tobacco in the form of betel nut or smokeless tobacco may cause cancers of mouth, throat, and pancreas.

• Avoid excessive alcohol consumption: Drinking excessive amount of alcohol enhances the chances of getting breast, colon, liver, and kidney and lung cancers.

Drink pure water free of chemicals

It is preferred that you filter the municipal water which may contain several chemicals such as chlorine and chloramine. A whole house filtration system purifies water from all the chemicals and other contaminants that can be mutagenic or carcinogenic to your cells.

Perform exercise daily

Physical activity for 30 minutes a day improves your blood circulation, boosts metabolism, strengthens the immune system and significantly cut down the risk of breast, colon and various other cancers.

Avoid using synthetic household cleaners

Avoid using commercial cleaning products as well as air fresheners as they contain chemicals such as terpenes, phthalates, benzene, phenol, formaldehyde, triclosan etc. These chemicals slowly exhibit breast cancer development in females. The question is how to prevent cancer? By simply using plain soap and water, 3% hydrogen peroxide, plain vinegar or baking soda mixed with apple cider vinegar for cleaning purposes.

Avoid unnecessary use of cosmetics on your skin, hairs, and nails

There are millions of chemicals that have been used to make a beauty product or a cream. Out of all, many of them are toxicogenic and absorbed via your skin to the bloodstream. Cut down all these artificial beauty products to prevent cancer and prefer natural products for your skin care. These include pure olive oil and coconut oil for moisturizing skin, oregano or tea tree oil for acne treatment and baking soda mixed in a bath tub as a deodorant.

Protect yourself from ultraviolet radiations

Excessive exposure to sunlight during peak hours i.e. between 10 am to 4 pm increases the risk of skin cancer. If necessary, apply an adequate quantity of sunscreen to exposed areas 15-20 minutes before you go out, wear loose fitting clothes, a large brimmed hat and polarized sunglasses.

Minimize the use of mobile phones and tablets

Limit the use of cell phones and tablets for necessary calls and text messages. Keep your phone and electronic devices at a certain distance during sleep hours as they emit radiofrequency energy (radio waves) that have a possible association with cancer.

Use steel or ceramic cookware

Most of the nonstick cookware is made stain-resistant by making a coating of a layer that contains perflourooctanoic acid (PFOA). This coating can gradually break and release toxins into the kitchen environment. Ingesting these toxins into your body may lead to cancer over time. Therefore, try to use steel and ceramic pots for cooking to answer your question of how to prevent cancer?

Minimize use of microwave oven

Microwave oven emits non-ionizing radiations to heat food items. Although these radiations do not have enough power to damage the DNA of your cells, a few animal studies have shown some link between microwaves and cancer. Furthermore, use of plastic dishes to heat food in microwave oven may cause release of certain chemicals that lead to cancer.

Get proper vaccinations

Certain viral infections can deteriorate into cancers. It is advised to prevent those infections via proper immunization. Hepatitis B vaccine is recommended to prevent liver cancer for high-risk individuals. These include people with multiple sexual partners, intravenous drug abusers, individuals with sexually transmitted infections, healthcare workers, doctors and nurses who get frequent exposure to blood, saliva and other body fluids. Another virus called humanpapilloma virus (HPV) increases the risk of cancer in cervix, genitalia and head and neck region. It is preferred to get immunization against this virus in adolescent years.

Practice safe sex to avoid infections 

There is an increased risk of contracting infections such as HPV and HIV especially if you have multiple sexual partners and if you are not using condoms. These infections may cause various kinds of cancers.