Better than a cure
Avoid these known cancer triggers to prevent the disease before it starts.
By Veronique Desaulniers, DC
Cancer statistics are reaching staggering proportions. According to the World Health Organization, 1-in-2 men and 1-in-3 women are destined to develop some form of cancer in their lifetime. And 1-in-8 women are likely to develop breast cancer in their lifetime. These are frightening statistics but, fortunately, you do have a measure of control by being proactive about your health.
An article in Pharmaceutical Research states that “Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes. Only 5 to 10 percent of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetic defects, whereas the remaining 90 to 95 percent have their roots in the environment and lifestyle.”1
According to research published by the Breast Cancer Fund, there is clear evidence that chemicals in the environment and radiation exposure are linked to breast cancer.2 Knowing top causes of cancer is the first step in avoiding them.
Trigger 1: SAD foods
The standard American diet (SAD) has an appropriate acronym because it has contributed to the sad state of the nation’s health outlook. Processed, packaged, and unhealthy foods make up the majority of what’s on most grocery stores’ shelves. Avoid the following:
- Sugar
- Processed fats and oils
- Chemicals and additives
- Hormones and antibiotics in meats and dairy
- Packaged and processed foods
As the well-known chiropractor and health advocate Jack Lalanne said, “If man made it, don’t eat it.”
Trigger 2: Environmental toxins
Environmental toxins include all the chemicals you are exposed to in the environment, in your home, and in personal-care products. Make informed decisions about the products you use around your home, in your home, and on your body. The average person is exposed to more than 150 chemicals per day, just from the use of personal body care products and cosmetics alone.
Trigger 3: Physical and hormonal stress
One form of physical stress that causes problems is called oxidative stress. This is the body’s inability to readily detoxify or repair damage from toxins.3 When the body breaks down food, or when it is exposed to environmental toxins, it produces free radicals that can cause damage to cells and DNA. If the liver and detoxification pathways are not functioning at optimal levels, chronic exposure to free radicals can lead to DNA damage and ultimately cancer.
Hormonal stress is caused by many environmental chemicals called xenoestrogens. These chemical estrogens mimic natural estrogen and are hormone disruptors. If you cannot metabolize or properly break down these foreign estrogens, you get a buildup of the more aggressive “proliferative” estrogen.
An effective liver cleanser like N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and estrogen cleansers like diindolylmethane (DIM) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C) are appropriate approaches to supporting the body’s ability to regulate estrogen.
Trigger 4: Emotional wounds
Although the complex relationship between psychology and physiology is not completely understood, scientists are well aware that psychological stress affects the immune system. Negative and stress-filled thoughts can lead to immunosuppression, while happy joyous thoughts can boost the immune system.
Learn to manage your stress response and examine your belief systems about your body and your health. Daily meditation and journaling are a great way to heal emotional wounds.
Trigger 5: Dental toxicities
Consultations with thousands of patients who demonstrated compromised immune systems reveal that they had a common denominator: dental toxicities. Dental toxicities affect the body both chemically and energetically. A prominent medical researcher, Yoshiaki Omura, MD, has studied the effects of heavy metals on the body and believes all cancer cells have mercury in them.4
Trigger 6: Inflammation
The association between inflammation and breast cancer has become abundantly clear. It is estimated that 95 percent of all cancers have a common factor: inflammation and a protein complex involved in cellular stress called NF-kB.
Super-foods such as broccoli sprouts, and supportive supplements such as curcumin, can turn off inflammatory genes and turn on protective ones.
Trigger 7: Needles and knives, lotions and potions
This last danger leads to what are known as iatrogenic or medically induced cancers. What may come as a surprise is that the same instruments used to diagnose and treat cancer are also implicated in causing it. Countless women may be unknowingly coerced into radiation and mastectomies when they are only dealing with a benign condition.
According to an opinion published in JAMA, “The practice of oncology is in need of a host of reforms.”5 It is scientifically established that cancer growth and malignancy are strongly stimulated if the cancer stem cells are subjected to radiation and chemical toxins.
Do needle biopsies fall into the same category? Apparently so. According to a statement in JAMA Surgery magazine, “Manipulation of an intact tumor by FNA (fine needle aspiration) or large-gauge needle core biopsy is associated with an increase in the incidence of [sentinel node] metastases, perhaps due in part to the mechanical disruption of the tumor by the needle.”6
Knowledge is power. Be aware of these common culprits that can trigger cancer, and act accordingly to guide yourself and your patients toward healthier outcomes.
