3 Ways to Reduce Your Cancer Risk Today
#1 Keep a Food Log
Many people experience GI distress, but don't know why.
This is a crucially important mystery to solve!
Unidentified food allergies/sensitivities are common culprits for chronic GI issues, which are not only uncomfortable, but damaging to your entire body.
Dysfunctional digestion = reduced nutrient absorption and systemic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation = DNA damage and reduced repair, suppressed and/or dysregulated immune function, brain fog, fatigue, etc.
Dysfunctional digestion and chronic inflammation are also significant risk factors for colorectal cancer, which has become one of the most common cancers in the US. Colorectal cancer has also joined the ranks of the most fatal cancers; lung and pancreatic.
What to Do:
Keep a log for at least 4 days (3 weekdays, 1 weekend day) to identify irritants, and food allergies/sensitivities.
Track food, beverages, supplements/meds, mood, movement, and bowel movements. Look for patterns. Keep in mind that allergic reactions can be immediate or develop over 72 hours.
#2 Go Organic
Non-organic foods have been sprayed with harmful pesticides.
In the US, the most commonly used pesticides are atrazine, alachlor, metalochlor, glyphosate (Roundup™), and 1,3 dichloropropene.
All of these have shown carcinogenic potential and are banned in other countries.
Ingesting the residues present on non-organic foods increases:
Toxic burden
Body-wide inflammation
The likelihood of food intolerance
Gut permeability (leaky gut)
Kidney abnormalities
and risk of:
Depression and attention disorders
Blood cancers
Mutagenic DNA effects
Organic food, on the cheap:
Farmers markets, produce boxes from CSA farms, and discount stores like Grocery Outlet and Costco can help keep the cost low while still benefiting from high quality food.
If going completely organic is not within budget, review the EWG’s Clean 15 list of non-organic produce with the lowest pesticide residues.
#3 Filter your water
Brita filter (good)
Berkey (much better)
Reverse osmosis system (best)*
Ideally, you should filter both drinking and bathing water.
Our largest organ (skin) absorbs substances within seconds to minutes, depending on their chemical makeup.
*The one downside to reverse osmosis systems is that along with the contaminants, a large percentage of the minerals are removed. Use mineral or electrolyte drops to counteract this.
Learn what’s in your tap water.
Pick one thing to work on this week.
You don’t have to change everything today, but you do have to start somewhere.
Whichever point feels most accessible and attainable, start there. Good habits build upon each other, so let’s start with an easy win!
