Cancer rages on with rates of diagnosis higher than ever. This terrible disease takes almost 600,000 lives each year, 50 percent more than in 1971 when our war on cancer began. How?
There is a known hereditary factor with some cancers, but according to the American Cancer Society’s 2012 cancer facts pamphlet, only 5% of cancers are ‘strongly hereditary’, which indicates the majority of cancers are primarily due to people’s lifestyles.
We know that eating healthy foods and exercising are great ways to reduce the risk, but does it remove the risk completely? Cancer has no simple answer on what causes it, but we know that common environmental toxins play a large role in cancer’s development.
Believe it or not, everyday items in your home contribute to your health. Household items can affect your ability to stay healthy and fight off serious diseases like cancer. Evenyour toothpaste makes a difference.
Check out this list of the top five toxins to eliminate immediately so we all can become cancer-fighting machines. Of course – in addition to these tips –make sure you are exercising, eating healthy and strengthening your mindset on a daily basis.
- Food Additives. Stay away from foods containing food additives, dyes, colourings, flavourings, stabilizers, fake fats, artificial sugars and preservatives. The average person ingests 60 to 70 kilograms of additives a year.
- Medications. The nearly four billion prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and vaccines are themselves chemical toxins. Additionally, phthalates, heavy metals and commercial preservatives are used to both coat the drugs and preserve the materials.
- Plastics. Food wrapped in plastic, plastic take-out food containers and water sold in plastic bottles expose you to very high levels of phthalates and other chemicals. Plastics damage hormone receptors, cause fatigue, harm brain chemistry, accumulate in organs and lead to illness. They’ve been specifically linked to cancers of the prostate, lung and thyroid.
- Water. Monitor the quality of the water you drink, bathe in and use to clean and prepare foods. Tap water is full of chlorine, heavy metals, contaminants, and other toxins. Chlorine is a big red flag. If it is strong enough to kill all bacteria and other dangerous compounds in our water, do you really think it’s a good idea to pass it through our systems?
- Personal Care Products. These toxins are hiding in plain sight on the shelves and in the drawers of your bathroom. The list of toxic substances includes sunscreens, soaps, shampoos, detergents and—as previously mentioned—toothpastes. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a common degreaser used in practically every soap, shampoo and toothpaste on the market today. The compound has been used in studies to induce mutation in bacteria and irritate skin. It has also shown to enter the heart, liver, lungs and brain from skin contact and has been proven to maintain residual levels once inside these organs.
What can you do?
- Switch to organic and plant-based products to avoid the long-term toxic buildup caused by these dangerous chemicals. Prolonged toxicity is known to foster the development of cancer.
- Speak to a health practitioner about going on a detox program to help your body and liver safely remove any residual toxins
