CANCER TIPS

Here’s the good news. You probably won’t get cancer. According to the Moffitt Cancer Center, 70% of known cancers are avoidable – because they’re related to your lifestyle! You already know your first line of defense: Don’t smoke, eat right, and exercise. Recent research has uncovered some small, surprising ways you can squeeze even more cancer prevention into your daily life. Here’s a rundown of some new anti-cancer strategies from Prevention magazine:

    * Filter your tap water. Do that and you’ll reduce your exposure to carcinogens and hormone-disrupting chemicals. That’s according to the President’s Cancer Panel – and they say that’s a better way to reduce your exposure to cancer-causing substances than drinking bottled water. That’s because the quality of bottled water isn’t higher than tap water – and in some cases worse.
    * Another strategy to reduce your cancer risk? Stop topping up your gas tank! If the nozzle clicks off – and you try to eek out one more pump, it spills over right? You breathe in those fumes or get gas on your hands. That exposes you to benzene – a carcinogen in crude oil and petroleum products. So don’t overfill your tank.
    * Here’s another anti-cancer strategy: Keep up your coffee habit. People who drink five cups of caffeinated coffee a day have a 40% decreased risk of brain cancer. Plus, coffee was a more potent cancer blocker than tea.
    * Here’s an anti-cancer snack: Brazil nuts. They’re one of the best sources of selenium – that’s an antioxidant that lowers your risk of bladder cancer. According to Dartmouth Medical School, people with high blood levels of selenium have lower rates of lung cancer and colorectal cancer. That’s because selenium enhances your immune system and reduces the formation of tumors.