Reduce Your Risk
Consider this number: 10 million. That's how many cases of cancer are
diagnosed worldwide each year. Now consider this number: 15 million. That's
how many cases of cancer the World Health Organization estimates will be
diagnosed in the year 2020 -- a 50 percent increase -- if we don't get our
act together.

Most cancers don't develop overnight or out of nowhere. Cancer is largely
predictable, the end result of a decades-long process, but just a few simple
changes in your daily life can significantly reduce your risk. Here are 31
great tips.

1. Serve sauerkraut at your next picnic. A Finnish study found that the
fermentation process involved in making sauerkraut produces several other
cancer-fighting compounds, including ITCs, indoles, and sulforaphane. To
reduce the sodium content, rinse canned or jarred sauerkraut before eating.

2. Eat your fill of broccoli, but steam it rather than microwaving it.
Broccoli is a cancer-preventing superfood, one you should eat frequently.
But take note: A Spanish study found that microwaving broccoli destroys 97
percent of the vegetable's cancer-protective flavonoids. So steam it, eat it
raw as a snack, or add it to soups and salads.

3. Toast some Brazil nuts and sprinkle over your salad. They're a rich form
of selenium, a trace mineral that convinces cancer cells to commit suicide
and helps cells repair their DNA. A Harvard study of more than 1,000 men
with prostate cancer found those with the highest blood levels of selenium
were 48 percent less likely to develop advanced disease over 13 years than
men with the lowest levels. And a dramatic five-year study conducted at
Cornell University and the University of Arizona showed that 200 micrograms
of selenium daily -- the amount in two unshelled Brazil nuts -- resulted in
63 percent fewer prostate tumors, 58 percent fewer colorectal cancers, 46
percent fewer lung malignancies, and a 39 percent overall decrease in cancer
deaths.

4. Pop a calcium supplement with vitamin D. A study out of Dartmouth Medical
School suggests that the supplements reduce colon polyps (a risk factor for
colon cancer) in people susceptible to the growths.

5. Add garlic to everything you eat. Garlic contains sulfur compounds that
may stimulate the immune system's natural defenses against cancer, and may
have the potential to reduce tumor growth. Studies suggest that garlic can
reduce the incidence of stomach cancer by as much as a factor of 12!

6. Saut?two cloves of crushed garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then
mix in a can of low-sodium, diced tomatoes. Stir gently until heated and
serve over whole wheat pasta. We already mentioned the benefits of garlic.
The lycopene in the tomatoes protects against colon, prostate, and bladder
cancers; the olive oil helps your body absorb the lycopene; and the
fiber-filled pasta reduces your risk of colon cancer. As for the benefits of
all of these ingredients together: They taste great!

7. Every week, buy a cantaloupe at the grocery store and cut it up after you
put away your groceries. Store it in a container and eat several pieces
every morning. Cantaloupe is a great source of carotenoids, plant chemicals
shown to significantly reduce the risk of lung cancer.


The Power of Antioxidants
8. Mix half a cup of blueberries into your morning cereal. Blueberries rank
number one in terms of their antioxidant power. Antioxidants neutralize free
radicals, which are unstable compounds that can damage cells and lead to
diseases including cancer.

9. Learn to eat artichokes tonight. Artichokes are a great source of
silymarin, an antioxidant that may help prevent skin cancer. To eat these
delicious veggies, peel off the tough outer leaves on the bottom, slice the
bottom, and cut off the spiky top. Then boil or steam until tender, about
30-45 minutes. Drain. Dip each leaf in a vinaigrette or garlic mayonnaise,
then gently tear the fibrous covering off with your front teeth, working
your way inward to the tender heart. Once there, gently scoop the bristles
from the middle of the heart, dip in a little butter or lemon juice, and
enjoy!

10. Coat barbecue food with a thick sauce. Grilling meat can create a
variety of cancer-causing chemicals. But researchers from the American
Institute for Cancer Research found that coating the meat with a thick
marinade and thereby preventing direct contact with the charring flames
reduced the amount of such chemicals created. Another tip: Precook your meat
in the oven and then throw it on the grill to finish.

11. Every time you go to the bathroom, stop by the kitchen or water cooler
for a glass of water. A major study published in The New England Journal of
Medicine in 1996 found that men who drank six 8-ounce glasses of water every
day slashed their risk of bladder cancer in half. Another study linked the
amount of water women drank to their risk of colon cancer, with heavy water
drinkers reducing their risk up to 45 percent.

12. Take up a tea habit. The healing powers of green tea have been valued in
Asia for thousands of years. In the West, new research reveals that it
protects against a variety of cancers as well as heart disease. Some
scientists believe that a chemical in green tea called EGCG could be one of
the most powerful anticancer compounds ever discovered.

13. Have a beer tonight. Beer protects against the bacterium Helicobacter
pylori, known to cause ulcers and possibly linked to stomach cancer. But
don't overdo it. Drinking more than one or two alcoholic drinks a day may
increase your risk of mouth, throat, esophageal, liver, and breast cancer.

14. Throw some salmon on the grill tonight. Australian researchers studying
Canadians (go figure) found those who ate four or more servings of fish per
week were nearly one-third less likely to develop the blood cancers
leukemia, myeloma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Other studies show a link
between eating fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, halibut, sardines, and tuna, as
well as shrimp and scallops) with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer in
women. Ah, those amazing omega-3s at it again!

15. Take a multivitamin every morning. Many studies suggest getting the
ideal levels of vitamins and minerals can improve your immune system
function and help prevent a variety of cancers.


All Together Now
16. Get about 15 minutes of sunlight on your skin each day. You've heard of
the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D haven't you? Turns out we've been so good at
heeding advice to slather on sun lotion and avoid the sun's rays that many
of us aren't getting enough of this valuable nutrient. Researchers find that
getting too little vitamin D may increase your risk of multiple cancers,
including breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, and stomach, as well as
osteoporosis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and high blood pressure.

The best source? Exposure to UVB rays found in natural and artificial
sunlight. About 15 minutes a day ought to do it. Avoid overexposure, of
course. That can increase your risk for cancers of the skin. You can also
get vitamin D in your calcium supplement if you choose a supplement that
contains both.

17. Carry a shot glass in your beach bag. Then fill it with sunscreen and
rub it all over your body. A shot glass holds about 1.5 ounces, which is how
much sunscreen dermatologists estimate you need to protect yourself from the
cancer-causing UV rays of the sun. Repeat every two hours.

18. Cut a kiwifruit in half, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Now eat!
Kiwi is a little hand grenade of cancer-fighting antioxidants, including
vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and copper. You can also rub a couple of cut
kiwifruit on a low-fat cut of meat as a tenderizer.

19. Use a condom and stick to one partner. The more sexual partners a woman
has, the greater her risk of contracting human papillomavirus, or HPV, which
causes cervical cancer. Having an unfaithful husband also increases her
risk.

20. Cut out high-fat animal protein. A Yale study found that women who ate
the most animal protein had a 70 percent higher risk of developing
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, while those who ate diets high in saturated fat
increased their risk 90 percent. So switch to low-fat or nonfat dairy, have
poultry or fish instead of beef or pork, and use olive oil instead of
butter.

21. Have your partner feed you grapes. They're great sources of resveratrol,
the cancer-protecting compound found in wine, but don't have the alcohol of
wine, which can increase the risk of breast cancer in women. Plus, the
closeness such an activity engenders (we hope) strengthens your immune
system.

22. Sprinkle scallions over your salad. A diet high in onions may reduce the
risk of prostate cancer 50 percent. But the effects are strongest when
they're eaten raw or lightly cooked. So try scallions, Vidalia onions,
shallots, or chives for a milder taste.

23. Make a batch of fresh lemonade or limeade. A daily dose of citrus fruits
may cut the risk of mouth, throat, and stomach cancers by half, Australian
researchers found.


Unneeded Chemicals
24. Take a 30-minute walk every evening after dinner. That's all it takes to
reduce your breast cancer risk, according to a study from the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Turns out that moderate
exercise reduces levels of estrogen, a hormone that contributes to breast
cancer. When 170 overweight, couch potato women ages 50-75 did some form of
moderate exercise for about three hours a week, levels of circulating
estrogen dropped significantly after three months. After a year, those who
lost at least 2 percent of their body fat had even greater decreases in
estrogen. Another study linked four hours a week of walking or hiking with
cutting the risk of pancreatic cancer in half. The benefits are probably
related to improved insulin metabolism due to the exercise.

25. Buy organic foods. They're grown without added pesticides or hormones,
both of which can cause cellular damage that may eventually lead to cancer.

26. Learn to love dandelions. Using commercial pesticides on your lawn may
increase your risk of cancer, since most contain pesticides such as 2,4-D
(linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) and MCPP (associated with soft-tissue
cancers). Plus, pesticides used solely on lawns don't have to go through the
same rigorous testing for long-term health effects as those used on food.
And, as E/The Environmental Magazine noted in a 2004 article, no federal
studies have assessed the safety of lawn-care chemicals in combination, the
way most are sold.

27. Buy clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. Many dry cleaners still
use a chemical called perc (perchloroethylene), found to cause kidney and
liver damage and cancer in animals repeatedly exposed through inhalation.
Buying clothes that don't require dry cleaning, or hand washing them
yourself, can reduce your exposure to this chemical. If you must dry-clean
your clothes, take them out of the plastic bag and air them outside or in
another room before wearing.

28. Choose cucumbers over pickles, fresh salmon over lox. Studies find that
smoked and pickled foods contain various carcinogens.

29. Switch from french fries and potato chips to mashed potatoes and
pretzels. A potential cancer-causing compound called acrylamide forms as a
result of the chemical changes that occur in foods when they're baked,
fried, or roasted. Not surprisingly, many foods with the greatest amounts of
acrylamide are also some of the worst-for-you foods, such as french fries,
potato chips, and baked sweets. Although the results aren't final yet,
Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the
Public Interest, estimates acrylamide causes between 1,000 and 25,000
cancers per year. His agency has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration
to set limits on the amount of acrylamide foods can contain. The FDA is
studying the issue.

30. Go for a spray-on tan. They're available in most tanning salons these
days and, unlike tanning beds, there's no evidence that they increase your
risk of skin cancer.

31. Call up your bowling pal and hit the lanes. A study from the State
University of New York at Stony Brook found that men with high levels of
stress and those with less satisfying contacts with friends and family
members had higher levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in their blood,
a marker for the development of prostate cancer.