Factors that Trigger Cancer & 4 Steps to Avoid the Disease

95% of cancers are related to lifestyle choices and exposures.  That means every person can do something to increase their odds of avoiding the disease.  Because only a small percentage of cancers are genetic, the large majority are caused by factors under personal control.  Even if you have the genes for cancer, that may not be your destiny!  Your lifestyle choices can perhaps turn those genes "off" or "re-program" them to lessen your chances (this is the science behind research in epigenetics).

Cancer may develop slowly over time as cellular respiration becomes increasingly damaged.  This damage happens cumulatively due to factors related to dietary habits, obesity, chemicals and toxins, radiation, pathogens, and lifestyle factors such as exercise, smoking, drinking, and chronic stress.  

These factors influence the body’s health status in regards to the: 

• immune system, 
• inflammation, 
• hormones, 
• insulin resistance, 
• digestion, and 
• detoxification.  

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They all have a major impact on whether an individual will develop cancer. (To learn exactly what cancer is, read my post, What is Cancer?  The Hallmarks of the Disease.)

​If you want just one fantastic resource with information to prevent cancer and/or understand your choices if dealing with the disease, then this is the book: The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment, and Healing. (By Alschuler and Gazella.)

The book gives an integrative, holistic, whole-body approach to the disease and to strategies to prevent cancer.  In addition, it discusses incorporating the conventional cancer treatments with more alternative options.  It's also a great resource for supplements.

Below I will discuss four major factors that, when out of balance or in excess, can undermine health status and can trigger cancer: 

• Homeostasis
• pH level
• sugar consumption 
• toxins

I will follow each with proactive steps to support heath and reduce the odds of developing cancer.

​1. Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the goal in regards to health.  It means having balance on a cellular level so the body can thrive.  Cellular respiration and metabolism directly impact (and are a result of) one’s overall health status.  (Remember, cellular respiration is damaged in cancer.) 

An individual may be out of homeostasis if their dietary direction is imbalanced and out of alignment with their health and energy needs.     A diet that supplies nutrient rich foods will feed cells vital nutrients, supply energy needs, and allow the clearing of toxic waste products.  In contrast, nutrient deficient foods rob the health potential of the cells and allow illnesses to set in, including cancer.  Any refined or processed foods like sugars, artificial sweeteners, refined oils, trans fats, coffee, alcohol, and refined flour products are non-nutritive and move an individual away from homeostasis.  If eaten in excess, they drain the body of valuable reserves in order to metabolize them.  Poor health and cancer can result.  

           Proactive steps to support homeostasis:

The foods we eat communicate with our cells and program the body toward either health or disease.  A proper balance is needed between catabolic and anabolic foods.  Anabolic foods are building and restorative, but because they have no fiber and little water, they can be congestive and clogging, especially when they are eaten in excess.  Anabolic foods also contain a higher proportion of protein, which is satiating, and fats, which are a concentrated source of long-burning energy.   Anabolic foods are often the acid-forming foods and include: meats, poultry, fish, soy, eggs, dairy foods, nuts, seeds, nut butters, and beans.  In contrast, catabolic foods are cleansing and are involved in the clearing of wastes, toxins from the body. They contain some fiber, and are great sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.  

Catabolic foods are a source of quick energy because they are high in carbohydrate content.  The catabolic foods are an essential part of a healthy diet and happen to be the alkaline-forming foods such as fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, juices, herbal teas, sprouts, and non-glutinous grains.  

The human body requires foods on both sides of the continuum to maintain homeostasis, and the amounts needed are based on what an individual person’s needs are at different times throughout their life.  

To read further detail about Dietary Direction & Homeostasis, see my post: 
Homeostasis & Dietary Direction: Where are YOU Headed?

​2. Acid/Alkaline Balance

 An acidic pH state in the body also increases the likelihood that healthy cells will be damaged, which could result in cancer.  Stress and environmental toxins are acidic to the body. The food an individual eats, which is the fuel for life, also makes an impact to pH on a deep cellular level.  If one’s lifestyle, environment, or diet is excessively acidic, that increases the possibility of mutations.  Acidity reduces oxygen, and cancer thrives through fermentation in an oxygen-poor environment.  Fermentation then produces more acid, which lowers the pH of the cells even further.

         Proactive steps to alkalize the body:

The body thrives in a slightly alkaline environment.  Alkaline-forming foods are also nutrient-rich and include (most) fruits, vegetables, herbs, sprouts, fresh juices, and green powders. Plus, mineral water, sea salt, and apple cider vinegar.  The foods are alkalizing because they contain the minerals sodium, potassium, magnesium, and/or calcium.  The alkaline foods leave an alkaline ash that contains minerals to neutralize excess dietary or metabolic acids.  Neutral pH direction foods: are whole grains, starchy vegetables, and sea vegetables.  Stress reduction is very important in maintain an alkaline state, as is reducing exposure to environmental toxins.

According to Michelle Schoffro Cook, in her book, The Ultimate pH Solution, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is potentially the worst culprit affecting our pH balance.  Acidic foods include SAD staples such as sweets, carbonated sodas, meat, dairy, industrial oils, trans fats, white flour, refined salt, chemical additives, preservatives, and fried foods.

To learn how to test your pH, print a chart with the acid/alkaine foods, and begin to alkalize your body, see my post: The Importance of a Healthy Acid/Alkaline Balance.

To understand in more detail about the pH/cancer connection & exactly how an imbalance in pH can foster disease, please see my post: What's pH got to do with it?  The Connection to Disease.

​3. Sugar Consumption

Excess sugar consumption is very detrimental to health for several reasons:

• Sugar makes the body very acidic, and research has found that sugar is a contributing factor to cancer and many other degenerative diseases.  
• Sugar also blocks the immune system for between four and six hours.  The first defense against cancer is the body’s immune system, which supports the natural ability to protect and heal.  
• Sugar is also the preferred energy source for cancer cells undergoing fermentation.  Cancer cells display a greater number of insulin receptors, which draws large amounts of sugar/glucose to them.  
• Excessive sugar consumption can lead to insulin resistance, which creates biochemical changes that promote cancer growth.  Insulin resistance and nutrient poor diets are linked to obesity, which is responsible for one in six cancer deaths in the United States.

           
               Proactive steps to avoid excess sugar consumption:

The average American eats 153 pounds of sugar per year.  It is best to stop buying and eating sweets.  Here are several tips to kick the sugar habit:

• Look for hidden sources of sugar, which can be found in items such as meats, packaged foods, restaurant food, alcoholic beverages, and sports drinks.  Foods claiming to contain “real fruit” often contain lots of sugar, too.
• Learn to identify the various names of sugar on food labels.  
• Anything ending in –ose is sugar.  Many foods contain several types of sugar.  Corn syrup, molasses, and honey are sugar.
• Avoid all white flour products like breads, pasta, breakfast cereals, etc.  Refined flours act just like sugar in the body, causing insulin spikes and resistance.  Be wary of “whole grain” products that are actually more refined than whole.
• Starchy white potatoes and rice are high in sugar content.  
• Fruit juices are high in fructose content. The tropical fruits are also very sugary.

​4. Toxins

Ubiquitous toxins in the environment or from foods, coupled with an overburdened detoxification system in the body, are factors that undermine health and make an individual susceptible to cellular damage and cancer.  Some of these carcinogens include: pesticides, herbicides, GMO crops, hormones in foods, artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavorings, preservatives, cigarette smoke, toxins in the air, water, and soil, radiation, flame retardants, cleaning product chemicals, and toxins in cosmetics and personal care items.  An overwhelmed detoxification system cannot keep up, nor repair or rejuvenate from all the damage due to toxin exposure.  Undetoxified carcinogens harm cellular DNA and cause mutations.

        Proactive steps to avoid toxins and properly detoxify the body:

Consumption of organic foods and clean water, breathing pure air, not smoking, plus the use of natural body and cleaning products all can greatly reduce the amount of toxins in direct contact with the body.

The human body continuously works to detoxify the body.  The liver metabolizes the toxins in Phase 1 of detoxification.  In Phase 2, the toxins are excreted through the skin (sweat), bowels (feces), kidneys (urine), and lungs (breath).  The detoxification process can be induced or slowed depending on pH balance, plus medications, supplements, and food.  It is important that the detox process is neither too slow nor too fast, both of which can lead to excess toxins circulating in the body. 

A nutrient-rich, whole food diet can provide many of the elements needed to detoxify properly and is the best, safest lifestyle strategy.  A catabolic dietary direction may needed for cleansing, in addition to healthy proteins and fats.  Some natural supplements that also help in detoxification include turmeric, milk thistle, grapefruit juice, wild yam, dandelion, beet leaves, yellow dock leaves, and artichoke leaf. 

(Aggressive detoxes and cleanses are not recommended, unless under the strict guidance of a qualified professional. These can leave a person feeling weak, undernourished, and worse than before, because if done improperly, un-excreted toxins can remain and recirculate in the body.)

REFERENCES:
Alschuler, L., & Gazella, K. A. (2010). The definitive guide to cancer: an integrative approach to prevention, treatment, and healing (3rd ed.). New York: Celestial Arts.

Cook, M. S. (2008). The ultimate pH solution: balance your body chemistry to prevent disease and lose weight. New York: Collins.

Bartholomy, P. (Director) (2014a, May 2). Diet Plan, Homeostasis. MSHN lecture. Lecture conducted from Hawthorn University, California.

Bartholomy, P. (Director) (2014b, May 2). Food Characteristics/Diet Direction. MSHN 106 lecture. Lecture conducted from Hawthorn University, California.

Wood, E.  (Director) (2012, June 5). Practical Steps for Integrating and Specifying Detoxification for You, The Individual. Hawthorn Webinar Series. Lecture conducted from Hawthorn University, California.



Read the Au Naturale Nutrition series on Cancer:

• What is Cancer?  The Hallmarks of the Disease.
• Factors that Trigger Cancer &  Steps to Avoid the Disease
• What's pH got to do with it?  The Connection to Disease & Cancer.
• An Integrative Approach to Cancer: Use of Supplements alongside Conventional Cancer Treatments

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