6 Ways to prevent cancer

UpdatedTrends.com: Eating healthy, working out, sleeping 8 hours per night, avoiding tobacco and other good habits can help us in dramatically lowering our risk of cancer. Here are 10 more ways to keep cancer at bay and stay healthy and happy.

1. Filter your tap water – By filtering your tap water, you will reduce exposure to carcinogens, as well as hormone-disrupting chemicals. In addition to that, tap water filtered at home is safer than the bottled one, whose quality is even worse than that of municipal sources in certain cases. Keep in mind to store water in glass or stainless steel in order to avoid chemical contaminants.

2. Stop topping your tank – If you continue pumping gas after the nozzle clicks off, that can result in spilling fuel and foiling the pump’s vapor recovery mechanism, which is designed to prevent toxic chemicals – including benzene – to reach the air and subsequently come in contact with your skin or lungs.

3. Marinate meat first – Well-done or processed meats can contain heterocyclic amines, which are known to cause cancer and form when meat is cooked at high temperatures, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can reach food when it is charcoal roasted. Before grilling, try adding thyme and rosemary to your favorite marinade and keep the meat soaked for at least one hour. The spices that are rich in antioxidants can reduce the levels of heterocyclic amines by up to 87%.

4. Drink coffee every day – People who drank 5 or more cups of caffeinated coffee on a daily basis faced a 40% reduced risk of brain cancer than those who drank the least. Additionally, a habit of drinking 5 or more cups of coffee had an impact on a decreased risk of oral and throat cancer. Meanwhile, decaf did not show the same effect and even though coffee was a stronger protector, tea also provided protection against brain cancer.

5. Load up on green greens – When you are choosing your salad ingredients, go for the darkest varieties. Dark green vegetables contain chlorophyll which is responsible for their color and is rich in magnesium, which can reduce the risk of colon cancer in women. One half of a cup of cooked spinach provides 75 mg of magnesium, which is 20% of the daily value, so make sure to incorporate leafy green vegetables into your menu as often as possible.

6. Snack on Brazil nuts – They are an excellent source of selenium, which is an antioxidant that reduces the risk of developing bladder cancer in women. Also, people who have high levels of selenium in their blood have decreased rates of dying of colorectal cancer or lung cancer. Selenium is beneficial for us in many ways, as it can protect our cells from free radical damage and enhance immune function.

Photo Credits: The Guardian