Top Ten Steps for Cancer Prevention

Julian Whitaker, MD

According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, nearly one in every two American men will develop cancer at some point in their lives, and one in four will die of this disease. The picture is a little less grim for women, who have a 38 percent lifetime risk of being diagnosed with a malignancy and a 20 percent risk of cancer death. Some of the risk factors for cancer are beyond your control. However, here are 10 things you can do—starting today—to increase your odds of being one of the “lucky” ones who sidestep this dreaded disease.

1. Eat a plant-based, fiber-dense diet with ample servings of berries, leafy greens, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, cooked tomatoes, onions, and garlic. For extra fiber, grind one-fourth cup of flaxseed daily and add to salads, soups, cereals, or drinks.
2.  Drink two or three cups of green tea and perhaps a cup or two of coffee per day, and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
3. Eat salmon or other omega-3–rich fish two or three times a week, or take a minimum of 2,000 mg of supplemental fish oil every day.
4. Get at least half an hour of moderately strenuous exercise most days of the week.
5. Maintain your ideal weight.
6. Get a handle on insulin resistance and diabetes.
7. Take a potent, antioxidant-rich daily multivitamin and mineral supplement. If it doesn’t contain 200 mcg of selenium, take that as well.
8. Add extra vitamin D3 to your supplement regimen. Aim for a blood level of 50-80 ng/mL. For most people, this requires 2,000-5,000 IUs daily.
9. Take low-dose aspirin, 75–81 mg per day.
10. Ask your doctor for a prescription for low-dose naltrexone (LDN), 3–4.5 mg per day.

Modified from Health & Healing with permission from Healthy Directions, LLC. Photocopying, reproduction, or quotation strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher. To subscribe to Health & Healing, click here.