Ignoring the Link Between Toxins and Cancer

Ignoring the Link Between Toxins and Cancer

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by Vic Shayne, PhD
Worldwide, more than 7 million people die from cancer every year, and the numbers increase annually. Generally, high-fat diets are blamed for increasing the risk, while plant-based diets, high in fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, and minimally processed starchy foods, are said to help prevent cancer.

And, if we look a little closer, we discover that there are very specific foods and herbs that are powerful "detoxifiers" and thus play a major role in prevention of cancer and other diseases. But even as we attempt to control cancer risk by our food choices, we always have to realize that diet is just one of the lifestyle factors that influence the development of cancer.

With all of the cancer information and disinformation broadcasted continually through the major news media, rarely do we hear a mention of the greatest threat to our health – and the most prevalent cause of cancer: toxins. Toxins (poisons) are ubiquitous in our modern world. Although those cancer researchers and foundations making the news headlines, mostly funded by pharmaceutical corporations and chemical manufacturers, seem to be obsessed with finding a cancer virus or genetic predispositions to the disease, as a society we are not being given the whole truth that toxins cause most cancers.
Independent researchers (e.g., read Cancer-Gate: How to Win the Losing Cancer War, by Samuel Epstein, MD) understand that toxins cause disruptions in cellular function, cellular differentiation, cellular protection, and immune system function. Such poisons also place great stress on the eliminatory system that tries, often in vain, to rid our bodies of a toxic overload; this includes the kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system, lungs, bowels and skin. Toxins are known to rob our bodies of oxygen and cause free radical damage to cellular structures; they also are cumulative, leading to illness and symptoms now and into the future.

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"With all of the cancer information and disinformation broadcasted continually through the major news media, rarely do we hear a mention of the greatest threat to our health – and the most prevalent cause of cancer: toxins."

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The natural question is, where do these toxins come from and how do they get into our bodies? The answer is that toxins hail from a wide array of sources, including artificial food ingredients, prescription drugs, topical ointments, household sprays, fumes, automobile and truck exhaust, incinerators, factories, plastic off-gassing, construction materials, carpeting, bug sprays, fluoridated water, hair sprays, fast foods, pesticides, herbicides, chemical spills and dumping, perfumes and more. You can see how, entering our bodies from so many sources, the toxic overload is inevitable unless we make a concerted effort to monitor what we eat and how we live our lives. But if we wander around in a state of paranoia over slanted media reports about bad genes and invisible viruses, we'll never see the real threat right before our eyes.
What Are You Eating?
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) recommends that people should eat more plant-based foods and states that as much as 20 percent of lung cancer, 33 percent of breast cancer, and 66 percent of colon cancer could be prevented by appropriate diet choices, regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy body weight. Add this to not smoking and moderate consumption of alcohol, and the AICRF believes that 60 percent to 70 percent of all cancers are preventable.¹ Yet, even with this information, major associations such as cancer and heart institutes, who must ride the political line in an effort not to alienate the chemical industry, fail to tell us that organic foods are safer than nonorganic; that prescription medications can be dangerous; that there are too many chemicals in our lives; and that eating more plant-based foods is vague advice. As a rather alarming and bothersome side note, it is clear to anyone who has researched the cancer-toxin connection that some of the largest companies contributing to cancer rates by manufacturing poisonous chemicals are the same companies that influence and fund scientific research that ends up on the nightly news, producing the drugs to "fight" cancer.
Why Is Cancer Winning the Battle?
Thanks to the power and greed of industry, the public is kept in the dark about many of the causes of cancer. Instead we are fed news reports about genetic connections, viruses and early screenings. Biologically speaking, as human beings, our bodies are not equipped to handle the onslaught (or combinations) of toxic overload that exists in our modern world. Until we realize that synthetic chemicals are causing most cancers, we cannot begin to stem the tide of disease and suffering.
"Most epidemiologists and cancer researchers would agree that the relative contribution from the environment toward cancer risk is about 80-90 percent," said Aaron Blair, PhD, chief of the Occupational Epidemiology Branch in the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. "There is very solid evidence that environmental factors are the major cause of cancer."⁴

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References

1.       Axmaker L. Eat Right to Prevent Cancer. Vanderbilt Faculty & Staff Wellness Program, Vanderbilt University Web site, November 2005. Click to view it online.

2.       Slavin J. Mechanisms for the impact of whole grain foods on cancer risk. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2000;19(90003):300S-307S.

3.       Kanofsky DL. The case for organic produce. Daytona Beach News-Journal 2005. www.organicconsumers.org.

4.       Environmental Factors the Major Cause of Cancer. Environment News Service, 2004. www.ens-newswire.com.

Other Resources

§                  The Diet & Cancer Link. American Institute for Cancer Research, 2000. www.aicr.org.

§                  Potter J. Leading Scientist Hails Progress Made To Date in Field of Diet and Cancer Research. Press Release from American Institute for Cancer Research, 2000. www.aicr.org.

§                  Mediterranean Diet May Lower Cancer Risk. American Cancer Society, 2000. Click to view it online.

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Vic Shayne, PhD, a 1978 graduate of the University of Florida, is a food science researcher and writer. His books include Illness Isn't Caused by a Drug Deficiency!, Man Cannot Live on Vitamins Alone, and Evil Genius in the Garden of Eden (a study on food-borne and environmental toxins and their toll on human health). Dr. Shayne's work stresses the value of whole-food nutrition over vitamins and other isolated supplements. He is a key contributor of the research Web site healthscienceupdate.com.

http://www.nutritionalwellness.com/archives/2006/mar/03_toxins.php