One in every two American men and one out of every three American women will get cancer over the course of their lifetime. Yet, there are surprisingly few books that examine the causes of cancer. After reading these book, it seems to me we’ve been underestimating the extent to which you can avoid cancer through careful lifestyle choices.

Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time

Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time by Lynn Eldridge and David Morgeson is one of the few books that offer practical advice on how to avoid most cancers.

Here’s some figures on cancer deaths that they present at the beginning of the book:

5% to 20% of all cancer deaths are due to an inherited mutation

of all cancer deaths are due to an inherited mutation 80% to 95% of all cancer deaths are caused by non-genetic factors

Breaking the non-genetic factors down further they say:

25% to 40% of all cancer deaths are caused by tobacco smoking

of all cancer deaths are caused by tobacco smoking 25 % to 30% of all cancer deaths are caused by diet and obesity

of all cancer deaths are caused by diet and obesity 2% to 7% of all cancer deaths are caused by radon exposure and exposure to ultraviolet radiation (e.g. sunburn or cumulative sun exposure)

of all cancer deaths are caused by radon exposure and exposure to ultraviolet radiation (e.g. sunburn or cumulative sun exposure) 2% to 8% of all cancer deaths are caused by exposure to toxins in the workplace

of all cancer deaths are caused by exposure to toxins in the workplace less than 1% to 5% of cancer deaths are caused by pollution and toxins in the environment

They also state that physical inactivity contributes to 1% to 2% of cancer deaths, and alcohol consumption is involved in 3% of cancer deaths.

They then discuss at length all the things you can do in your daily life to avoid cancer. Much of it involves avoiding toxic substances like air fresheners, but they also mention things like getting enough sleep, and many occupational hazards.

Link: Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time by Lynn Eldridge M.D. and David Morgeson MS, MPT

Toxin And Toxout: Getting Harmful Chemicals Out Of Bodies And Our World

After authors Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie wrote about all of the ways that toxins get in our bodies, in their first book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck. Their new book, Toxin and Toxout, serves a guide for eliminating those toxins. The authors undergo various treatments, and have blood and urine tests to measure the how much toxins were being being eliminated.

They evaluate various detox strategies, and caution against quick-fix, fad-based diets and cleanses. Instead they recommend sweating as the best detox method — sweating in saunas or during exercise for example. Apparently, chelation also works quite well for eliminating heavy metals.

They also offer their top ten ways to avoid toxins:

Use natural personal care products that don’t contain chemicals like phthalates or parabens Eat more organic food to avoid pesticides Drink the water from your tap! And lots of it! Use natural fibers and green products like low-VOC paints in your home, and avoid products that might off-gas Eat more vegetables and less meat, to avoid toxin-grabbing animal fat Sweat more—toxic chemicals like BPA and phthalates leave your body through your sweat Exercise Avoid wacky quick-fix detoxes and optimize your body’s natural detox mechanisms by adopting a detox lifestyle Buy less, buy green Support politicians who believe in a greener economy and organizations that are working for a cleaner environment

Link: Toxin and Toxout