Cancer is a disease that you should never take lightly. There are cases where it strikes quickly but often, cancer manifests after years of specific habits. Good examples of this are smoking and overexposure to ultraviolet rays, which result in lung cancer and skin cancer, respectively.
Experts estimate that more than half the cases of cancer diagnosed in the United States – more than 1.6 million in 2014 – are preventable with lifestyle changes.
There is one area of your daily life that dramatically affects your – and survival – of cancer. The food and beverages you consume, the fuel your body uses to fight disease, is critical to your overall wellbeing. Some foods are worse for you than others and could be increasing your risk of many conditions and diseases. While cancer is one of the worst, regularly eating the foods in our top ten list can also lead to heart disease, diabetes, and chronic inflammation.
Top Ten Cancer Causing Foods to Avoid
1. Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs).
In order to make crops more resistant to pests, scientists insert a special gene, called Bt-toxin – derived from Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria – into corn and cotton plants. The toxin attacks the stomach lining of nibbling insects, killing the pests within a couple of days of ingestion. More than 65 percent of U.S. corn crops contain this special gene that produces the insecticide.
Another alarming fact: 80% of the processed food items in your local supermarket contain genetically modified ingredients. This means that if you are a U.S. resident, you are undoubtedly eating genetically modified foods.
These genetically modified foods have been sneaking into our diets since 1995, when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analyzed the first genetically engineered plant – corn. Today, 90% of several U.S. crops are grown with genetically engineered seed.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are “organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in such a way that it does not occur naturally.” Scientists insert a gene from one organism into another to “improve” or change the organism.
2. Microwave Popcorn
Microwave popcorn is subject to a wide-ranging lung cancer debates around the world. Not only are the kernels and oil likely GMO (which the manufacturer does not have to disclose) unless organic, but the fumes released from artificial butter flavoring contain diacetyl, which is toxic to humans.
