Reduce Chemicals to Reduce Cancer?

Everyone likes a little validation every once in a while. Well, Mindful Readers, you are so justified! Our principles are simple and not unique: 

 

• Eat whole unprocessed foods
• Drink lots of clean water
• Exercise regularly
• Get enough sleep
• Stay away from chemicals whenever you can since you get more then enough of them in everyday life

We don't need any medical studies to prove that. But, in April 2010, the President's Cancer Panel linked cancer to chemicals and made all the same recommendations that MindfulEats does. The Panel was established in 1971 to report directly to the President of the U.S., and they report their findings at least once a year. Their last report states that more than 80,000 chemicals are in use in the U.S., and only a few hundred have been tested for safety.

The Panel is not a research study - it receives cancer testimonials and suggests future research and practical recommendations. 41% of people living in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer - much of it is genetic, but some of it is due to environmental causes (stuff that we are exposed to). Cancer is devastating, and the Panel makes the following recommendations to lower your chance of getting it (we've linked to relevant MindfulEats posts, just in case you haven't memorized them and want more detail):

What to do: Reduce Environmental Cancer

1. Be especially vigilant keeping toxins away from children. They are far more susceptible to damage from environmental carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting compounds since their little systems aren't fully developed. All the following recommendations are especially important for kids and pregnant women.
2. Remove shoes before entering your house and wash work clothes separately if you are exposed to chemicals at work.
3. Drink filtered tap water instead of bottled unless your tap water is known to be contaminated.
4. Store or carry water in stainless steel, glass, or BPA- and phthalate-free containers.
5. Microwave in ceramic or glass containers instead of plastic.
6. Eat organically grown food to avoid pesticides, herbicides and antibiotics. We aren't convinced the regulation of organically-labelled food is all that great, so it's best to buy direct from a trusted farmer if possible. If you can't buy organic, you are getting all the nutritional value from whole, non-processed foods anyway. Roger that.
7. Use green cleaners. Or check them out in the Household Products Database to get less toxic ones.
8. Dispose of pharmaceuticals, household chemicals, paint, and other chemicals properly so they don't leach into our water and soil.
9. Turn off lights and electrical items to reduce exposure to petroleum combustion by-products.
10. Take public transportation, bike or walk when possible, or drive a fuel-efficient car to reduce the amount of toxic auto exhaust. Or car-pool - it's social and green!
11. Don't smoke and avoid second-hand smoke.

Want more info?

• The actual 2008-2009 Cancer Panel report
• Nicholas Kristoff column that tipped us off
• Mindful Eats manifesto (kinda)

For a blog festival on real foods, visit Food Renegade.

What I ate: latte, Fage yogurt + Sarabeth's Strawberry Peach jam + flaxseeds, 3.25 oz macadamia nuts, Mindful Mix, 2 slices grandma's cheese pizza + 1 slice vodka sauce pizza (work lunch), 1 hard-boiled egg, NYcheese Pepper Jack, whole wheat spaghetti + boiled asparagus + spinach + soy sauce + sesame oil + ground flaxseeds + nutritional yeast, dried mango slices, pineapple, hot chocolate, 50 oz. water

Exercise: Ran 7 miles