Did you realise that in Australia, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85? This is an alarming figure I recently came ocross on the Cancer Council website.

What’s more, the council website also states that 1 in 3 cancer cases can be prevented through lifestyle modification, that accounts for around 4,300 deaths each year that could be prevented.

What lifestyle modifications are we talking about? Well there are no surprises here…Quit smoking, avoid excessive sun exposure (but make sure you get some sun as our body converts cholesterol into vitamin D from the sun’s rays), eat a healthy diet, don’t drink alcohol to excess (what’s excess? A few std drinks a week?), get regular exercise (at least 1/2 hour per day of moderate intensity exercise), maintain a healthy weight range. These are what the Cancer Council recommends with my comments in brackets.

But what about environmental toxins? I can’t believe the Cancer Council is almost silent on this, except for cigarettes and alcohol of course. For the vast majority of us, our greatest exposure to toxins will be in doors in our home and office environment. See this transcript from the ABC’s 7.30 Report for just one example of an indoor toxin. Removing toxins is one strategy, you can also filter the air and make sure you have adequate ventilation. The worst thing anyone could do for their baby is to lay down lovely new carpet, paint the walls, buy new furniture and on a cold night put the heater on and close the door for their baby to be nice and warm and all night be breathing in a toxic soup! All these new items leach toxins out into the air, this is what smells – don’t think it’s a lovely new smell. In most cases you are breathing in dangerous toxins which if continued to breath will accumulate in the body and contribute to cancer growth.

Get educated on toxins in the environment, they are everywhere. Learn how to avoid them, there are plenty of books and information out there. We have a number of titles in our wellness bookstore at Lifestyle Therapies.

You also might find this website a good resource for healthy building codes.