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The Toxin Solution – an interview with author Dr. Joseph Pizzorno

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toxin solution

Toxin exposure is at an all-time high and very relevant when it comes to anxiety, ADHD, asthma, diabetes, cancer, dementia and all chronic diseases. I did this wonderful interview with Dr. Joseph Pizzorno in 2017 when his book – The Toxin Solution – was published and for some reason it didn’t make it onto the blog.

I’ve decided to share it now because Dr. Pizzorno is one of the speakers at the August IMMH/Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference.

If you’re planning to attend this will give you a taste of what to expect. If you’re on the fence hopefully this will convince you, together with the fact that I’m presenting again this year (I’m doing a deep dive into GABA).

I look forward to meeting him in person at the conference and will hopefully see you there too! If you can’t make it or are not a practitioner enjoy this interview and do checkout his fabulous book.

Read on for notes from our interview, the video interview and resources for you related to our interview. Some highlights include these facts: about 90% of diabetes is just due to 6 toxins; PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) may account for half of all breast cancer; top 10% of those exposed to organophosphate pesticides saw a doubling of ADHD (just one pesticide); 20% of osteoporosis in women is due to cadmium; lentil soup in a can has 10 x more BPA than homemade and much more

Here is the book: The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food, and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health–AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX IT (my Amazon link)

Here is our wonderful interview

And here is a summary from the video interview:

  • in mid to late-70s people were sick because of nutritional deficiencies, lack of exercise and lifestyle factors
  • we have polluted our air, water, food, health and beauty aids, household cleaning products, products in our yards – independent of what you do, toxins are coming in
  • he worked with big oil company in Canada – they wanted to improve the health of the staff and he ran tests to measure nutritional status and toxin levels ($1500 worth of lab tests of 4500 people) – saw a lot of toxicity
  • top 20% of those with body burden of toxins vs bottom 20% – what is disease risk? very big increase in disease risk
  • diabetes as example – when he was in medical school 50 years ago diabetes affected 1% of the population and now it’s 20-30x more common
  • looked at data on diabetes and toxins – looked at organochlorine pesticides – used widely in our food supply
  • top 10% of those with high body burden – 12 fold increase risk of diabetes
  • looked at many other diseases and all had high correlation of toxicity with higher risk
  • used his book advance to hire researchers (Bastyr grads) to determine what toxins contribute to what diseases
  • about 90% of diabetes is just due to 6 toxins
  • it’s why he wrote this book The Toxin Solution (my Amazon link) – here’s how toxins cause disease, here’s where the toxins are coming from, here’s how you avoid them and here’s how you prepare your body for a detox (do this first) and then do the detox
  • [I shared my exposure to lead when I worked in an oil refinery before I became a nutritionist]
  • oil field workers he tested were never exposed to the oil itself as it was underground – they were also farmers and spaying with pesticides, herbicides and insecticides
  • everyone can relate to how dangerous smoking is i.e. lung cancer is doubled by smoking and it affects 20-25% of the population, so bring it home for people asked if there are other toxins that increase the risk of certain diseases – answer is most certainly yes
  • asthma – Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from second-hand smoke, city living, diesel, barbecue smoke; 93% of the US population have enough PAH exposure to double their risk of asthma
  • breast cancer – PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) may account for half of all breast cancer
  • some data on toxins and anxiety, mental health but more on neurodegeneration and dementia; damage to the neurons will make you more prone to anxiety, stress and depression
  • anxiety and ADHD in children – top 10% of those exposed to organophosphate pesticides compared to bottom 10%, saw a doubling of ADHD (and this was just looking at one pesticide)
  • neurological system is really susceptible to these toxins
  • if you’re eating conventional foods you’re full of toxins
  • Seattle study on kids coming out of organic stores vs those coming out of conventional stores – the later had 10x higher levels of organophosphate pesticides
  • high phosphate fertilizers are contaminated with cadmium
  • osteoporosis study in women – thinner bones when exposed to cadmium from conventional soybeans; 20% of osteoporosis in women in the USA is due to cadmium
  • eat organically grown foods
  • foods will absorb BPA and phthalates from the cans they are in
  • study comparing homemade lentil soup vs lentil soup in a can – canned lentil soup had 10 x more BPA
  • BPA binds to insulin-receptor sites, pancreas burns out and you get diabetes
  • [I mention moms exposed to BPA when pregnant and their children have higher risk for ADHD and anxiety]
  • children born to moms in top 10% of exposure to organophosphate pesticides vs bottom 10% – children had a 7 point drop in IQ (even when followed for 7 years)
  • women who breastfeed have lower cancer risk and more breastfeeding leads to lower PCB levels (breast-feeding for 12 months decreased PCB levels by 40%)
  • great for the mom but no good for the children
  • what’s remarkable – PCBs were banned in the US 40 years ago – so hard to breakdown in our bodies and the environment so they accumulate
  • best plan – east organic, don’t use plastic storage containers, beauty products with no phthalates
  • check your water – in the USA 10% of public water has high enough arsenic levels to increase risk of diseases; at least use carbon filter to get out the chemicals
  • 60-70% of out toxin exposure comes from food – we have control over this and the body can heal
  • [I say the book offers solutions: The Toxin Solution: How Hidden Poisons in the Air, Water, Food, and Products We Use Are Destroying Our Health–AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX IT (my Amazon link)]
  • our bodies evolved to detoxify and there is a lot we can do
  • what to do – don’t let them in
  • increase your fiber intake – liver denatures toxins by binding them to another molecule and dumps them into the gut where they are bound to fiber and excreted but 90% of toxins get reabsorbed through enterohepatic circulation because we now only consume 15-20g of fiber a day. You need at least 40-50g of fiber a day to detox
  • if you do nothing more than consume more fiber you will get the toxins out – it’s very slow but you will get the toxins out
  • flax seeds, oats, alginate, pectin
  • not a fan of wheat fiber – most of his patients don’t tolerate wheat
  • any kind of fiber that mixes in water and gels – this is good
  • NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) – the cysteine promotes the production of glutathione (most important intracellular and intra-mitochondrial antioxidant
  • glutathione is also part of process in the liver where it binds chemical toxins in order to neutralize them and dump them into the gut to get rid of them
  • as little 500mg/day of NAC can help your body get rid of toxins
  • next is sweat – saunas and running, but not steam-baths as this recirculates stuff – your sweat is full of toxins
  • [I have a question about the toxin-filled sweat on the towels and in the sauna]
  • air out the sauna and wash the towels but it’s not ideal because then we’re putting those toxins back into the environment (can burn them or bury them but there is no good solution) – best to stop putting chemicals into environment
  • [I have a question about an indoor saunas and toxins going into the home]
  • valid question – his sauna has a window to the outside
  • tip for homemade cleaning products – water, vinegar and lavender oil (which is both calming and antibacterial)
  • no to fragrances which are solubilized to phthalates and 1/3 of all diabetes is linked to phthalate exposure
  • you get exposed to phthalates when hot water hits your plastic shower curtain
  • great-grandfather ate a Mediterranean diet lived to 95 and never saw a doctor, grandfather ate a mix of American diet and Mediterranean diet
  • dad ate 100% American diet, plus not worried about exposure to chemicals – lived to 88 but had dementia by 83, osteoporosis, arthritis, hip replacement surgery, cardiac surgery
  • final words of wisdom: good health is quite straight-forward – eat real food rich in nutrients and avoid toxins as much as you can and your wonderful body will take of just about everything else

Resources for you

Do let us know what steps you’ve made to reduce toxic exposure in your life and what you’ve done to detox, and what improvements you’ve observed.

Feel free to post questions in the comments too.

And let me know if you’ll be at IMMH. And be sure to stop by and say hi to both me and Dr. Pizzorno.

Anxiety and the adrenals: low zinc and high copper

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two-girls

Anxiety, feelings of constant overwhelm and fatigue, plus insomnia, sugar cravings, the inability to control blood sugar, lack of mental clarity… these symptoms can be due to adrenal issues and this condition is brutally disruptive. And yes, you can suffer from all of the above at once!

In just a few weeks, from November 7-12, my colleague and good friend, NY Times bestselling author Dr. Alan Christianson will be hosting The Adrenal Reset Summit. It’s co-hosted by nutritionist Evan Brand.

I cover the Adrenals and Anxiety in my interview with Dr. Christianson and a few of the aspects we cover are low zinc and high copper.  

Here is a snippet from me about zinc:

zinc is very underrated as being a nutrient that is commonly deficient and certainly when it comes to anxiety, it’s a huge factor. We have the zinc-copper imbalance and when we’ve got very high copper levels and low zinc levels, we may feel more anxious. But zinc is really, really important for so many things. I just mentioned serotonin, it’s really important as a cofactor for making serotonin and the other neurotransmitters like GABA which is a calming neurotransmitter.

It’s really, really important for adrenal function as well. There was actually a really nice paper that was published in December 2015 [Effects of Physical Activity on Trace Elements and Depression Related Biomarkers in Children and Adolescents], looking at children and adolescents and found that children and adolescents with lower levels of zinc also had low serotonin, they had high copper levels, and they also had lower cortisol levels, and sometimes, they had high cortisol levels. So, it varies but they definitely have issues with their cortisol levels and that’s obviously going to be a big factor when it comes to how they’re able to handle stress, what their mood levels are going to be like, what their cognitive function is going to be like, and everything else. So, zinc is a really important thing. It’s not talked about a lot and it’s something that is definitely a big factor.

I didn’t share this specific information during the interview but here are some of the results from the above study:

Older children, especially girls, had higher levels of depression. Participants with moderate and severe depression had significantly lower physical activity, serotonin, and zinc levels, zinc/copper ratios, and significantly higher copper and cortisol levels.

Physically active boys showed significantly lower depressive scores and improvement in cortisol, serotonin, copper, and zinc concentrations compared to girls of sedentary life style.

A little later in the interview Dr. Christianson shares what happened to him when he was inadvertently exposed to high levels of copper:

This is a brief insight I won’t go too far into but there was a period of time I was studying with a Vedic practitioner and there were these various rituals that I had to do. One of them was involving putting liquids in these containers and drinking and doing [some of these] meditations. The historical vessels [that] were used were copper-based and I got pretty toxic at one point. I had these horrible leg cramps. I really lost my capacity for exercise. It was very dramatic. I had a hard time climbing stairs and odd mood changes and odd twitches and what not. I finally realized that was the culprit and yeah, I did mega doses of zinc which I normally would not have tolerated well but I did fine with during that time and recovered from that. So, those are a real thing! (laughs)

adrenal-reset-summit

I hope you can join us for the summit! The line-up is excellent. Here are a few of the many excellent speakers and their topics:

  • Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac – Is Adrenal Fatigue Real?
  • Steph Gadreau, CHNP – Perfectionism and Adrenals
  • Aviva Romm, MD – Adrenal Adaptogens
  • Ben Lynch, ND – Adrenals and Methylation
  • Wendy Myers, FDN, CHHC – Heavy Metal Toxicity
  • Dan Kalish, DC – Adrenal Neurotransmitter Connection
  • JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS – Preventing Adrenal Burnout
  • Julia Ross, MA – Neurotransmitters and the Food Mood Connection

You can register here https://uo178.isrefer.com/go/arsScott/trudyscottcn/

Breast cancer: DCIS, thermography, estrogen, toxins, glutathione and anxiety

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breast-exam

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so I’ve gathered some wonderful information and resources for you about DCIS, thermography, prevention by addressing estrogen dominance, avoiding endocrine disruptors and environmental pollutants and finally how to boost glutathione for detoxification support.  

Ductal carcinoma in situ/DCIS: many don’t even consider this cancer

My good friend and fellow nutritionist Robin Nielsen recently posted about this on Facebook and because it was so beautifully said, I asked if I could share it:    

A neighbor just told me this morning that she had a double mastectomy in early August due to cancer, stage 0. And then she told me it was “Ductal carcinoma in situ”. I know many women who have reversed this by changing their diet and lifestyle. This is a touchy subject for many, but it breaks my heart to see women removing their breasts when there’s a chance they don’t have to.

If you are in the thick of this right now, trying to decide what to do, do your research. Get lots of opinions from integrative practitioners. Many don’t even consider this cancer.

And if you’ve had this done yourself, you made the right choice. Because whatever we decide for ourselves is right. Sending love out to all women who have had to make this decision.

I asked Robin to share one of her articles and here it is: What You Need to Know About Your Beautiful Breasts and Breast Cancer. These factors have a big impact on our beautiful breasts:

  • The food you eat: inflammatory vs. anti-inflammatory
  • The quality and quantity of sleep
  • The toxins you’re exposed to: environmental, body care and household products, poor quality foods, toxic people, toxic habits and more
  • Your perception of stress and our ability to manage the stress in our lives
  • Your thoughts
  • And other lifestyle factors like exercise, relationships, your sense of community, etc.
  • How you deal with your emotions – your ability to express yourself
  • Your body’s nutrient status – especially Vitamin D3
  • Your ability to restore, nourish and love yourself, i.e. learning how to receive
  • The bras you wear – studies have shown that wearing a bra that’s too tight can restrict vital blood flow and can contribute to toxin build-up in your lymphatic system

Thermography for early detection and accurate test results

A thermogram image (from http://earlybreastscreen.com/)

Here are The Best Breast Cancer Screening Tests – 6 Reasons Why I Recommend Thermography from Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D.’s blog:

  1. Good for young, dense breasts and implants. Younger breasts tend to be denser. Thermography doesn’t identify fibrocystic tissue, breast implants, or scars as needing further investigation.
  2.  Detect cell changes in arm pit area. The arm pit area is an area that mammography isn’t always good at screening.
  3.  Great additional test. Thermography can be used as an additional test to help women and their care teams make more informed treatment decisions.
  4.  It Doesn’t Hurt. The pressure of a mammogram machine is equivalent to putting a 50-pound weight on your breast, which can be quite painful for most women.
  5.  No radiation. Another reason the United States Preventative Services Task Force reversed its aggressive mammogram guidelines was because of the exposure to radiation. It’s well known that excessive doses of radiation can increase your risk of cancer. It’s ironic that the test women are using for prevention may be causing the very problem they’re trying to avoid in the first place! And this doesn’t even touch on the harm done to the body from unnecessary biopsies, lumpectomies, mastectomies, chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and so forth.
  6. Thermography is very safe. Thermography is even safe for pregnant and nursing women! It’s merely an image of the heat of your body.

Estrogen dominance as a cause of breast cancer and how to prevent it by eating for hormonal balance

breast-cancer-prevention

Magdalena Wszelaki, founder of Hormones Balance, shares some signs of estrogen dominance as the leading cause of breast cancer: Breast Lumps? Thyroid Nodules? Horrendous PMS? Endometriosis? In her wonderful article: The Breast Cancer and Estrogen Link | 15 Ways to Prevent and Manage Breast Cancer Naturally, she covers how to move from fear to empowerment and prevention by eating for hormonal balance. The article covers estrogen dominance in detail addressing:

  • Most Breast Cancers are not Genetic
  • How Breast Cancer Forms and Multiplies
  • How Estrogen Feeds Cancer
  • Signs of Estrogen Dominance (ED)
  • Not All Estrogens Are Bad

But the big takeaway is that as Magdalena says:

You have more power over your risk of breast cancer than you think. There are many steps you can take to protect yourself. Each one of them has other positive domino effects for your hormonal balance and overall health.

She shares how to rotate seeds into your diet to balance hormone levels, how to increase cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage and how to love your liver. Here are some of Magdalena’s tips for supporting your liver which she calls the “Estrogen Detox Ally”:

A sluggish liver does not carry out its important job of filtering toxins, chemical byproducts and hormonal metabolites from your body. This can leave you with high circulating levels of the dangerous estrogen metabolites. For Breast Protection:

  • Add bitters in the form of dandelion leaves and root, burdock, chicory root, parsley, radicchio or bitters in tincture form. They stimulate bile production which then helps “flush out” estrogen and other steroid hormones.
  • Add fiber, my favorite being 2 tablespoons of freshly ground golden flax seed. Fiber promotes good bowel movement which is essential in carrying out the toxic estrogens. Chronic constipation can contribute to the re-absorption of antagonistic estrogens back to the blood stream.
  • Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or half a lemon to a glass of warm water and drink it before breakfast in the morning. This helps stimulate the gallbladder to release the bile which is instrumental in “flushing out” estrogen.

Be sure to read the entire article here to read more about gut health, red meat, wine, toxins, inflammation, exercise, smoking, the birth control pill (I also covered this and FAM in a recent blog on the connection to subsequent SSRI use), sleep and finally stress and cuddling!

If you want to learn more I encourage you to check out Magdalena’s no-cost “How to Use Food To Rebalance Your Hormones” Online Workshop.

cooking-for-balance

Avoiding endocrine disruptors and environmental pollutants

My friend and colleague Dr. Heather Paulson is the author of the soon to be released Textbook of Naturopathic Oncology. She is board certified in naturopathic oncology providing expert cancer care while creating a plan that restores health. She integrates her specialization in cancer and her love of nutrition, herbs, homeopathy, counseling, traditional healing, and current research to support you during your cancer journey and for cancer prevention. Dr. Paulson shares this about avoiding endocrine disruptors and environmental pollutants:

Endocrine disruptors are things in our environment that influence our hormonal system. You have probably heard about how plastics have been causing young boys to have feminine breasts. This plastic phenomenon is due to plastic disrupting the endocrine (or hormonal) system in boys. But the endocrine effects of environmental pollutants impacts both men and women. Some of the most common endocrine disruptors you are coming on contact with include plastic, pesticides, fragrances, beauty products, and cleaning products. Eliminating these from your personal environment is a critical piece of cancer prevention that is often missed.

She created this quiz How Toxic Is Your Home to help you see how well you are doing with endocrine disruptors. You can also find several checklists on her website to help you eliminate the necessary chemicals from your kitchen, yard, bedroom, and bathroom.

Boost glutathione levels to support the body’s detoxification channels

green-asparagus

 

And finally, my friend and colleague (and fellow South African) Kirsten Nussgruber shares the importance of reducing the toxic burden. When faced with the biggest challenge of her life – being diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer twice within a short three year period – Kirsten was forced to completely reevaluate what she believed was already a healthy lifestyle and now advocate for:

  • Eating clean and real food
  • Applying clean cosmetics and skin care products
  • And supporting the body’s detoxification channels

Kirsten shares the role of glutathione and ways to support body’s detoxification channels by boosting glutathione levels, often called your master detoxifier.

In its role as detoxifier it plays a crucial role in helping the body bind and get rid of many environmental toxins such as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, solvents, dyes, plastics, detergents and nitrosamines often found in processed foods.

Glutathione is also known to be cancer-preventing and has been found deficient in cancer patients. It can strengthen natural killer cells, a part of your immune system you want to have ready for action at all times!

In her blog post, she covers glutathione supplementation and shares a list of whole foods that boost glutathione production:
asparagus, acornsquash, avocados, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, garlic, grapefruit, leeks, okra, onions, oranges, peaches, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, walnuts, watermelon, and zucchini.

Don’t be driven by fear and anxiety

As I said in my 2013 Breast Cancer Awareness blog: don’t be driven by fear and anxiety, instead use these wonderful resources as tools so you can be proactive and prevent breast cancer.

If you do get to a place where the anxiety and fear becomes overwhelming, don’t forget about the targeted individual amino acids like GABA and tryptophan for eliminating the anxiety and worry, obsessive thinking, negative self-talk, insomnia and overwhelm.

Here’s to beautiful healthy breasts for you and every woman!

Breast Cancer Awareness: don’t be driven by fear

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DrNalini Chilkov’s new book
Dr. Nalini Chilkov’s new book

October is Breast Cancer awareness month so here are 7 resources to keep you informed, hopeful and inspired to take charge of your overall health and breast health – for prevention and healing – and no more fear!

#1 Reduce stress in your life. Here is a blog post I wrote in 2010 with information from my colleague Ellyn Hilliard: 10 Unique Ways to Support You During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Reduce the stresses in your life. Calm the nervous system. Meditate, go on a walk…

Start to look at chemicals in your life. Find natural alternatives to cleaning products.

#2 Exercise to prevent cancer and have fun at the same time

up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided with a nutritious diet and exercise

If exercise is a chore, find something fun to do and it will be a totally different experience

#3 Be aware that a lot of pinkwashing goes on – it’s quite awful how people are being taken advantage of. And know there is so much you can do that is healing and preventative. You can read more here: Pinkwashing for the cure (ridiculous!) or green for prevention?

Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease.

Helyane Waldman’s book “The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors: A Nutritional Approach to Preventing Recurrence”

Rebecca Katz’s “The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery”

#4 Ann Louise Gittleman, author of The Fat Flush Diet and Get the Sugar Out, just posted a great blog on how to become a breast health warrior

Raise your daily Vitamin D intake (D is like a hormone rather than a vitamin) to at least 1,000 – 4,000 IU to reach a level of at least 52 ng/mL. Women with serum levels at

Get the Sugar Out! Plain and simple, cancer feeds on sugar which is known to immobilize white blood cells for up to five hours.

#5 Dr Nalini Chilkov is my cancer referral source and she has a new cancer booklet called 32 Ways to OutSmart Cancer. It has beautiful back-to-basics advice about eating nourishing nutrient-dense, antioxidant- and polyphenol-rich real whole food. I especially like the section on herbs and spices and love the chapter on gratitude. Here is a yummy salmon recipe from her blog.

#6 Be hopeful and optimistic. My colleague Fran Sussman shares her journey and story of recovery from breast cancer in this article called I am a breast cancer survivor: There is hope. Fran will be offering six-week support classes for women diagnosed with breast cancer starting in December.

I’ve come through it, with great resilience and rebounding health. I feel better than ever post-breast cancer, at age 60. I am healthy; my doctors concur.

What can you do for prevention? Support your body with optimal nutrition, exercise, sleep and hydration. Use nutrition to minimize inflammation and insulin resistance.

 Acknowledge and work with your fear, but don’t be driven by it.

#7 And my final piece of advice is stated so beautifully by Fran: “Acknowledge and work with your fear, but don’t be driven by it.” Anxiety and depression is very common in people who have been diagnosed with cancer.  This is understandable, but I encourage you to look for and get support in this area too, so you are not driven by your fear.

You may need to address low GABA levels, keep your blood sugar stable with good quality protein at breakfast, support your adrenals, and drink calming carob instead of coffee.  There is so much you can do.

If you’re looking for more great resources for your healing journey, I invite you to join us on The Anxiety Summit, Nov 3-16, and learn more about nutritional and natural solutions for anxiety.  The topics our expert address will also lead to improved overall health, improved heart health and will help with cancer prevention too.

 

Pinkwashing for the cure (ridiculous!) or green for prevention?

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Pinkwashing

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and creating breast cancer awareness is great BUT this pinkwashing is ridiculous!

A California based organization shares what pinkwashing is:

Breast Cancer Action coined the term pinkwashing as part of our Think BeforeYou Pink® campaign. Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease.

Sarah Pope, the Healthy Home Economist doesn’t mince her words in her blog post “Komen (NOT) for the Cure: for the Cure: The Complete and Utter Pinkwashing of America” and nor should she.  She says things like “pink propaganda”, “media stupidity”, “zombie like hypnosis that comes over people with regard to supporting the marketing bonanza” and “Breast Cancer Industry Month.”  As far as I’m concerned she is spot on and this pinkwashing is ridiculous and totally out of hand!   Do read her blog post above: she shares some shocking facts about Komen, saying they don’t want a cure because “Pinkwashing is far too lucrative.”

I am, quite frankly, flabbergasted by the whole commercialism of it. Also, so many of the products that have been “pinked” are part of the cancer problem in the first place.

Like sugary foods and fast food!  You’re kidding me!  Coke and cancer awareness!?  What about cancer-causing toxins in makeup!?

cancer sugary foods

cancer pinking coke

cancer pinking makeup

The title of this paper says it all: Cancer is a Preventable Disease that Requires Major Lifestyle Changes

“Only 5–10% of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetic defects, whereas the remaining 90–95% have their roots in the environment and lifestyle. The lifestyle factors include cigarette smoking, diet (fried foods, red meat), alcohol, sun exposure, environmental pollutants, infections, stress, obesity, and physical inactivity.”

Here are some great resources that help with some of these lifestyle factors:

How about a green ribbon instead of a pink ribbon!?  And please, let’s call it Breast Cancer Prevention and have a Race for Prevention instead of a Race for the Cure!

Which do you choose – pinkwashing for the cure or green for prevention?

cancer pinking asparagus