Causes & Prevention

EVERY DAY RISKS

Good health should be simple. Yet your choices of food and exposures to chemicals and toxins at home and in the environment determine whether you or your children develop disease, including cancer.

Did you know? A carcinogen is anything that is known or suspected to cause cancer in humans as it does in laboratory animals. A carcinogen doesn’t usually cause cancer immediately, but accumulated exposures increase your risks. There are at least 240 substances and exposures registered as “known or probable human carcinogens.”

What causes cancer in children?

It’s common for researchers to blame genetics, though kids rarely inherit a cancer-causing gene. Numerous documented studies published in peer-reviewed journals link exposures to chemicals, toxins, and inferior nutrition as “playing a significant role” in the epidemic of childhood cancers and other chronic health problems.

There are approximately 80,000 chemicals in common use today, and due to an outdated law, most have never been tested for safety in humans. Only five are regulated. Government agencies rely on industries to submit their own safety testing, and there is concern that negative results are deliberately kept hidden. Manufacturers don’t have to reveal all ingredients on labels, to “protect their trade secrets.” This is troubling because it means you don’t know exactly what is in most commercial products you use at home for personal care, household cleaning, pet and yard care!

Every day, without meaning to, people expose themselves and their children to countless combinations of chemicals, toxins, and carcinogens (cancer causing agents) in a wide range of products and conventionally processed foods that don’t provide warning labels.

Industries pay rogue scientists to claim that toxic substances in their products are “harmless in small doses” and that our standard of living depends on their chemicals, reports the Center For Environmental Health. But independent research studies show that even low-level exposures to combinations of toxins and chemicals cause changes to health, says the Environmental Working Group.

Parents need to use common sense and not be confused by clever marketing ads or misleading media reports. The best you can do is educate yourself to make healthier choices. We’re here to help you.

THE WOMB IS NOT SAFE

PREVENTION BEGINS EARLY

Raising a healthy family today in our chemically bombarded world is challenging. Many chemicals are passed on to the next generation through the sperm or female egg during conception, allowing cancer cells to develop in the baby in the womb or during later childhood. Children are more vulnerable because of their rapidly developing cells and incomplete defense system.

Research studies estimate that most North American adults have somewhere between 400 and 800 chemicals in their bodies.

Doris Rapp, M.D. suggests that a father-to-be should

have his blood and sperm tested for toxins at least six months before a couple plan to conceive a child. The mother-to-be should have a pre-pregnancy exam and take daily prenatal vitamins.

A study published in the Clinical Pharmacology & Therapies suggests that a woman taking prenatal vitamins with folic acid before and during pregnancy would reduce the risks of her baby developing cancers - including leukemia, brain tumours, and the usually fatal neuroblastoma.

Nutrition is key to healthy children and adults. Many pediatricians and health experts such as Joel Fuhrman, M.D., suggest that parents and kids eat organic food for optimal health. It is important to avoid pesticides, additives, preservatives, antibiotics, growth hormones, arsenic, sewage sludge and genetically engineered (GMO) foods commonly found in non-organic food that weaken the immune system and cause disease to develop.

GO NATURAL

There is a growing interest in returning to living in harmony with Nature to reduce exposure to chemicals that impact your family’s health and our fragile planet’s resources. More stores now carry nontoxic products for cleaning, yard care, pesticide control, cosmetics and personal care for adults and children.

Nontoxic products are earth-friendly and help you raise children naturally while also safeguarding your home environment. A toxin-free home can make a difference for this generation and future generations.

HOW TO REDUCE TOXIN EXPOSURE

A carcinogen is anything believed or suspected to cause cancer in humans as they do in test animals. A carcinogen usually doesn’t cause cancer immediately, but accumulated exposures do increase the risks.

The average home contains 63 different hazardous synthetic petrochemical products. Common household cleaners are loaded with chemicals linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, asthma, eye problems, reproductive toxicity, bone marrow damage, and hormone disruption.

These chemicals may linger for hours inside your home, suspended in air to be inhaled or absorbed through the skin or settle on your food during mealtime. Children are especially vulnerable to their toxicity.

To reduce toxic exposures, the Green Guide suggests you begin by looking through your entire household and garage. Get rid of conventional products that contain chemicals that you can easily substitute by using natural, nontoxic ingredients, such as:

White distilled vinegar
Baking soda
Hydrogen peroxide
Lemons
Salt

Liquid castile soap
Organic essential oils
Borax
Olive or walnut oil
Water

MORE PREVENTION TIPS

Avoid chemical pesticides and herbicides. Pesticides are found in bug sprays, head lice shampoos, pet flea collars/shampoos, weed killers, spray and plug-in air fresheners. Pesticides are linked to leukemia, breast, brain cancer and other cancers. Glyphosate is the “Darth Vader” of chemicals, found in Roundup and 650 weed killing products, commonly sprayed in yards and on genetically engineered (GMO) food crops. Glyphosate was classified in 2015 as a “probable human carcinogen,” linked to causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

~ International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Cell phones emit radiation that the EPA has linked to causing cancer, especially in the brain. The bone marrow of a child’s head absorbs 10 times more radiation from a cell phone than an adult. A 2014 study found the younger the child using a cell phone, the greater the risk of brain tumors and cancer. Cell phones are associated with a greater risk of breast cancer by teen girls tucking their cell phone into their bra.

~ National Center for Health Research

Fluoride as sodium fluoride is a chemical waste byproduct of the aluminum and phosphate fertilizer industries. It is commonly added to city drinking water and dental products, yet fluoride is linked to a five-times higher rate of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in children and teens, according to a 2005 study by Harvard School of Dental Health. Filter your drinking water and switch to fluoride-free toothpaste, sold in health food stores.

Avoid tobacco, including second-hand smoke. The National Cancer Institute has identified 7,000 chemicals in secondhand smoke, including 70 that cause cancer! A child exposed to 2nd hand smoke is forced to inhale the same as ten packs of cigarettes by age 5. Parents who smoke may cause Sudden Infant Death (SID) by smoking near a baby. A study of women who smoke during pregnancy showed more than 6,000 changes to their infant’s DNA caused by internal exposure to tobacco, including future lung and liver cancer in the baby’s future. Kids and teens are using E-cigs to vape, but studies find that they are six times more likely to advance to actual cigarettes within a year.

Marijuana smoke contains more carcinogenic combustion products than cigarette smoke that may lead to lung cancer. Pot use by male teens is linked to causing a 70% increased risk of developing nonseminoma, an aggressive, fast-growing form of testicular cancer. It has a peak incidence occurring between the ages of 15 to 34. Several studies have confirmed the health risks. ~ Association Between Marijuana Use and Risk of Cancer, JAMA, 2019

Chlorine is a chemical added to kill harmful bacteria, strongest in swimming pools, baths and showers, laundry bleach products, and emitted in dishwasher steam. Chlorine is widely known as a health hazard. Studies in Belgium found chlorine in showers and swimming pools is easily absorbed in your skin and is linked to causing deadly melanoma skin cancer. Chlorine added to drinking water is linked to causing bladder and rectal cancers. Help protect your family by adding a water purification system to your home. Shower filters are highly recommended.

~ Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 2000

Talc is a carcinogen found in baby powder, sprinkled on babies during diaper changes to absorb moisture and prevent rash. Teens sometimes use it in the genital area. Talc is believed to travel up through the vagina to the ovaries, where it causes inflammation that increases cancer development. The Journal of Gynecological Cancer states a 30% to 60% increased risk of cancer from using talcum powder in the genital area. Though rare, ovarian cancer in young girls and teens has become more common. Girls as young as 8-years old have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in recent years.

~ International Agency For Research on Cancer

Artificial “food” dyes, originally made from coal tar, now are derived from petroleum. They are not safe, known to cause cancers of the brain, kidneys, bladder, thyroid, and cause allergic reactions. Found in candies, beverages, desserts, yogurts. Though banned in 100 countries, still used in the USA. Choose natural food coloring.

Purge Plastic, especially toys, and food storage containers in your kitchen. Plastics are made from petroleum and contain chemicals that harm health, linked to cancers, birth defects, hormonal changes, and more. A study in 2011 found that 455 commercially available plastics leach chemicals that mimic the female hormone estrogen. BPA (Bisphenol A) is a hormone disruptor recently replaced with products labeled “BPA-Free.” But BPS (Bisphenol S), like BPA, also mimics estrogen and is linked to causing early puberty, breast cancer, and reproductive malformation in baby boys. Instead of plastic, buy and store food and beverages in glass or stainless steel or ceramic.

It’s impossible to avoid all harmful chemicals and toxins, though careful daily choices make a difference in reducing your exposures. Children are our future and the best gift we can give them is a chance for a healthy life.