People who adopt the right health and wellness habits can reduce their risk of ever getting cancer by over fifty percent. That's a pretty staggering statistic.

Obviously, eating the right foods and getting enough exercise is not a guarantee that people will remain cancer-free throughout their entire lives, despite the importance of having such a healthy routine.

The health of your digestive system and the proper balance of your gut's microbiome (the beneficial bacteria living within your gut) directly effects your immune system and the overall health of your body. When your intestinal tract isn't performing well, it can become a breeding ground for disease and deadly cancers.

This is why it is important to try to reduce the risk of certain types of cancers through consuming the right foods, making the best nutritional choices, and reading food labels in order to double-check for risky ingredients.

Many of the most common and deadly types of cancers relate to the gastrointestinal system. It isn't surprising that people can modify their risk of getting these sorts of cancers with their food choices.

When mulling over your optimal diet, these 12 foods should be sent packing.

1. Canned Goods

The lining of most cans contains bisphenol-A, or BPA for short. People who are exposed to bisphenol-A on a high enough level can substantially increase their risk of brain cancer.

It is true that some cans are being made without bisphenol-A now, as a result of modern health warnings. However, people should always check the labels in order to make sure that this is the case in the same way that they would read the ingredients lists on other food products. BPA is hardly gone from products.

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Of canned goods, canned tomatoes and tomato products are some of the worst. The canned products themselves aren't the problem in this case: it is the can.

Everything gets worse as more BPA leaches into the food. Since tomatoes are so acidic, more and more BPA is going to leach into them and people will consume more of it in the process. Tomatoes are healthy, and they should be eaten fresh or frozen rather than canned.

2. Hydrogenated Oils

People have probably heard about the risk of hydrogenated oils by now, and it's difficult to understate just how unhealthy they really are.

The body uses fats in the repair of cellular membranes, so the dietary fat that people can consume will shape cellular membranes.

Hydrogenated oils are unnatural and can change the shape of cellular membranes entirely as a result. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, and hydrogenated oils almost create abnormal cells by design. Avoid it. 

3. Microwaveable Popcorn

As much as people love their microwave popcorn with their movies at home, this seemingly innocent food product is highly carcinogenic. The bag itself is lined in chemicals that the porous popped kernels easily absorb. Artificially popped, butter-soaked corn releases fumes containing toxic, carcinogenic chemicals, like diacetyl.

4. Alcohol

People can safely drink a single glass of wine per day. However, people who drink much more than that are automatically going to raise their risk of cancer, as studies have shown. Alcohol actually ranks just behind tobacco as a substance highly correlated with the development of cancer. It's critical to drink in moderation.

5. Soda

People know that soda is no health food by now. Between the chemical dyes and high-fructose corn syrup, soda is one of the worst food products for human health.

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The fact that sodas are loaded with refined sugar is enough of a problem already. To add insult to injury, sodas add no nutrition to the body whatsoever and they contribute all of these negative chemicals while offering absolutely zero gain.

6. Artificial Sweeteners

People who think that they'll be able to avoid all of the problems associated with soda by switching to diet soda are entirely wrong. Artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame, are extremely dangerous and carcinogenic. Aspartame itself might be metabolized as the toxin DKP. Most diet foods are problematic for this reason.

7. Farmed Fish

People are told to eat more fish all the time these days for the omega-3 fatty acids. As a result, it might seem frustrating to be told that farmed fish is not really any healthier than red meat if people take into account the entire cost and benefit analysis.

When so many fish are placed into such a small space, controlling the spread of disease outbreaks becomes crucial. However, farmers will do this in a way that involves toxic chemicals, endangering human consumers. The mercury content
of salmon only makes things worse. In general, limit exposure to farmed fish.

8. Refined Sugar

As much as people understandably love sugar, sugar is something that literally feeds cancer cells. Diabetes medication can be used in order to fight cancer cells, which should illustrate the danger of refined sugars in the fight against cancer.

9. Red Meat

People can still eat red meat sometimes. However, even eating small amounts of red meat every day is a huge problem from the perspective of cancer development. Factory farmed red meat is particularly bad, since disease outbreaks among cows are controlled through carcinogenic chemicals. You want to avoid this at all costs.

10. Refined Flour

The process by which refined flour is produced can create new carcinogens in the first place. The fact that refined sugars can more or less 'feed' tumors and cancer cells only makes things worse. Refined flours are definitely on the 'unhealthy' list.

11. Pickled and Salted Foods

There is a very strong correlation between the development of stomach cancer, other gastrointestinal cancers, and the consumption of pickled and salted foods.

The preservatives that lengthen the shelf life for these foods can build up in the body and cause irreparable damage to your DNA or RNA. Be extremely careful.

12. Processed Meats

Most processed meats manage to combine a lot of the risks associated with both red meat and pickled and salted foods. The preservatives in processed meats are often specifically carcinogenic. The meats themselves might have been produced using carcinogenic materials.

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Processed pork and beef products like bacon, salami, bologna, and sausage are the worst.

13. Potato Chips

The preservatives in potato chips can certainly raise a person's risk of getting cancer. The high salt content of potato chips is also strongly correlated with many specific types of cancer, including stomach cancer. However, the same process that makes potato chips crispy also produces the carcinogen acrylamide,
which is a component of cigarettes. You definitely don't want any of that!

The Bottom Line

No matter what your diet looks like, it's never too late to make some minor (or even major) adjustments to your overall routine and dramatically reduce you risk of coming into contact with even a single type of cancer. It's all about discipline.

If you control what goes in your body with steadfast determination, and you check labels, eat healthy ingredients, and keep away from these 13 foods, you're sure to have a lifestyle free of concern that one day you might contract a deadly cancer.

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Sources

1. http://mamavation.com/2015/01/10-cancer-causing-foods-in-your-diet.html