What are the 6 most common drivers of cancer? And how do I keep them in check before they cause harm?

We think about cancer like it’s one disease, but it isn’t. There are many types of cancer, and they act differently. Some cancers cause obvious symptoms early in the process. Others grow unnoticed for years. Some cancers develop slowly, and others grow quickly and aggressively. But they all have one thing in common. Every type of cancer starts at the cellular level. Any perfectly healthy cell can transform into cancer if it gets damaged. Damaged cells are supposed to die. When they don’t die, they keep doing what cells do: making copies of themselves. When a damaged cell reproduces, every new cell created from it starts out damaged too. Soon there are enough of those imperfect cells to start crowding out healthy cells and band together to form tumors. If you can interrupt that first cancer cell… keep it from getting damaged in the first place… the disease might never take hold. And to do that successfully, you need to understand what drives cancer and how to prevent it.

What are the 6 Underlying Causes of Cancer?

Cancer can only start when a cell becomes irreparably damaged but continues to reproduce. If you interrupt the damage process or make it easier for the cell to repair itself, the cancer cascade gets blocked. There are 6 common causes of cell damage, the underlying drivers of cancer:

1. Inflammation
2. Oxidative stress
3. Everyday toxin exposure
4. Hormone disruption
5. Immune dysregulation
6. Micronutrient deficiencies

If you’re dealing with even one of these drivers, you could be at risk for developing cancer. And the more drivers your body has to manage, the higher your risk. Let’s take a closer look at each of these cancer drivers and how it affects cellular health.

Inflammation

Inflammation is a normal part of healthy immune function. It’s a rapid response to injury and illness – one of the first steps your immune system takes to protect you from threats. Inflammation signals cells to grow and multiply faster, actions meant to repair injuries. Problems arise when inflammation doesn’t turn off once the immediate threat is dealt with. Chronic inflammation drives cancer by: 1

• Disrupting the cellular microenvironment, which destabilizes the cell and disables its natural self- repair capability
• Damaging DNA, which triggers mutations, stops normal cell behavior, and causes the cells to ignore pre-programmed cell death even when they’re damaged beyond repair
• Promoting faster, unchecked cell division and reproduction

Together, these changes encourage tumor growth and set the stage for cancer.

Oxidative Stress

Your body is constantly bombarded with free radicals, highly reactive and unstable molecules. These molecules are missing electrons which keep them in balance, so they try to steal electrons from other molecules. Free radicals can come from external sources like pollution. They’re also produced by normal metabolic processes in your body. Your body uses antioxidants to neutralize free radicals. Antioxidants work by giving electrons to free radicals to stabilize them. But when free radicals outpace your body’s antioxidant supply, they overwhelm your healthy cells. That causes oxidative stress, which drives cancer development through: 2

• cellular instability
• damaged DNA
• increased cell mutations

These changes make it easier for cancer cells to quickly adapt and drive them to invade healthy cells.

Everyday Toxin Exposure

We live in a toxic world, and it’s virtually impossible to completely avoid toxin exposure. Your body has its own natural detox functions, but that can get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of toxins it needs to deal with. You’d probably be surprised by your level of exposure and the many ways you interact with these cancer-causing toxins. Heavy metals include lead, mercury, and arsenic. They sneak into your body through food, pollution, and household contact. They’re found in foods such as rice, peanuts, protein powders, shellfish, and organ meats. Most heavy metals are closely linked to cellular damage and cancer. 3 Low-level long-term exposure can cause excessive oxidative stress, harm healthy cells, and prevent normal cellular repair functions. 4 Pesticides, including herbicides, are everywhere. Your neighbor’s yard, the county park, the food in your ‘frig. There are hundreds of pesticides in use, but glyphosate is the most widely used despite serious health concerns. Plus, pesticides are often used in combination formulas, increasing your chemical exposure and health risks including: 5 , 6

• inflammation
• oxidative stress
• mitochondria malfunction (which disrupts cellular energy)
• DNA damage

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are plants and animals that have been altered through genetic engineering. The most common food crops fit into the GMO category: soy, corn, wheat, sugar beets, and canola. Most processed foods contain one or more of these GMO ingredients. These modified foods can cause chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Household chemicals are all over your home, and many of them harm DNA and cause cancer. They’re not just in the obvious suspects like cleaning products, though those chemicals can be toxic. Cell-damaging chemicals include things like:

• VOCs (volatile organic compounds), chemicals like benzene that change into inhalable gases, are found in household items such as paint, upholstered furniture, and permanent markers. 7
• PFAS (perfluoroalkyl/polyfluoroalkyl substances), forever chemicals that accumulate in your body, are found in stain-resistant, water-resistant, and nonstick products. 8
• Formaldehydes and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (FRPs) are commonly found in personal care products including hair gels, nail polish, body wash, and eye shadow. 9

Hormone Disruption

Disrupted hormones fuels hormone-driven cancers including breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. 10 These are spurred by estrogen dominance, when your body has too much active estrogen circulating for it to handle. Estrogen-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are the biggest hormone disruptors, and exposure to them increases your cancer risk. 11 These toxic chemicals include

• PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
• BPA (Bisphenol A)
• Phthalates
• Parabens
• Dioxins

They’re found in a wide range of products from yoga pants to plastic bottles to liquid soaps to food packaging. You can be exposed through food, beverages, personal care products, and the air you breathe. 12

Immune Dysregulation

Immune dysregulation means your immune system doesn’t respond the way it’s meant to. It underreacts to threats, allowing infections to strengthen. It overreacts and attacks you, creating autoimmune conditions. Either way, a malfunctioning immune system makes it easier for cancer cells to flourish in several ways: 13

• failed surveillance, where your immune system can’t detect cancer cells, so it doesn’t respond to them
• blocked healing pathways that prevent normal cellular repair activity
• easily hijacked immune cells that get transformed into cancer protectors

These breakdowns in the immune system allow cancer to grow uncontrolled.

Micronutrient Deficiencies

Micronutrients, meaning vitamins and minerals, play key roles in health and wellness. But millions of Americans don’t get enough of the most crucial immune-related micronutrients including: 14

• Folate
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Selenium
• Zinc

Your cells rely on these essential nutrients to stay healthy and function properly. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause DNA damage and interfere with cellular repair, creating a straight path to cancer. 15 Consume micronutrient-dense foods like sprouts, microgreens, organic grass-fed liver, and other superfoods to avoid deficiencies and give your cells more cancer-fighting ammunition. You can also add a natural whole food- based multivitamin to your daily routine.

Sulforaphane Holds the Key to Stopping Cellular Damage

Sulforaphane is a natural plant chemical with dozens of proven health benefits. It’s an especially powerful ally in the fight against cancer. It’s found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, broccoli sprouts, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale. And just 10 mg a day can make all the difference for your health. The problem: You’d need to consume somewhere between 2 – 5 pounds of raw cruciferous vegetables daily to take advantage of the full cancer-fighting abilities. That’s because sulforaphane from food has limited bioavailability.

For full potency, you’d be better off with a standardized, stabilized sulforaphane supplement. Because a full serving of sulforaphane unlocks every tool your body has to manage the drivers of cancer. That all starts with the crucial NRF-2 pathway, which regulates and coordinates your cellular defense system. From there, sulforaphane delivers the support your cells need to stay healthy. Extensive research shows that sulforaphane: 16 , 17 , 18 , 19

• Delivers powerful anti-inflammatory protection by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine activity and decreasing inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP).
• Increases your body’s antioxidant power by boosting glutathione production, activating enzymes that fight free radicals, and protecting cells against oxidative stress.
• Directly protects cells by promoting cellular detoxification, repairing and restoring DNA, and regulating the cell life cycle.
• Balances hormones by regulating estrogen metabolism, supporting the liver’s hormone detoxification pathways, and converting estrogen into its less active forms.
• Regulates and supports immune function by increasing NK-cell activity to fight diseases like cancer, increasing macrophage activity to destroy pathogens, and disrupting the virus-to-cancer pathway.

Sulforaphane acts like an all-in-one cellular life preserver. And staying healthy depends on it.

How Can I Keep All of My Cells Healthy?

There’s a reason nature provides such a wide variety of cruciferous vegetables: Sulforaphane delivers dozens of proven health benefits. Starting with direct anti-cancer support for your cells. Sulforaphane addresses the most common drivers of cancer, from inflammation to free radicals to everyday toxins that disrupt your hormones and your health. Because most people can’t stomach eating 2 to 5 pounds of broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage every day, your best option is a fast-acting, highly bioavailable, clinically validated sulforaphane supplement. Just 10 mg in supplement form daily delivers enough crucifer power to protect your cells and keep you healthy.

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