Cut your cancer risk by 50% and more!

Just avoiding cigarettes and fitting in 30 minutes of physical activity each day will lower your cancer risk 25%. To power up your protection even more, turn to these easy, science-backed strategies ✓ Cut your risk 58% with onions

At least 80% of your body’s cancer-fighting immune cells are produced in your intestines— and onions fuel their growth! So it’s no wonder Harvard researchers say women who eat 1/3 cup of raw or cooked onions daily are 58% less likely to ever be diagnosed with cancer. It’s the sulfur compounds in onions that provide this impressive protection— and shallots, leeks, scallions and garlic are also brimming with them.

✓ Cut your risk 50% with corn & brown rice

Eating two cups of corn and two cups of brown rice each week will make your cancer risk plummet 50%, reports the journal

Nutrition and Cancer. Thanks goes to lutein, a yellowish pigment in corn, and the hefty doses of manganese in brown rice, which together encourage cells to grow and divide normally, says study coauthor Rosalia Reynoso-camacho, PH.D.

✓ Cut your risk 29% with dried fruit

Raisins, dates, dried cherries and cranberries . . . it doesn’t matter which dried fruit you choose, snacking on 1/2 cup daily will reduce your risk of female cancers as much as 29%. Chinese researchers explain that dried fruit is rich in two nutrients, boron and vitamin K, that help shield cells in the breasts, uterus and ovaries from carcinogens.

✓ Cut your risk 22% with reishi

These medicinal mushrooms are a favorite in Chinese medicine— and for good reason! According to the journal PLOS One, taking 600 mg. to 1,200 mg. of reishi extract daily can reduce your cancer risk by 22% in 90 days. Cancer cells release special proteins that help them grow—but nutrients in reishi stop production of those proteins. One option: Life Extension Reishi Extract ($22 for 60 capsules; Lef.com/ww).

Important: Always check with your doctor before starting any new supplement.

✓ Cut your risk 20% with edamame

Eating a handful of edamame each day reduces the odds of your ever having cancer 20%, say University of Illinois researchers. These crunchy green soybeans are rich in isoflavones, compounds that encourage suspicious cells to self-destruct. Other great sources of isoflavones include tofu and soy milk; fit in two cups weekly for best results.

✓ Cut your risk 18% with raw veggies

If you enjoy cooked veggies, don’t stop eating them: Just include one cup of salad in your daily diet, too. Canadian studies show that raw veggies contain up to 54% more vitamin C than cooked vegetables do— and that C helps your liver flush out cancer-causing toxins! Eat even one modest serving of raw vegetables daily, and that vitamin C boost will cut your cancer risk 18%.