Natural keys to cancer prevention

No need to overhaul your diet or exercise routine to stay happy and healthy for years to come. New research reveals you can bolster your defenses against cancer with these simple strategies! Prevents reproductive cancers: Onions

Dipping a spoon into savory French onion soup or any other onion-rich dish shores up your defenses against female-specific cancers. A National Cancer Institute review suggests that eating 1 cup of onions daily (raw or cooked) cuts ovarian and uterine cancer risk by 60%, plus reduces the odds of breast cancer by as much as 40%. Natural sulfur compounds in onions tamp down the production of an enzyme (HIF-1 alpha) that fuels the growth of hormone-triggered cancers.

Prevents lung cancer: Sunny breaks

Getting 20 minutes of sun daily can lessen the odds of lung cancer by 84%, suggests research in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The vitamin D-3 that skin produces when exposed to UV light energizes cancer-fighting immune cells. Tip: Taking 3,000 IU of vitamin D-3 daily works too!

Prevents colon cancer: Dark chocolate

Savor 2 oz. of dark chocolate daily, and your colon cancer risk could drop by as much as 75%, research in Diseases found. Study co-author Maria Martin, PH.D., says cocoa compounds reduce damaging inflammation in the digestive tract and encourage abnormal cells to self-destruct.

Prevents thyroid cancer: Selenium

Taking 200 mcg. of selenium daily could reduce your thyroid cancer risk by 80% (and halve your risk of pancreatic cancer too). So say Yale scientists, who found selenium neutralizes free radicals before they can damage these hardworking glands.