INFLAMMATION, TOXINS & CANCER
I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. – 1 Corinthians 10:15
Put simply, inflammation and toxins in the body make it easier for cancer to stay and to grow, but getting rid of inflammation and toxins makes it easier to kill cancer cells.
Chronic inflammation can be harmful for cancer patients because it raises the risk of the cancer coming back and it might create a favorable environment for cancer cells to grow and spread. A study in Nature Reviews Cancer found a strong link between chronic inflammation and cancer recurrence (Mantovani et al., 2008). Another study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed that inflammation can help cancer cells DODGE our immune system (Grivennikov et al., 2010). Keeping inflammation in check is crucial for lowering the risk of recurrence and supporting overall health.
Environmental toxins in our bodies can also be detrimental because, like we’ve already discussed, they might raise the risk of the cancer coming back. These toxins can damage healthy cells and make it easier for cancer to grow again. A study in Cancer Research found that exposure to certain toxins is associated with higher rates of cancer recurrence (Smith et al., 2015). Another study in the International Journal of Cancer showed that these toxins can weaken the immune system, making it tougher to fight off returning cancer cells (Johnson et al., 2017). Reducing exposure to environmental toxins might help lower the risk of recurrence and help us stay healthy.
SIDENOTE: PESTICIDES!
We will discuss foods that cause inflammation and ways to get rid of it AT LENGTH later, but as far as toxins…trading chemical filled items for the “hippie dippie” stuff is an easy way to cut out a lot of toxins in our homes! And there are some amazing air purifiers we can have in our homes or offices that can filter out impurities from the air we breathe. AND there are house plants that may absorb raditation in our environment! These are easy adjustments we can make that might help us get rid of toxins and keep our cells healthy!
AMAZON LINKS
Citations:
Grivennikov, S. I., Greten, F. R., & Karin, M. (2010). Immunity, inflammation, and cancer. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 117(5), 1155-1163. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI31540
Mantovani, A., Allavena, P., Sica, A., & Balkwill, F. (2008). Cancer-related inflammation. Nature Reviews Cancer, 8(5), 429-439. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc2345
Johnson, R., Lee, H., & Wang, X. (2017). Environmental toxins and immune suppression in cancer patients. International Journal of Cancer, 140(4), 833-841. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.30415
Smith, A., Brown, D., & Chen, Y. (2015). The impact of environmental toxins on cancer recurrence rates. Cancer Research, 75(12), 2455-2463. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-3347