We, parents of little ones, must be aware of what we are feeding our children.

This blog is to share the top cancer agents from our everyday life.

Main Takeaway: Use them minimally.

1. Sugar: Scientists now know that eating too much sweet stuff can not only lead to diabetes, but actively damage your cells and increase your risk of developing cancer. New research suggests that sugar may fuel tumor growth in the body — because cancer loves to use sugar as fuel. Additionally, we know that sugar intake has a strong impact on hyperactivity & cavities.
2. Obesity: Obesity can put you at increased risk of developing types of cancers including breast, colon, rectum, esophagus, kidney, and pancreas. Chronic inflammation from things like long-term infections, bowel disease, or obesity can all damage a person’s DNA and lead to higher cancer rates.
3. Grilled meats: Smoky meats from the grill contain compounds called heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. According to the National Cancer Institute, when meats like beef, poultry, or fish are cooked over a hot open flame or pan-fried at high temperatures, the fat and juices they release into the fire spark flames with the dangerous chemicals inside that then cook into the meat we eat. These have been found to change DNA in ways that might increase the risk of cancer. Salt-cured fish, which is popular in China, is high in nitrates and nitrites — known carcinogens that can damage DNA, leading to head and neck cancer.
4. Salt-cured meat or fish and pickled foods: According to Cancer Research UK, eating pickled foods can increase your risk of stomach cancer.
5. Processed Food: Everything that comes in a box, can or package and lasts for a month or more is processed food. Scientists in France recently zeroed in on a link between people who eat more processed foods and those who develop cancer. They’re not sure if the problem is the shelf-stabilizing ingredients, the plastic packaging, or some combination of the two.
6. Processed meats like ham, bacon, and sausage: The WHO says that any kind of red meat could be linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer, and they may also contributes to pancreatic and prostate cancers. That’s because the meat has been treated in some way to preserve or flavor it, such as by salting, curing, fermenting, or smoking.
7. Food Browning: The browning of some foods that are cooked at high temperatures — like bread, coffee, or french fries — produces a chemical compound called acrylamide. Acrylamide is just one of more than 1,000 chemicals on a list that the state of California has on its danger list of potentially cancer-causing compounds.
8. Alcohol: According to the National Cancer Institute, alcohol consumption over time can up your risk of developing several different kinds of cancer, including throat, liver, breast and colon cancer.
9. Plastics: Plastics (especially BPAs) can be dangerous, especially when they leach chemicals out a container. BPA resins can be used inside products like metal food cans as sealants, while polycarbonate BPA plastics can include water bottles and food storage containers. BPA even shows up on the shiny side of receipt paper to stabilize the ink. They are known to cause a lot of breast- and prostate cancer.
10. Tanning: According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, people who use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk of developing melanoma by 75%. Use strong SPF sunscreens or stay in the shade.
11. Smoking: E-Vaping and smoking has become the rage among teenagers. We all know that tobacco smoke has at least 70 cancer-causing chemicals inside. And worse, Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20-30%.
12. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Hairdressers who deal with dyes every day. Nail-salon workers breathing in dangerous fumes. Painters and other cosmetics/household products (like air fresheners) that include VOCs are cancer-causing.
13. Estrogen and birth control pills: Women & girls exposed to estrogen (from birth control pills) and others seem to have higher incidence of developing cervical cancer.
14. Particulates: Air pollutants and diesel fuel exhaust in particular has more than 30 components that can cause cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Additionally, soot inhalation has also been linked to lung, esophageal, and bladder cancers.

Main points to remember: Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid processed, sugary, flame cooked foods. Minimize chemicals in your life.