We recently had our annual Patient Appreciation event and I want to personally say thank you for joining us.  I was happy to see how many people visited the clinic and also how many people attended my talk to learn about prevention of chronic illness.  After practicing naturopathic medicine for 20 years, I can tell you that adopting a healthy, prevention-based lifestyle is much easier than having to adopt a reactive approach to treating disease.  

We all have roughly a 40% chance of getting cancer in our lifetimes. In the grand majority of cases these cancers are not inherited.  In fact, the National Cancer Institute suggests only 10% of cancers are inherited.  Most cancers are related to something that happens to us that is independent of our inherited genetics.  Risks include obvious things like drinking, smoking, and environmental toxins, less obvious risks such as nutrient deficiencies, lack of exercise, and increased stress.  Thankfully, these risk factors are all modifiable and we are able to make changes that can decrease our risk.  In fact, as many as 50% of cancers may be prevented with healthy lifestyle habits.

Below is a list of hyperlinks to some of the research I referenced in the talk. I hope you can use this information to achieve improved and sustained health!

Mushrooms and Cancer Risk Reduction

Mushrooms and Vitamin D

Nut Consumption and Colon Cancer Progression

Selenium and Breast Cancer Risk

Selenium and Prostate Cancer Progression

Selenium and Brazil Nuts

Stress and Cancer

One of the most powerful things a person can do to lower their risk of all chronic illness is to exercise.  Aim for at least 5 hours per week of moderately intense exercsie, with 2 hours of this time spent with weight training.  Here is a great link to the potential benefits of exercise.

I also discussed some testing that can be used to help determine risk:  the lymphocyte to neutrophil ratio, a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, omega-3 fatty acid analysis, and a homocysteine.

Again, thank you for joining us at our event and if you missed it, we'll see you next year!  If you are interested in learning more about disease prevention and cutting-edge integrative medicine we would be happy to help.

Dr. Jake Psenka