Cancer is the leading cause of death in the majority of industrialized countries. Yet there is no reason to feel powerless. Research has shown that nearly three-quarters of cancer cases could be prevented simply by changing everyday habits, a positive impact unlikely ever equaled by any treatment.

Preventing Cancer provides the necessary tools to those who want to take their fate into their own hands. Decades of research by agencies like the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Cancer Society has revealed ten major recommendations that are the best weapon at our disposal to help prevent cancer and give cancer survivors a practical tool to prevent recurrence.

Preventing Cancer explains the science behind each recommendation and its statistical potential for disease prevention. The authors provide numerous practical examples of lifestyle changes that can make a profound contribution to cancer prevention.

The ten recommendations to preventing cancer are:
1. Don't smoke.
2. Stay as lean as possible.
3. Limit the consumption of red meat to about one pound per week. Also helpful, marinate red meat in virgin olive oil with garlic and lemon juice or herbs like thyme or rosemary; add turmeric or related spices to ground beef.
4. Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, pulses (like lentils) and whole grains. Eat "superfoods" like green tea, blueberries, crucifers, garlic and tomatoes.
5. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.
6. Limit daily alcohol consumption to two glasses for men and one for women. Better yet, drink red wine and even better, drink red pinot noir. Also, avoid mouthwash with alcohol.
7. Limit consumption of salt. Use spices, especially Indian spices like turmeric.
8. Avoid unnecessary sun exposure.
9. For extra protection, vaccinate girls against HPV. Breastfeed for six months, avoid pollution and nanomaterials, get eight hours' sleep.
10. Do not use supplements to prevent cancer.

Easy to read, approachable and supported by an avalanche of research studies, Preventing Cancer provides dozens of examples of why and how to start preventing cancer today.

by Richard Béliveau, PhD and Denis Gingras, PhD ; Preface by Pierre Bruneau

Richard Beliveau's profile page

Denis Gingras has worked for several years on the borderline between science and literature, his two childhood passions. The holder of a doctorate in physiology from the Université de Montréal (1993) and a post-doctoral degree from McGill University (1996), for fifteen years he was a researcher specializing in oncology in the Hemato-oncology Service at Hôpital Sainte-Justine.

Denis Gingras' profile page

University of Quebec cancer researchers Beliveau and Gingras compile recommendations from major public health agencies and condense them into 10 concise points of advice, which they say could reduce the risk of cancer for those who follow them by up to 75 percent. They explain the science behind each of the 10 points, citing current research studies with an extensive bibliography. While most of the recommendations, such as not smoking, keeping fit, and limiting the consumption of red meat and alcohol, will be familiar to most readers, the authors' approach of presenting the information in 10 memorable principles in a slim volume of straightforward explanation will appeal to many people who feel overwhelmed by the amount of information on cancer prevention and the steady stream of new studies. The authors attack the myth that cancer is the work of fate and show that many cancers can be prevented by lifestyle changes. They also give cancer survivors a practical tool to help prevent recurrence. The attractively illustrated book is a valuable guide for consumers who want to take proactive measures to maintain good health, as well as an instructive tool for health care providers who want to educate the public.

Publishers Weekly