13 Cancer-Prevention Tips

11. Head Off Cell Phone Risks

Use your cell phone only for short calls or texts, or use a hands-free device that keeps the phone—and the radio frequency energy it emits—away from your head. The point is more to preempt any risk than to protect against a proven danger: Evidence that cell phones increase brain cancer risk is "neither consistent nor conclusive," says the President's Cancer Panel report. But a number of review studies suggest there's a link.

The most powerful cancer fighting foods you can eat.

12. Block The Sun With Color

Choosing your outdoor outfit wisely may help protect against skin cancer, say Spanish scientists. In their research, blue and red fabrics offered significantly better protection against the sun's UV rays than white and yellow ones did. Don't forget to put on a hat: Though melanoma can appear anywhere on the body, it's more common in areas the sun hits, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have found that people with melanomas on the scalp or neck die at almost twice the rate of people with the cancer on other areas of the body.

13. Eat Clean Foods

The President's Cancer Panel recommends buying meat free of antibiotics and added hormones, which are suspected of causing endocrine problems, including cancer. The report also advises that you purchase produce grown without pesticides or wash conventionally grown food thoroughly to remove residues. (The foods with the most pesticides: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, and blueberries.) "At least 40 known carcinogens are found in pesticides and we should absolutely try to reduce exposure," Sellers says.

Switch to Powerhouse Foods

You get the biggest health benefit out of fruits and vegetables when you eat lots of different kinds. Yet most of us derive cancer-fighting phytonutrients from a handful of tried-and-true standbys that aren't always the most potent sources, according to a study presented at the 2010 Experimental Biology meeting, an annual gathering hosted by several research organizations. Typical choices and better substitutes:

CANCER FIGHTER / USUAL SOURCE / BETTER CHOICE

Beta-carotene / Carrots / Sweet potatoes have double the beta-carotene of carrots.
Beta-cryptoxanthin / Oranges / One serving of papaya has 11 times more beta-cryptoxanthin than an orange and 6 times more than a cup of orange juice.
Lutein/zeaxanthin / Spinach / Cooked kale has 7 times the lutein/zeaxanthin of raw spinach.
Ellagic acid / Strawberries / Fresh raspberries have 3 times more ellagic acid than strawberries do.
Glucosinolates / Broccoli / A half cup of brussels sprouts contains 4 times more of these cancer-curbing compounds than the same amount of broccoli.

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