Myth busted: These 8 things DO NOT reduce your chances of getting cancer

Cancer – the name itself scares us to death. With the increasing cases of cancer over the past few decades, it’s important for each one of us to take precautions and stay safe from the deadly disease which in many cases becomes life-threatening.

But not everything you see on the internet is true. There have been many claims about certain things helping in reducing your chances of getting cancer. But you will be surprised to know not all of them protect you against cancer.

Here’s a list of 7 such things that you think prevent cancer but they don’t.

Cancer patients tend to have low levels of Vitamin D, which has made the scientists wonder if getting enough amount of Vitamin D can protect them against cancer?

But a study conducted on 2300 healthy postmenopausal women showed that having the required amount of vitamin D did not lower the risk. Another study in the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that Vitamin D was of no use in protecting one against cancer-related deaths.

A combined study conducted by Harvard University, Brigham University and Women’s Hospital, gauged whether the consumption of Omega 3 fatty acid offered any protection against cancer. After five years they found there was no significant difference in cancer deaths and cancer rates between people who took Omega 3 and those who didn’t.

Vitamin E is an important supplement, which has made the researchers suspect that it might offer protection against cancer. For 10 years, 14,600 male doctors took a placebo, Vitamin C or Vitamin E and their health status was tracked for four years. Neither of the vitamins offered protected against any type of cancer

Clean eaters are often said to be the healthiest of all. A study conducted on 69,000 French adults who ate organic food found that the more organic food people ate, the lower was their risk of cancer. But the results were not the same for everyone. People who eat organic are definitely healthier in other ways that has a bigger impact on their cancer risk.

Getting all the possible tests done won’t prevent it from happening in the first place. Though it’s true that early diagnosis makes the treatment easier in some particular cases and not all. The Central for Disease and Prevention recommends against screening for ovarian, prostate, testicular, thyroid or pancreatic cancer because it hasn’t been shown to improve death rates.

Picking up on wine habit in the name of health is never a good idea. Red wine has resveratrol, an antioxidant that promises to protect against cancer but that doesn’t give you’re the green signal to drink this red beverage. Studies have shown red wine drinkers are not protected against ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer. According to a BMJ study, even light to moderate drinking habits can increase one’s risk of cancer.

Cancer cells are found in the acidic environment. Eating alkaline diet, avoiding high-acid foods like sugar, dairy, wheat and fruits can stop tumours in their tracks.

But no studies have yet been able to establish a link between cancer prevention and alkaline diet. Cancer cells create an acidic environment rather than vice versa, says an oncologist. Also, eating alkaline won’t change the pH levels of your blood but rather of your saliva and urine, which is unrelated.