Processed foods are one reason cancer rates, especially breast cancer, are rising at an alarming rate.

Processed foods are all of those canned, cartoned, boxed, bottled, and bagged foods that line the shelves of the inside aisles of the supermarkets.

Simply put, the more processed foods you eat the more likely your body will become toxic and your liver will be unable to clear out those toxins.

This increases inflammation, which sets the stage for cancer to develop. It also weakens your immune system, which is your protection against cancer.

• Sugar is highly inflammatory and causes cancer. In fact, sugar is the cancer cell’s fuel. It must have sugar to survive. Over the past 30 years, sugar usage has doubled. Today, the average American consumes about 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, when a safe limit is about six teaspoons daily. Unfortunately, almost all processed foods are loaded with sugar and also toxic chemicals and oils that lead to cancer over time.

• Sugar substitutes are also suspected to cause cancer. Stay away from Splenda, Sweet & Low, NutraSweet, and many others. Stevia is a natural sweetener that is safe, provided it is pure and not contaminated with some other chemical, such as Maltodextrin made from genetically modified corn.

• Alcohol is toxic to your body and in excess can cause cancer, as well as cirrhosis of the liver. Small amounts may not do much harm when you’re young, but larger amounts will definitely create a health problem as you age.

• Oils are often bad. Let me start with the good ones. Coconut oil is the best to cook with because at high temperatures it breaks down into a non-toxic, non-carcinogenic form. Olive, avocado, and sesame oils are also good at room temperature, but at high cooking temperatures they break down into carcinogenic substances. To play it safe, cook with coconut oil and not with the others. Avoid corn oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, and canola oil altogether. They are toxic from the start.