skin cancer

WARNING: Common blood pressure drug can cause cancer!

Time to check the medicine chest, my friend.

New research exposes an ugly new risk linked to a popular diuretic.

That "safe" old blood pressure med your doc has you on -- the supposedly time-tested hydrochlorothiazide used by 10 million Americans -- isn't so safe after all.

And if you take this medication yourself, you could end up battling a form of skin cancer that can leave you scarred and disfigured for life!

It's not a small bump in risk.

Folks who take hydrochlorothiazide are SEVEN TIMES more likely to battle squamous cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.

The drug seems to somehow make the skin more sensitive and more easily damaged, especially when exposed to the UV rays of the sun.

You can't SEE the damage... and you won't "feel" more sensitive. You might not even burn more easily.

But the damage is there -- as if the drug is making your skin age more rapidly, especially when you're out in the sun.

Ready for the most stunning part of this?

The damage is so severe... and the risk so big... that researchers believe 10 percent of all skin cancer cases examined in the study were CAUSED by the drug!

With 5.4 million cases of this disease diagnosed in the United States every year, that could mean 540,000 cases are caused by this diuretic annually.

That adds up to one case of skin cancer every single minute of every single day caused by the use of hydrochlorothiazide.

The good news is that squamous cell carcinoma isn't deadly, and it rarely turns into anything deadly. It's generally treated quickly and easily, often in a simple outpatient procedure.

But it's no picnic either.

The treatment itself can be painful, especially the healing process, and it can leave you scarred -- often in visible places such as your face and neck.

You don't want to risk that if you don't have to. And, in most cases, you really don't have to.

There are much easier and far safer ways to bring your blood pressure levels back down to size. For most folks, simply losing weight will cause the BP to drop.

Even dropping just 10 pounds can cause your levels to plunge far more effectively than most meds.

If you need a little more help, combine better eating and weight loss with natural therapies like magnesium and potassium, both from diet and through supplements, which can help bring BP down and boost your overall health at the same time.

Slash your risk of skin cancer in half with THIS

It's far and away the most common form of cancer in the country, something up to half of all Americans will battle at some point.

Because it's usually not deadly, it doesn't get nearly as much attention as the rest.

But make no mistake about it: Non-melanoma skin cancer can be painful and disfiguring, leading to surgeries that can leave you scarred on the face, neck, arms, and more.

Now, the latest research shows one way you can slash your risk of this incredibly common form of cancer.

You're not going to believe how simple it is.

All you have to do is eat more tomatoes!

This delicious fruit is often the tastiest part of any salad. It's terrific in soups -- both hot and cold -- and even tastes great fresh off the vine, with just a pinch of salt.

And if you eat tomatoes daily, you could dramatically cut your risk of non-melanoma skin cancer.

In the study, mice were given tomato powder daily for 35 weeks and then blasted with UV rays to stimulate the growth of these cancers.

The male mice who got the tomato powder were 50 percent less likely to develop the tumors than the mice that didn't get the stuff.

The study in the journal Scientific Reports didn't find a benefit in female mice, but that doesn't mean it won't help women.

Male mice are more prone to skin cancer, and they develop the tumors at a much higher rate overall. Their female counterparts are much less likely to get them, with or without tomato.

In fact, in this case, so few female mice developed the cancer that the researchers couldn't draw any conclusions.

In other words, the tomato protected exactly who need protection most.

Obviously, this is an animal study. But tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene, a natural cancer-fighter that's also proven to help protect the skin from the damage of UV light in humans.

One study published in 2001 found that people who ate cooked tomatoes each day had a 40 percent lower risk of sunburn -- and, as we know, the damage of sunburn over time can increase the risk of skin cancer.

That same damage can also lead to wrinkles, sagging skin, and other unsightly problems that aren't necessarily dangerous... but certainly aren't very pleasant.

So, while tomato shouldn't replace using a good natural sunscreen and taking common-sense safety measures, there's clear evidence it can help protect the skin in people as well as mice.

Since they're also delicious -- and in season right now -- be sure to stock up and get your own all-natural protection each day.

I'll have more on cancer protection coming up in the next edition of Health Revelations, which should be arriving in your mailbox soon.