Steve Brown and Beth Taylor (mercola.com)

Human nutrition and lifestyle studies prove there are ways to improve the odds that we will live long, healthy lives.

It's simple:

Eat a variety of fresh, minimally-processed foods, especially fruits and vegetables; stay lean; exercise often; and avoid toxins.

Good nutrition is key.

Dietary habits may be instrumental in about 60% of cancers in women and about 40% in men.

Good diets are just as important for dogs.

Unfortunately, many of our dogs are eating diets composed exclusively of highly processed, grain-based foods with synthetic vitamins and minerals.

Even the best of the "healthy" dry foods fall into this category.

No wonder one in three dogs will die of cancer!

In our book, See Spot Live Longer, we discuss many easy things you can do to help your dog live longer.

One easy step we can take is to add crushed Brazil nuts, a source of natural forms of selenium, to our dogs' food.

Selenium is an essential trace mineral of fundamental importance to human and canine health.

Adequate selenium is necessary for the normal functioning of the immune system and thyroid gland.

Selenium is receiving considerable attention for its possible role as an effective naturally occurring anti-carcinogenic agent.

Recently, the American Association for Cancer Research reported than high selenium consumption may protect humans from bladder cancer.

Animal studies have shown a beneficial effect of high selenium levels in the prevention of cancer.

The form of the selenium is important: Natural, food-derived forms of selenium may have beneficial effects not shared by human-synthesized selenium compounds.

Dogs evolved consuming two organic forms of selenium: selenomethionine (an essential amino acid found primarily in plants) and selenocysteine (an amino acid found mostly in organ meats).

Most dry and canned dog foods today use an inorganic type of selenium, sodium selenite or sodium selenate.

These forms of selenium are considered toxic by the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The body reacts differently to the selenium in food as compared to food supplemented with sodium selenite.

A 2003 study in The Journal of Nutrition stated that "the absorption, distribution, and excretion of selenium in food were ... distinctly different from sodium selenite."

Natural forms of selenium are superior to human synthesized forms.

Dr. John W Finley, supervisor of the Trace Element Absorption and Bioavailability Laboratory and the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, and one of the leading researchers on selenium stated:

"Something in the whole foods must boost selenium's anticancer property," and "These results are further evidence that broccoli may be an especially good source of selenium, and nutrition professionals may be wise to take this info into account when giving nutritional advice."