Nutrition And Diet To Prevent Breast Cancer
Diet plays a very small but measurable role in breast cancer prevention. Dietary fats may increase your risk of developing breast cancer, and fruits, vegetables, and grains may help to reduce the risk. This has been seen in countries other than the United States. In the United States, no reduction in breastcancer risk as has been seen resulting from following low fat diets.
Alcohol consumption has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Women who drink two and a third to four and a half bottles of beer per day, two and a half to more than five and a half glasses of wine per day, or two to four shots of liquor per day, have a 41% increased incidence of breast cancer. So the recommendation is to limit alcohol consumption.
It’s important to keep in mind that dietary measures are not proven to overcome other risk factors for breast cancer. Women who adhere to a healthy diet should still take other preventive measures such as having regular mammograms.
Early detection and treatment is still the best strategy for a better cancer outcome. The following is a common strategy, but ask your doctor exactly what you should do to help prevent breast cancer or find it early:
Ways To Prevent Prevent Breast Cancer
While some breast cancer factors like being a woman, growing in age, and genetic predisposition cannot be changed, there are several things you can do to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer.
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Limit or stop alcohol intake
- Breastfeed your babies for as long as pssible
- Practice Breast Self Examination
- Avoid hormonal drugs and contraceptives as much as you can.
- Start breast cancer screening
- Try to stay healthy all through your life. This will not only reduce your risk of developing breast cancer but also increase your chances of survival if it occurs.
Learn More With Overcoming Estrogen Dominance
The body has an amazing ability to heal. We just need to give it the right resources.
In Overcoming Estrogen Dominance, my goal is to empower and give you the tools to take control of your hormones and health.
More than 70% of women experience estrogen dominance. The symptoms range from lumpy and fibrocystic breasts to thyroid nodules, hot flashes, fibroids, uterine polyps, painful, heavy or irregular periods to infertility and miscarriages, from mood swings to insomnia, weight gain to fatigue.
So many women have experienced the pain and frustration that comes when they feel their symptoms and complaints are dismissed or minimized. This is particularly true for women who are experiencing the symptoms of hormone imbalance. Even when doctors do offer treatment, its typically in the form of prescription medication or invasive surgical procedures.
In Overcoming Estrogen Dominance, I hope to show that those extreme interventions are often unnecessary, and to give women a roadmap to reverse estrogen dominance using food, herbs, supplements and natural protocols to rebalance hormones.
To get your copy of Overcoming Estrogen Dominance, go here.
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Breast Cancer Is A Disease In Which Malignant Cells Form In The Tissues Of The Breast
The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes, which have many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can make milk. The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are linked by thin tubes called ducts.
Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels carry an almost colorless, watery fluid called lymph. Lymph vessels carry lymph between lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that filter lymph and store white blood cells that help fightinfection and disease. Groups of lymph nodes are found near the breast in theaxilla , above thecollarbone, and in the chest.
See the following PDQ summaries for more information about breast cancer:
If You Smoke Stop If You Drink Limit Your Intake
This ones pretty straightforward. For years weve known the health costs that come with smoking. Smoking can weaken the immune system, one of our bodies best defenses against cancer, and can damage or change a cells DNA, which can lead to the growth of a tumor. Quitting isnt always easy. For tips to help you or someone you love quit smoking, visit our website.
Drinking alcohol is linked to breast and several other cancers. Once ingested, your body breaks it down into a chemical that can damage or change a cells DNA, potentially leading to the growth of a tumor. The latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that if you drink, you limit your consumption to one drink a day for women and two a day for men.
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Lifestyle Changes For Breast Cancer Prevention
We are all unique, and staying healthy and preventing illness is different for each person. Eating healthy, exercising and learning stress reducing strategies help most people to feel healthier.
Integrating healthier habits into your life is important, but can be difficult. Some people are more successful if they make small changes over a long time period. Others find that a major overhaul in how they live is more effective. In general, the most sustaining motivation is to feel better.
There are no clear causes of breast cancer and, therefore, no proven way to prevent the disease. This can provoke uncertainty, fear and anger. It is this fear of the unknown and people’s passion to find causes that fuel breast cancer advocacy and research.
Even though there is no proof that healthier living can prevent breast cancer, it is believed that decreasing your exposure to things that are harmful and increasing healthier practices may lower the risks. These practices have been shown to help people improve their energy levels, decrease the incidences of other illnesses and enhance their overall sense of well being. There is ongoing research to study the impact of lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, support and stress management.
Lifestyle change begins with a personal commitment to feel and be healthier. It is often difficult for us to care for ourselves because we usually care for others. The following series of questions may prompt an exploration.
Your Race And Ethnicity
White and Black women have the highest risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latina womens breast cancer rates fall in between two major groupings while American Indian and Alaska Native women are on the lowest end of risk.
While white women are more likely to develop breast cancer than Black women overall, they tend to be diagnosed at an older age . Black women have the highest breast cancer rates among women under age 40. Black women make up a higher percentage of triple-negative breast cancer cases.
What to do: If your race or ethnicity places you at higher risk, make sure you follow all screening recommendations to improve your chances of catching cancer early.
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Take A Walk Around The Block
One of the best ways you can prevent breast cancer by is maintaining a healthy weight. Regular exercise, especially after menopause, has shown to significantly reduce breast cancer risk. Start your walking routine with a short, 20-minute walk each day, and increase your time as you feel ready. Work your way up to at least a 30-minute walk, five days a week.
Say No To That Second Glass Of Wine
If you usually unwind with a glass of wine, limit yourself to just one glass a day, and try skipping a few days here and there. The American Cancer Society reports that a clear link exists between drinking alcohol and an increased risk of breast cancer. Compared with women who do not drink, women who have two to three drinks a day have a 20% higher risk of developing breast cancer. Women who have one drink a day have a 7% to 10% higher risk.
According to the ACS, its best not to drink alcohol, but if you choose to drink, the organization advises women to limit alcohol to one drink per day. Your provider can help you make a healthy decision based on your risk factors and lifestyle.
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The Following Are Protective Factors For Breast Cancer:
Reproductive history resulting in less exposure to estrogen
A womans reproductive history can affect the length of time her breast tissue is exposed to estrogen. Early onset of menstruation, late onset of menopause, later age at first pregnancy, and never having given birth have been linked to an increase in estrogen exposure and breast cancer risk. The following reproductive factors decrease the length of time a woman’s breast tissue is exposed to estrogen and may help prevent breast cancer:
- Early pregnancy: Estrogen levels are lower during pregnancy. Women who have a full-term pregnancy before age 20 have a lower risk of breast cancer than women who have not had children or who give birth to their first child after age 35.
- Breast-feeding: Estrogen levels may remain lower while a woman is breast-feeding. Women who breastfed have a lower risk of breast cancer than women who have had children but did not breastfeed.
Taking estrogen-only hormone therapy after hysterectomy, selective estrogen receptor modulators, or aromatase inhibitors and inactivators
Estrogen-only hormone therapy after hysterectomy
Hormone therapy with estrogen only may be given to women who have had a hysterectomy. In these women, estrogen-only therapy after menopause may decrease the risk of breast cancer. There is an increased risk of stroke and heart and blood vessel disease in postmenopausal women who take estrogen after a hysterectomy.
Selective estrogen receptor modulators
Ovarian ablation
Alcohol And Breast Cancer Risk
Drinking more than one alcoholic beverage a day may increase the risk of breast cancer. This risk grows with the amount of alcohol consumed. One drink is defined as 10 grams of alcohol, which typically means one of the following:
- Twelve-ounce beer
- Four-ounce glass of wine
- Shot of hard liquor or spirits
With each drink you consume in excess of seven per week, your risk may increase. Women who drink more than seven drinks a week can lower their risk by lowering their alcohol intake.
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Know Your Tissue Type
The makeup of all breasts is different. If yours have less fatty flesh and more milk glands and supportive tissue, theyâre called âdense.â That can raise your breast cancer risk and make abnormal cells harder to spot on scans. Mammograms are one way to measure your tissue type. If you have dense breasts, take other steps to lower your odds for breast cancer. You may need to get screened more often or use more advanced screening tests.
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Make Sure You Get Fiber
You can find this nutrient in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans. Women who eat plenty of these foods had a lower risk of breast cancer, according to several studies. Scientists arenât exactly sure how it works to prevent tumors, but theyâre doing more research to understand why. A fiber-rich diet can also help your health in other ways, like lowering your odds of diabetes and heart disease.
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How To Prevent Breast Cancer
Yes, that is correct. You are reading that right. No matter what the media may tell you, you can actually do things in your own life to prevent breast cancer from ever happening. We all know leading a healthy lifestyle is an important factor, but that often comes with confusion. What is a healthy lifestyle? Most people think they eat right, exercise and sleep then they should be covered right? Not necessarily. There are a few things you can do to enhance your health that your Doctor is not telling you. I always suggest running anything knew past your primary care doctor, but also do your own research! We are capable of discerning what is safe and necessary for our own health.
Vitamin D this may be the most important thing you ever learn. Having adequate amount of Vitamin D in your blood is shown to reduce your risk of breast cancer by 50-60%. Did you read that? 50-60%! We all may think we have enough Vitamin D but, have you ever gotten yours tested? The majority of Americans are not even close to these levels of Vitamin D. We are an insufficient nation in regards to this Vitamin. It is CRUCIAL for so many things, I encourage you to read more here.
Not only can Vitamin D help you prevent cancer, adding that to a diet that has no inflammation in it, will make that percentage jump as well. I encourage you to read the DeFlame Diet book and learn what cutting inflammation out of your diet actually means.
The Statistics Around Breast Cancer Recurrence
The statistics can certainly make one wonder about a recurrence. Five to 15 % of those who use conventional treatments for Breast Cancer only will experience a recurrence within 5 years of the original diagnosis. Ten percent of women will experience recurrence within five to 20 years.
Breast Cancer a second time around is often more aggressive than the first time. Recurrence can also manifest as other kinds of cancer, especially lymph node, bone, liver or lung cancer.
It doesnt have to be this way, however. The first step to making sure that cancer recurrence doesnt happen to you is addressing the root cause with The 7 Essentials System and understanding the role of breast cancer stem cells.
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Resources On Preventing & Treating Breast Cancer
Breast Wellness to prevent and heal from breast cancer. This is from a functional medicine doctor who had breast cancer herself. She provides her guide book for free education. Take it and learn! She is the absolute best in this arena!
Breast Cancer Conqueror Dr. V has one of the most amazing stories, check out her website and protocol from overcoming breast cancer naturally. Its amazing and very insightful. She also has implemented new ways for women to do their self-check at home. She teaches how doctors do it, so you can do it for yourself each month!
10 strategies to prevent and treat breast cancer this is a quick education video from a functional medicine Doctor . Its a great place to start if you want to learn more about the approach of functional medicine from the beset. Dr. Mark Hyman. He is best-selling author and leader of the functional medicine clinic at the Cleveland Health Hospital.
In summary. Research Vitamin D, Research inflammation, and please read these free resources from the experts. Learn to prevent breast cancer from happening, you can take this into your own hands and not fear the unknown. Take control of your health! I hope you found this eye opening and hopeful. Its nice to know there is more out there than just chemo or being scared of the big C. As always, make sure you check with your primary care Doctor before beginning anything new.
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Dont Wait For Symptoms To Appearget Screened
Screening for breast cancer can seem scary, but the sooner its found, the sooner it can be treated and the better your odds for remission. From ages 25-39, talk with your health care professional at least once every three years for risk assessment, risk reduction counseling and a clinical breast exam. At age 40, begin getting screened annually.
If you have a personal family history or are at increased risk of breast cancer, all of this could be different for you. Talk to your health care professional about your risk and assess your options together.
Not sure which exam or screening is right for you? Check out 4 breast cancer screening tests you should know about.
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The Power Of Prevention
Living with the fear of breast cancer, fearing it, and not understanding it is a toxic way of living. Going for a mammogram is like waiting for a sickness to happen. Like youre waiting for the worse news of your life.
Im all about taking steps to promote your own wellness and prevent illness. To help prevent breast cancer, its important to recognize the links between elevated hormones and ill health. This is particularly true for estrogen, the female hormone that helps us develop our menstrual cycle and curves. Many women are very surprised to learn that breast cancer can be fed by estrogen. And theres plenty of clear science to show the link.
Here is the good news: Estrogenic cancers like breast cancer can be managed with a sensible diet and clean lifestyle options. This article is about that.
When Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School looked at womens hormones via blood samples taken from the ongoing Nurses Health Study, they found a strong link between hormonal imbalance and breast cancer.
Their study measured levels of eight different important hormones in women after menopause. Those hormones included estrogen, androgenic hormones, DHEA, prolactin and insulin-like growth factor . The results were startling. When more than one hormone level was elevated, the risk of breast cancer doubled. And when several were elevated? It tripled. But the hormone with the biggest impact? Was estrogen. You can to read more about this study.
Lifestyle Changes After Breast Cancer
Lifestyle Changes after Breast Cancer Treatment: Conversations on Survival. A group of breast cancer survivors openly discuss what lifestyle changes were continued or changed after treatment. The importance of living in the moment, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and knowing what is really important in life are all discussed.
To help yourself better cope with the side effects of breast cancer treatment and to reduce your chances of breast cancer recurrence, try incorporating these healthy tips:
1) Take care of yourself emotionally
- Put your needs first sometimes
- Attend a support group or find a breast cancer survivor you can talk with
- Stay informed about new breast cancer research
- Consider psychotherapy and/or antidepressants if warranted if youre taking tamoxifen, check with your oncologist to ensure the prescribed antidepressant does not interfere with your endocrine treatment
- Communicate with your doctor about fears or concerns
- Volunteer or become a breast cancer advocate
2) Take care of yourself physically
- Exercise regularly
- Report any physical changes to either your oncologist or primary care provider
- Seek treatment for lymphedema if you experience signs
3) Eat healthy
Research has shown that a diet high in fat and calories increases circulating estrogen in the blood. Consuming a low fat and low calorie diet after breast cancer can improve your overall health and wellness. Here are some dietary suggestions:
4) Reduce stress
5) Limit alcohol
6) Exercise regularly
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