Cancer development is complicated. There is no hard and fast rule that determines if you will develop it or not. Today our focus will be on the prevention of breast cancer.
There are just too many unknowns that contribute to the pathogenesis of cancer. Therefore, making it difficult to know if you will or you won’t develop the disease.
However, most experts agree that the factors that cause breast cancer can be grouped into two groups: genetic factors and lifestyle or environmental factors. You can’t change genetics for the most part (though bad habits can cause changes at the DNA level) but you can modify your lifestyle or environmental factors.
When both kinds of risk factors exist, they make for a perfect storm. Such is often the case with breast cancer. Luckily, making small changes to your lifestyle can mean big changes in risk reduction.
Here are a few ideas that you can use to boost your protection.
Maintain an Ideal Body Weight
Breast cancer development accelerates by the presence of excess body fat. Body fat is a site of estrogen production and some breast cancers are worsened under the influence of estrogen. Though medications can be used to control the effect of estrogen on the breast tissue. More estrogen means that a higher dose of the medicine will be needed. As a result, it increases the likelihood of harmful side effects.
Eat More Vegetables
Vegetables are one of the best cancers preventing foods at our disposal, thanks to their concentration of phytonutrients. Phytonutrients boost the detoxification of waste from the body. They also offer anti-oxidant protection against the stressor-type molecules that can damage DNA or cause cells to develop rogue growth patterns.
Vegetables also provide ample fiber and roughage to ensure the easy transit of waste through the colon and large intestines, thus reducing the likelihood of cancers in these areas.
Lastly, some vegetables possess anti-estrogen effects, which improve the outcome of treatments for breast cancer and can prevent the cancer from developing at all.
Restrict Alcohol Intake
Alcohol is bad for health in general, as it offers little to no benefits to the body. Yes, there are studies that show that a compound in red wine may reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. But this compound is unique to wine and the risk does not decrease with an increase in the dose of wine. If you drink beer, vodka or other types of alcohol, you are increasing your risk of breast cancer, especially if you take more than one glass per day. Better to be safe than sorry. Restrict your intake to no more than 2 glasses per week, and preferably drink red wine.
Get Regular Exercise
Exercise does much more than help keep body weight in check. It also enhances the immune system and thereby helps to boost cancer resistance. Every day, the immune system removes dozens of pre-cancerous cells in its routine management of the body. However, the time may come when the immune system is weakened or when the sheer volume of mutated cells become too high for the immune system to handle. Then the cells continue to grow uncontrollably and cancer ensues. Exercise keeps the immune system strong and functioning optimally.
Get Regular Screening
Though screening will not prevent cancer from forming, it is one of the most important tools at your disposal since it can greatly improve your survival rate by making early detection of the disease possible. Annual screening is a must. This will give you sufficient time to discover early cancers and effectively treat them. Sadly, many people do not undergo regular screening and the disease is only discovered when it is too advanced to cure.
For additional ideas on how to prevent breast cancer, please visit our website. And download our eBook “Top 10 Prevention Tips For Keeping Your Breast Healthy” HERE.
Deika King, TND, MH, CCT, PSc.D
Traditional Doctor of Naturopathy
832-422-7271
