Breast Cancer Prevention - 6 Lifestyle Tips

The following information is on Dr. Weil's Blog today.....

According to the American Cancer Society, every three minutes, on average, another woman learns she has breast cancer. The good news is that there are several strategies that can help reduce risk. Try incorporating the following lifestyle changes into your daily routine:

1. Get active. Regular physical activity (at least 30 minutes on most days) has been shown to be protective against breast cancer.
2. Maintain your health care. Early detection is key: in addition to monthly self examinations, women between ages 20 and 39 should have a clinical breast exam performed by a health care professional at least every three years; women 40 years of age or older should have annual breast exams and talk with their doctor about mammograms.
3. Supplement wisely. Folic acid, vitamin D and antioxidants all may help decrease risk.
4. Reduce exposure to xenoestrogens. These chemicals with estrogen-like activity are found in common pesticides and industrial pollutants and as hormone residues in meat, poultry and dairy products.
5. Avoid exposure to radiation. Limiting the number of chest X-rays you receive, especially at a young age, may decrease the risk of breast cancer.
6. Talk with your doctor. If you have close relatives with breast cancer, your personal risk is increased. Let your doctor know your family history, and discuss other ways you can help to prevent breast cancer.

Nutrition and Supplements

• Pay close attention to your diet. The original thought that breast cancer risk increased with a high-fat diet may have been too simple. There are several factors that we now believe are more closely associated with risk.
• Choose fats wisely. Studies have shown that women with a higher intake of olive oil have less breast cancer. Omega-3 fats, found in cold-water fish (especially wild salmon and sardines), freshly ground flaxseed and walnuts have also been associated with inhibiting the growth of breast tumors.
• Eat generous amounts of vegetables and fruit, which are loaded with cancer-protective phytochemicals. Our recommendation is 8 to 10 servings a day.
• Use freshly ground flaxseed or other sources of fiber every day. Diets that are high in fiber - lignins specifically – seem to increase the excretion of estrogen or modify the metabolism of estrogen and reduce the risk of breast cancer.
• Eat more soy. There has been some recent discussion on the possible negative effect of soy on risk of breast cancer, especially hormone receptor positive forms of the disease. Although the isoflavones in soy do have a mild estrogenic effect (they are able to bind to estrogen receptor sites in human tissue), soy foods also contain many cancer-protective substances. For this reason, and also because population studies have failed to show a relationship between soy consumption and increased risk of breast cancer, we recommend one serving of whole soy foods a day.
• Make green tea your beverage of choice. Green tea consumption is linked with lower incidence of many kinds of cancer.
• Drink very little, if any, alcohol. Alcohol consumption, even in modest amounts, is associated with increased risk of breast cancer.
• Take a multivitamin with folic acid, vitamin D and antioxidants. All these nutrients have been shown to be related to a reduced risk of breast cancer. Although the diet should be the primary source of most of these, a good daily supplement can help provide insurance that your intake is adequate.

Per Dr.Weil read the following book.....Breast Cancer, Reduce Your Risk with Food which was written by Robert Pendergrast, M.D., who teaches at the Medical College of Georgia.