Fourteen Simple Things You Can Do To
Reduce Your Risk for Breast Cancer
By John Mericle
1. Increase your consumption of fresh, organic fruits
and vegetables.
2. Avoid using any pesticides or chemical sprays in
your home. Try to avoid new carpet.
3. Avoid drinking tap water.
4. Decrease alcohol consumption.
5. Start an exercise program.
6. Increase consumption of organic whole grains and
fiber.
7. Decrease meat, poultry and fish consumption.
8. Stop smoking.
9. Increase consumption of phytoestrogens from organic
sources.
10. Decrease or stop consumption of processed foods.
11. Avoid trans-fatty acids found in margarine and
some vegetable shortenings.
12. Take two capsules of organic flaxseed oil daily
or just add a teaspoon of flaxseed oil to your daily organic salad.
13. If you are pregnant definitely breast feed.
14. Gets lots of sunshine as breast cancer is less
prevalent in areas where there is ample sunlight unobscured by fog
or smog.
Discussion:
As a retired diagnostic radiologist who read way too
many mammograms I am excited because I finally have a path to try
to connect to so many women who are having and have had mammograms.I
was always chagrined since we would really torture and radiate many
breasts but it was as if these breasts were not connected to a human
type person.
It bothered me that so many mammography programs make
no effort at all to educate their clientele about what "they can do"
to reduce their risks of breast cancer. I would suggest to the directors
of these programs that we try to educate the patients and their response
was 100% predictable.
They would always first deny the relationship between
diet and breast cancer and then add that their patients would not
listen anyway.
Increasing your consumption of fresh organic fruits
and vegetables has been shown to reduce the risk for breast cancer.
"There is strong evidence from epidemiologic studies
that eating more fruits and vegetables decreases a woman's risk
of developing breast cancer. This conclusion is strengthened by
the similar results obtained from animal studies and experiments
using isolated breast cells."
Quoted from the Cornell University Program on Breast
Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors.
They go on to recommend uncooked fruits and vegetables.
The reason for this is the heating damages some of the beneficial
nutrients in the fruits and vegetables. Carrots, squash, sweet potatoes,
broccoli and spinach top the list for being most protective. The Cornell
study however does not stress the fact that these need to be "organic."
Non-organic commercial fruits and vegetables besides being largely
nutritionally bereft are also heavily sprayed with a wide variety
of toxins.
The relationship between pesticides and other toxic
chemicals such as benzene and toluene and cancer has long been established.
There are better ways to rid your house of undesired guests than using
chemical sprays.
It sounds difficult but even if you can't get rid
of all your pests you will live a longer and healthier life if you
refrain from spraying. New carpet is another source of extremely toxic
chemicals that "off gas" for at least a year or so after it is installed.
Try to avoid new carpet especially in children's rooms.
Avoid tap water unless you live either in Lake Tahoe
or Ithaca, New York. The tap water here in Tucson is CAP water that
travels in an open trough from the Colorado River. It is loaded with
fungicides / herbicides not to mention all the chlorine added once
it gets here. While bottled or filtered water may not be perfect,you
will considerably reduce your risk for any cancer by avoiding most
tap water.
There is a little debate about the link between alcohol
consumption and breast cancer. However, the consumption of any simple
sugars such as occur in most alcoholic beverages is associated with
decreased T-cell mobility and thus some immune compromise.
I still have an occasional beer but that is the only
sugar I ingest. The general consensus however, is that it is best
to reduce alcoholic beverage consumption as much as possible.
Exercise has been proven in multiple studies to enhance
the immune system. In order to be beneficial I would recommend thirty
minutes at least three times a week.
This should be exercise that elevates the heart rate
and keeps it there for the thirty minutes. Running is good if you
are not biomechanically impaired. Cycling and swimming are also good
alternative and or exercise machines.
Increased consumption of organic grains and fiber
has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Decrease your meat, fish, poultry and dairy consumption.
Animal protein has been linked to all the big three killers in this
country as well as osteoporosis. For more on this see the "China Study"
by T. Colin Campbell and "Diet for a New America" by John Robbins.
Stop smoking is really a "no brainer" here. Smoking
is associatedwith a variety of cancers and there is now strong evidence
that cancer of the breast is one of them.
Consume more phytoestrogens from soy products like
tofu.
"Women with diets rich in phytoestrogens also excrete
more estrogens into their urine, and have lower blood estrogen levels.
Some studies have shown that women with a diet rich in phytoestrogens
have longer, and hence fewer, menstrual cycles. All of these factors
may contribute to reduced breast cancer risk. "
This quote from the Cornell University Program on
Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors. Please be sure that
any soy products you consume are organic.
In conclusion there are many ways to reduce your chances
of breast cancer. I have presented the above from a more subtle point
of view. When my wife (now ex-wife) developed a lesion in her left
breast back in 1995 we put her on an organic vegan diet. Soon we cut
out all sugar and increased her running mileage.
She still has her left breast although there is still
some skin retraction. My good friend and world class flamenco dancer
Carmen Heredia died in her early forties from breast cancer and its
treatment. Best not to get breast cancer at all.
For more information on the relationship between diet,
health and exercise please go to: http://www.drmericle.com
For more information on cooking and food preparation
without animal products please go to: http://www.drmericle.com/fscook3c.php
Copyright J. Mericle M.D. 2004 All Rights Reserved
http://www.DrMericle.com
is devoted to achieving optimal health and peak performance through
diet and lifestyle change. Dr. Mericle brings together a unique blend
of formal medical education, 29 marathons, 3 Hawaii Ironman competitions
and a lot of practical real life experience.
