Can lifestyle and diet reduce my breast cancer risk?

Breast cancer is something that is on the back of  the minds of  us women,
If you are a woman or know one, you have a twinge of doubt creep up in the back of your mind from time to time.
"what if I have it ?"
We wear Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

We discuss Breast caner screenings and breast self exams, that are a very important part of early detection.
But what else can we do to reduce our risk. and prevent cancer in the first place?
Is it just fate or genetics that some of us are doomed  to suffer with this life altering disease?

Lets break down some  facts:

• 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in their lifetimes.
• 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year worldwide
• it is the number one killer of women, aged 20-59
• 90 % of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no first degree relative with the diagnosis
• inherited mutations like BRCA  are responsible for only 5-10 % of breast cancer cases.

The food we eat affect risk of breast cancer.

I mean think about it, something that we put in our bodies three to five times a day, that intricately interacts with our cells is bound to have an impact on our health and that includes breast health.

Here are some tips for keeping our breasts healthy

• Eat a diet rich in antioxidants and eat all colors, like leafy greens, red and yellow fruit and vegetables, for those carotenoids, the red and purples for flavonoids
• Increase fiber intake. eat whole grains, and legumes which includes beans and lentils 
• Include soy in your diet which also have those flavonoids  that help reduce cancer risk
• Ditch meat as it comes packaged with saturated fat, N-Nitroso compounds, heme Iron and most of all, excess estrogens, both natural and synthetic/ all these can increase inflammation and produce carcinogenic compounds. On top of it all, cooking meat produces Advance Glycation End products or AGEs, that again are proinflammatory and cancer promoting
• Avoid Junk food. Resist the urge to grab that bag of chips from the vending machine. you don't want  food like products that are  loaded with sugar, refined flour and trans fats.
• Ditch Dairy. it is one of the biggest sources of saturated fat, especially high fat milk, cream, butter, cottage cheese and cheese.it also contains excess estrogens, both natural and synthetic.
• Stop smoking 
• minimize alcohol consumption.
• Get moving. Try to get that heart pumping walk  for 30 min, at least 5 times a week.
• Get as close to a healthy weight as you can.

So lets get moving, and eating your greens and reds and yellows and maybe say no to that second glass of wine while on girls night out.

You have more control on breast cancer than you think.

                                                                               -Shikha S. Merchia MD, Dip ABLM