Breast Health Blog

1. Cruciferous vegetables powerfully prevent breast cancer.
2. Vitamin D powerfully protects against breast cancer.
3. Mammograms cause some breast cancers, reduce deaths by almost the same number of deaths they cause and overall do very little to extend lives.

Knowing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer may help save your life. When breast cancer is discovered early, you have more treatment options.

Breast Lumps.  The most common sign of breast cancer is a lump- Yet most lumps are not cancerous.

Thickening and or dimpling of the breast.

A spontaneous clear or bloody discharge from your nipple-often associated with a breast lump

Retraction or indentation of your nipple

A change in shape or size of one or both of your breasts

Unexplained heat that radiates from one or both breasts

Redness or puckering of the skin over your breast-

There are a number of conditions other than breast cancer can cause your breasts to change in size or feel. Breast tissue changes naturally during pregnancy, weight gain or loss and your menstrual cycle. Other possible causes of noncancerous (benign) breast changes include fibrocystic changes, cysts, mastitis (breast infection), fibroadenomas or injuries.

If you find a lump or other change in your breast — even if a recent mammogram was normal — see your doctor for evaluation and/or consider a thermogram.

A risk factor is anything that makes it more likely you’ll get a particular disease. Some risk factors, such as your age, sex and family history, can’t be changed, whereas others, including weight, smoking and diet, are under your control.

But having one or even several risk factors doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll develop cancer — most women with breast cancer have no known risk factors other than simply being women. In fact, being female is the single greatest risk factor for breast cancer. Although men can develop the disease, it’s far more common in women.

Other factors that may make you more susceptible Continue reading What are the risk factors in developing breast cancer?

• Maintain a healthy weight. There’s a clear link between obesity — weighing more than is appropriate for your age and height — and breast cancer. The association is stronger if you gain the weight later in life, particularly after menopause.
• Avoid long-term hormone therapy. The link between postmenopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer has been a subject of debate for years, partly because research results have been mixed. Estrogen exposure clearly contributes to breast cancer risk, but for most women, the size of the contribution over a lifetime is small — particularly in the absence of other risk factors, such as family history of the disease. If you’re approaching menopause and having frequent symptoms, it’s probably safe to take hormones for as long as four to five years. Any longer does increase your breast cancer risk, without conferring any clear benefits. The same is true of hormone therapy after age 60.
• Stay physically active. No matter what your age, aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days. Try to include weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging or dancing. These have the added benefit of keeping your bones strong.
• Eat foods high in fiber. Try to increase the amount of fiber you eat to between 20 and 30 grams daily — about twice that in an average American diet. Among its many health benefits, fiber may help reduce the amount of circulating estrogen in your body. Foods high in fiber include fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
• Emphasize olive oil. Oleic acid, the main component of olive oil, appears both to suppress the action of the most important oncogene in breast cancer and to increase the effectiveness of the drug Herceptin.
• Avoid exposure to pesticides. The molecular structure of some pesticides closely resembles that of estrogen. This means they may attach to receptor sites in your body. Although studies have not found a definite link between most pesticides and breast cancer, it is known that women with elevated levels of pesticides in their breast tissue have a greater breast cancer risk.
• Limit alcohol. Drinking alcohol is strongly linked to breast cancer. The type of alcohol consumed — wine, beer or mixed drinks — seems to make no difference. To help protect against breast cancer, limit the amount of alcohol you drink to less than one drink a day or avoid alcohol completely.
• Massage breasts and lymphatic areas daily.

New research
Scientists are investigating a number of potential preventive therapies for breast cancer, including:

• Retinoids. Natural or synthetic forms of vitamin A (retinoids) may have the ability to destroy or inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Unlike other experimental therapies, retinoids may be effective in premenopausal women and in those whose tumors aren’t estrogen positive. Research is ongoing.
• Flaxseed. Flaxseed is high in lignan, a naturally occurring compound that lowers circulating estrogens in your body. Flaxseed appears to decrease estrogen production — acting much like tamoxifen does — which may inhibit the growth of breast cancer tumors. Lignans are also antioxidants with weak estrogen-like characteristics. These characteristics may be the mechanism by which flaxseed works to decrease hot flashes. Further research should clarify the connection.

“In most cases, it isn’t clear what causes normal breast cells to become cancerous. Doctors do know that only 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers are inherited. Families that do have genetic defects in one of two genes, breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1) or breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2), have a much greater risk of developing both breast and ovarian cancer. Other inherited mutations — including the ataxia-telangiectasia mutation gene, the cell-cycle checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK-2) gene and the p53 tumor suppressor gene — also make it more likely that you’ll develop breast cancer. If one of these genes is present in your family, you have a 50 percent chance of having the gene.

Yet most genetic mutations related to breast cancer aren’t inherited. These acquired mutations may result from radiation exposure — women treated with chest radiation therapy for lymphoma or acne in childhood or during adolescence when breasts are developing have a significantly higher incidence of breast cancer than do women not exposed to radiation. Mutations may also develop as a result of exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in tobacco and charred red meats.

In breast cancer, some of the cells in your breast begin growing abnormally. These cells divide more rapidly than healthy cells do and may spread (metastasize) through your breast, to your lymph nodes or to other parts of your body. The most common type of breast cancer begins in the milk-producing ducts, but cancer may also begin in the lobules or in other breast tissue.

Researchers are now trying to discover whether a relationship exists between a person’s genetic makeup and environmental factors that may increase the risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer eventually may prove to have a number of causes”.

This article was taken from the Mayo Clinic website.

OK…, so…… here you go in a nutshell.

1. Family History.

2. Radiation.

3. Cancer causing chemicals found in foods and in the evironment.

4. Combination of any or all of the above.

Hydrogenated fats This oil is chemically altered to give extended shelf life to foods such as margarine, cookies & snacks. It is also used at fast food restaurants for frying oil because it lasts longer and is much cheaper than other oil.

Better Choices: Coconut, olive or grapeseed oil.

Sugar Cancer needs sugar to feed & grow. Sugar undergoes a fermentation-like process in the body and cancer needs excess glucose to thrive. Worst offenders: High fructose corn syrup, white, brown & powdered sugar. Moderate offenders: Sugar in the raw, honey.

Best Choice: Agave nectar.

Fake sugar (splenda, sweet & low, equal) contain cancer causing agents.

Recommended substitute: Stevia

Protiens & High-Fat Diet Dairy: Double & triple cream cheeses, heavy cream, full fat yogurt. Nuts: Macadamia, pecans, cashews. Fish: Salmon, Sea Bass.

Better Choices: Organic Pork or beef tenderloin, reduced fat milk and yogurt (but not fat-free), almonds, tuna & halibut.

Carbohydrates Non-complex carbs (starchy foods) turn to sugar when ingested. Foods such as breads, crackers, potatoes, rice and pasta should be eaten in moderation- especially white varieties.

Best choice: Quinoa.

Processed Foods Avoid any foods that:

1. contain 5 or more ingredients,
2. have ingredients that you cannot pronounce or you have never heard of
3. have an expiration date longer than 1 month.

Alcohol Drinking excessive alcohol can wreak havoc on the body, lower your immune system and lead to faster growing cancer.

Better Choice: Red wine in moderation (2-3 glasses per week).

Artificial colors, or FD&C colors, are mostly are derived from coal tar, which is a carcinogen. Over the years, many FD&C colors have been banned because of their harmful effects. And it is likely that more will be banned in the future. Some of the worst FD&C colors include: Green #3, Blue #1, Blue #2 and Yellow #6 which cause allergic reactions and cancer in lab animals. Red #3 is a carcinogen, which may interfere with nerve transmission in the brain and causes genetic damage. It is banned in cosmetics, but allowed in food, and it’s especially harmful to children. Yellow #5 causes allergic reactions in those sensitive to aspirin. It may be life threatening. Citrus red #2 is a known carcinogen. Its only allowed use is to color orange skins. So, If you use orange zest in some of your recipes, you may be ingesting carcinogens. Any color with “lake” after it means that aluminum has been added to the color to make it insoluble.

BHA & BHT are widely used as preservatives, stabilizers and antioxidants. BHA is known to cause cancer in humans. Both BHA and BHT are toxic to the liver and kidneys. BHT may react with other ingested substances to cause the formation of carcinogens. BHT is banned in England.

Potassium bromate is used to treat flour to give bread and baked goods a sponge-like quality. It is probably not used in California because it might require a cancer warning on the label. Outside of California, “unbromated” breads do not contain potassium bromate. It is also used in toothpaste, mouth washes and gargles. It is a carcinogen, mutagen and highly toxic. It is banned worldwide, except in the U.S. and Japan .

OTHER PROBABLE ADDITIVES: Nitrates and nitrites, Olestra, Propyl gallate, Carrageenen.

This is a study that makes alot of sense to me. Let me know your thoughts.

Soy beans and soy foods contain Isoflavones- and act as “phytoestrogens”, which means that they bind to the same cell receptors as estrogen. This has led to the hypothesis that soy foods could prevent the cell proliferation that leads to breast cancer. (This is how tamoxifen helps prevent re-occurrence of breast cancer.)

However, the few human studies conducted to date do not support this hypothesis. And the results of animal tests suggest that one soy isoflavone (genistein) may interfere with the ability of tamoxifen to curb the growth of breast cancer cells.

Instead, research to date suggests that exposure to isoflavones in childhood or early adolescence may be protective. It appears that the cancer-preventive effects of soy foods only manifest if the developing mammary gland was exposed to dietary isoflavones during childhood and puberty.

This hypothesis would explain why Japanese women – who eat tofu from early childhood and throughout life, in modest amounts – have a much lower rate of breast cancer compared to western women.

It’s been feared that when women only begin to consume isoflavone-rich soy foods or supplement powders later in life – especially at the time of menopause – the phytoestrogenic isoflavones in soy could actually stimulate the proliferation of endometrial and mammary gland tissues, with unknown and unpredictable risks.

So the finding that isoflavones obtained from soy foods enhanced survival rates in mature breast cancer patients offers some hope for women who only began consuming tofu, tempeh, or soy milk after their adolescence.

So, despite the positive association between high intake of soy flavonoids and enhanced breast cancer survival, consuming lots of soy foods or soy protein supplements may not be a terribly wise prevention tactic … unless the soy habit starts early in life and is practiced in moderation.

Source:

http://newsletter.vitalchoice.com/e_article000961729.cfm?x=b68Pq10,b1kJpvRw,w

To get started, let me first say the foods listed below are published just about anywhere on the web. What they don’t tell you is if you are not eating these foods organically, they probably are doing more harm then good. Pesticides and growth additives can hinder the effectiveness of these foods. I would strongly recommend eating these organic whenever possible. Foods high in anti-oxidents seem to be the winner of breast health. The list includes:

Green leafies: They are a favorite among physicians and include brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, spinach and lettuce. Oher veggies like celery, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, beets and bell peppers, red onions, radish, and tomatoes round out the list..

Citrus Fruits: such as berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, pomegranite) are highest in anti-oxidents. Grapes, oranges, grapefruits, apples are also good.

Beverages: Green tea, juices (grape, pomegranite, blueberry) and red wine are high on the list.

Herbs & Spices: including chili peppers, tumeric, rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil and mint are winners for high anti-oxident properties.

Other: Flax, Dark Chocolate. 

This simple technique is the one of the best thing you can do for prevention. Let’s talk about why. The lymphatics are a life-sustaining system that brings nutrients to cells and carries waste back to the proper regions where it can be flushed and repeat. Our bodies contain more lymph than blood. This is why dry brushing is one of the single-most important prevention strategies in your prevention bag! Lymph glands are found throughout the body-and dry brushing can be done most everywhere on the body- but for this segment on breast cancer prevention, we are focusing on the lymph in the upper torso. The hotspot: Your underarms!