What you need to know about Breast health

All women should strive to attain optimal breast health because the incidence of benign breast disease and breast cancer is rising in alarming rates.  The statistics show that eight out of ten women will develop benign lumpy breasts and one in eight women will develop breast cancer. What concerns me is that the odds of a woman developing breast cancer are on the increase. So what are the risk factors? Diet and nutritional factors: There is a strong correlation between diet and/or nutritional deficiencies and many different types of cancer.  Environmental risk factors: This can be related to car exhaust, cigarette smoke, industrial activity, burning of solid waste and many more. Genetic risk factors: There are over 200 genetic conditions that have an increased incidence of cancer.  Disease risk factors: Studies have shown that low thyroid and atherosclerosis are just some of the illness that can contribute to the formation of  cancer.  Hormonal risk factors: Producing too much estrogen, hormone replacement therapy and the hormones found in birth control place a woman at an increased risk to developing breast cancer. There is much that can be done to reverse the effects that the above risk factors have on your breast health. Start by reducing your meat and dairy consumption to less than 15% of your total diet; and increase your vegetable, legumes, fruit and whole grains to make up the rest.  Exercise four times per week, at least 25 minutes at a time so that your heart rate gets up to about 50-60 percent of its normal resting level. These are risk factors over which you have absolute control.  Reducing exposure to environmental toxins may be a bit more difficult to have control over.  But we have choices here as well, for example going on a regular cleanse work wonders in helping your liver, kidneys, lungs, colon and skin to excrete any toxins that may be building up in your system. I believe it is very important to get to know your own breast tissue by giving yourself regular breast massages and self-checks.  Making sure your hormones are in balance and that your own specific nutritional needs are being met are important aspects of breast health. Every woman is unique in her metabolic and nutritional requirements as well as genetic make-up and risk factors.  Because of this I recommend visiting with a Naturopathic Doctor who can be very helpful in creating an optimal plan for prevention and treatments of breast cancer and other breast conditions.

For further information feel free to contact the Maya Health Centre at 403-288-4880