Breast Cancer Prevention
This month is breast cancer awareness month. Most of us have been affected by breast cancer in one way or another. Either someone you know has or had it; a family member, a friend or even yourself have battled or is battling this horrible disease. 1-8 women will have breast cancer at some point in there life. Those odds are too high in my opinion, but there are several ways you can either reduce your risk of getting it or reduce your risk of relapse if you’ve already had it.
Limit your alcohol consumption. Studies have shown that limiting yourself to one drink a day can reduce your risk by more than 1/3 and women who consume more than 3 alcoholic beverages a week have a 15% higher risk of developing breast cancer.
Consuming a mostly plant based diet. The American Institute for Cancer Research, along wit
h other organizations have found that eating a diet made up of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts and some lean protein (including fish) reduce a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by more than 15%. The fiber, nutrients, and phytochemicals all have shown cancer fighting properties says the AICR.
Managing your weight. We all know staying in good shape is good for us but did you know keeping you BMI in normal range(18.5 to 25) can reduce a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by 13%. Not only that but for those in recovery, having a healthy BMI lowers the risk of relapse by 24%.
This disease has taken away too much from too many of us for too long. It’s time to start fighting back and trying to nip the problem in the bud as best we can before it has a chance to become a problem. Remember you only have one body, make sure to treat it right.