7 Easy Ways to Help Prevent Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is not caused by a single risk factor. Invasive breast cancer happens when a personal cocktail of risk factors gets mixed up in a woman’s body and enables breast cells to become mutated and /or stirs up mutated cells to grow in uncontrollable ways.
Using both evidence-based research and a women’s ways of knowing approach, we have searched the literature, interviewed the experts, spoken with many breast cancer veterans and come up with these common-sense seven ways to help prevent breast cancer:
7 Easy Ways
#1 — Take 2000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily or much more
New research indicates that keeping your Vitamin D3 blood serum levels at 60- 80 ng/ml makes it difficult for breast cells to mutate, the first step in the development of cancer. Most individuals currently have dangerously low D3 levels. As more women raise their vitamin D levels with supplementation and additional sun exposure, the U.S. should experience up to a 75% reduction in all cancer deaths and a 35% drop in annual invasive breast cancer incidence in North America in the next few years! Have a vitamin D3 blood test today! Read more about vitamin D
#2 — Avoid birth control drugs and hormone replacement drugs
Taking birth control drugs can significantly increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer; especially if she has never had a child, and/or she is over 40 years old. Taking hormone replacement (ERT) drugs when you reach menopause can increase your risk by 26%. Find another way! Read more about these drugs.
#3 — Use safe hair straightening and conditioning products
African American and other women whose mothers used strong estrogen-based hair straighteners, conditioners, and body creams when they were in utero, along with children and teens who now use these hair and skin products, may face higher risks of developing breast cancer in their 20’s 30’s and 40’s. All women should use safe hair, body care and home cleaning products throughout their lives to minimize exposure to the chemical and animal hormones found in most of these products Read more about safe hair products
#4 — Know about mammograms and find safer alternatives
Evidence mounts that annual mammograms can actually increase the incidence of breast cancer by aggressively treating non-invasive and invasive cancers that may go away on their own or may never grow further, while too often missing deadly cancers. Two alternative early detection methods are thermography, along with breast massage as a method of self-examination. Read more about mammograms and alternatives.
#5 — Filter water for drinking, cooking and bathing
Use filtered water to keep your body free of cancer-causing pollutants including chemical, animal and human hormones that are often found in municipal water supplies and in some well water. Read more about filtered water.
#6 — Eat low estrogen foods and manage estrogen levels
Foods that contain protective phytochemicals or phytoestrogens, such as miso, tempeh cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, are the best things a woman can add to her diet to prevent breast cancer. To limit exposure to excess strong or irritating estrogens, avoid foods that contain harmful hormones: e.g. milk that contains the rBGH growth hormone, and meat and poultry that contain added hormones. Drinking rBGH milk can raise a pre-menopausal woman’s risk of developing invasive breast cancer 7-fold. Read more about estrogen.
#7 — Detox from alcohol, sugar and cigarettes
Use exercise, meditation, massage, sports and other stress- reducing methods to help lower the amount of alcohol, sugar and/or nicotine you allow in your body. Drinking less than two glasses of wine, beer or other alcoholic beverage each day can reduce the risk of a first or second breast cancer by 20% to 90% depending on your age and prior breast cancer status. Stopping smoking can reduce breast cancer survivors’ risk by as much as 120%. Keeping blood sugar and insulin levels normal decreases a breast cancer survivor's risk of a second diagnosis by 150%. Read more about detoxing.
Moving to a Prevention Lifestyle
Now that you know our 7 Easy Ways to help prevent breast cancer, you can begin to make changes to your lifestyle to decrease your risk of breast cancer. Remember, breast cancer is caused by a combination of factors. The easiest and most important defense is to take Vitamin D3 to prevent cancer from forming in the first place.
Move to a healthier lifestyle that incorporates as many of our 7 Easy Ways as possible.