The following is a list of various diet and lifestyle factors proven to benefit breast health from the amazing natural doctor Joseph Mercola (
The following is a list of various diet and lifestyle factors proven to benefit breast health from my favorite holistic wisdom doctor Joseph Mercola www.mercola.com
Eat an 80-100% whole foods diet instead of packaged / processed / fast / restaurant foods, and eat plenty of fresh, whole, organic vegetables, especially fermented vegetables like raw sauerkraut.
* Curcumin (the active agent in turmeric root) is one of the most potent tumor-inhibiting foods; also green tea, kelp, cruciferous (broccoli family) vegetables and evening primrose oil also show promise in helping to prevent breast cancer.
* Ideally, you'll want to provide all the vitamin A and vitamin D substrate your body needs in such a way that your body can regulate both systems naturally. This is best done by eating colorful vegetables, organic egg yolks, raw milk and butter, and beef and chicken liver (from organically raised, grass-pastured animals) for vitamin A, and by exposing most of your skin to sun every day for vitamin D. Get enough midday sun to turn your skin just slightly darker - usually about 5-10 minutes for most fair skinned people.
* Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide—a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried—has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.
* Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells. Soy products that are fermented and are okay in moderation are tempe, natto and miso.
* Improve Your Insulin Receptor Sensitivity. The best way to do this is with regular exercise and a low-glycemic diet comprised of foods appropriate for your nutritional type. Take the simple nutritional typing test at www.mercola.com.
* Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally when you begin eating right for your nutritional type and exercising. It's important to lose excess body fat because fat produces estrogen.
* Drink a quart of organic green vegetable juice daily - a favorite blend of Courtney & Don’s: 1 cucumber, 4 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, ½ bunch cilantro or parsley, 1 clove garlic and 1 inch piece each of fresh ginger root and turmeric root (serves one). Yum!
* Be sure to drink plenty of re-mineralized water (½ you ideal body weight in ounces daily). Re-mineralize drinking water with a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of whole sea salt, or a tsp of raw apple cider vinegar - it's like drinking gator-aid without the sugar!
* Get plenty of omega 3 fatty acids daily from high quality animal sources such as krill oil, high quality fish oil, OR 3 Tbsp daily of hemp, flax, or chia seeds. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.
* Avoid drinking alcohol, or at least limit your alcoholic drinks to one per day.
* Breastfeed exclusively for up to six months. Research shows this will reduce your breast cancer risk.
* Avoid wearing underwire bras. There is a good deal of data that metal underwire bras increase your breast cancer risk.
* Avoid electromagnetic fields as much as possible. Even electric blankets can increase your cancer risk.
* Depression can influence breast cancer survival. Women whose depression lifts in the first year after being told they have advanced breast cancer outlive by more than two years those whose depression symptoms worsened. SSRIs (a category of antidepressant drug) are associated with increased breast cancer risk.
* A high carbohydrate diet may increase your breast cancer risk. Work yourself steadily away from anything containing high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, cane sugar, brown sugar, etc, and choose grains such as quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, millet and brown rice instead of wheat, white rice and oats. Also, keep servings of potatoes, yams and winter squash down to 4 oz.
* If you eat a poor diet of packaged / processed / fast foods, it can cause DNA changes that may increase your daughters' and granddaughters' risk of breast cancer.
* Antiperspirants can increase your breast cancer risk due to their toxic metals, such as aluminum, which influence estrogen activity. Choose natural, non-chemical deodorants without aluminum.
* Too much light at night was found to increase breast cancer by inhibiting melatonin in a study by the American National Cancer Institute. Try to rise & fall with the sun as much as possible, and reduce artificial light at night as much as possible.
* Get plenty of exercise daily. Do whatever activity you love doing, so that exercise becomes a regular joy in your life.