Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl
This is Breast Cancer awareness month. Do what you can to support the cause.
|
Okay, I would like to support the cause by contributing some healthy lifestyle reminders from the American Cancer Society's Cancer Journal for Clinicians. These are guidlines for cancer prevention.
Although genes influence risk, MOST cancer risk is not the result of genetic inheritance.
About 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese and fat cells produce estrogen. This puts older women at increased risk for breast cancer.
That leads us to the subject of "diet and exercise". Calorie restraint is what's called for and processed foods are generally high in calories and low in nutrition. This is why I always recommend eating natural whole foods with the emphasis on plant sources (i.e., fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. The journal recommends choosing fish, poultry, or beans instead of beef, pork, and lamb. (Note: Alcohol consumption is associated with an increase in cancer risk.)
Exercise can take many different forms so I won't get into any details here. But, in general, it is very important so do something like housework, yard work, sports, weight lifting or walking. I like a combination of weightlifting and walking, in addition to working around my house and yard.
Cruciferous vegetables are very important because they contain phytonutrients and chemicals that actively fight to keep cancer cells from forming and becoming established. These plant chemicals have been compared to chemotherapy.