† Ask Dr. Helen's Healthy Living Shownotes †

10 THINGS YOU MUST DO TO BEAT BREAST CANCER

WHO'S AT RISK for BREAST CANCER?

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If a woman is in her 30s, her chance of developing breast cancer are usually 1 in 229; by your 40s the risk is 1 in 68; in your 50s it increases to 1 in 37; and in your 60s you have a 1 in 26 chance. Other risk factors for breast cancer include:

• Family History – If your mother, daughter or sister has the disease, your risk increases.
• Giving Birth – If you do so after age 30 or never have children, you can increase your chances of breast cancer.
• Diet – If yours is high in fat, you’re more likely to increase your chance of breast cancer.
• Race – Breast cancer is more common in white women than in Latinas, African-American

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during the course of their lives. A recent survey by the Society for Women’s Health Research found that 22 percent of women named breast cancer as the disease they fear most above any other disease.

“Several factors can contribute to an increase in estrogen, the hormone that feeds many breast cancers,” says Helen Pensanti, M.D., an author and expert on women’s health issues. “Diet, weight gain and alcohol consumption are all things that can trigger an increase in estrogens.”

Dr. Pensanti says there are 10 ways that we can reduce our risk of breast cancer:

1. Work up a sweat…Exercise is instrumental in lowering your breast cancer risk since it is believed by researchers to lower the amount of estrogen in the body. One study found that physical activity (a 30 minute session, five days a week) could decrease breast cancer risk by 18 percent.
2. Keep a healthy weight…After the age of 18, women who gain more than 70 pounds more than double their risk of breast cancer. The extra pounds are likely to fuel cancer growth by increasing estrogen production.
3. Eat more good fats…Reduce the polyunsaturated fat and saturated fats in your diet, of which high levels have been linked to breast cancer.
4. Veg out…Carotenoids, found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, have powerful cancer-protective pigments.
5. Enjoy more soy…Foods with soy contain phyto-estrogens, plant substances that mimic forms of estrogen in the body and may protect against breast cancer by locking out estrogen produced in the body.
6. Pass the flaxseed…Rich in omega-3, flaxseed is also full of lignans, compounds that could be instrumental in lowering estrogen in the body. Some studies show that lignans can shrink breast tumors. It can be sprinkled in your cereal or mixed in a smoothie.
7. Skip the last call…Alcohol intake can increase your levels of cancer estrogens. As few as one or two drinks a day can increase your chances of breast cancer.
8. No butts about it…Stop smoking, or better yet, don’t start. The younger you are when you first light up, the more you increase your chances of developing breast cancer. Another study indicates that secondhand smoke can even cause breast cancer in younger women.
9. Don’t call your doctor…the next time you get the sniffles, don’t automatically ask your doctor for an antibiotic prescription. New evidence suggests that the more you ingest antibiotics, the higher you increase your breast cancer risk.
10. Increase your carbs…New evidence of natural occurring carbohydrate called IP-6 has shown significant anti-cancer effects in the body, especially in breast cancer. IP-6 is found naturally in grains, corn and legumes.