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| home : how we can help : prevention, screening, & diagnostics : answers to cancer : diet & nutrition
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Science is learning more and more how women can reduce their risk of having this feared and all too common disease touch their lives. What can you do? A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at whether the cause of cancer is genetic or caused by environmental-lifestyle factors. Although it points out that heredity does play a role in some women's risk of breast cancer, it also shows that diet and lifestyle factors have a far greater impact in most cases. Following the measures below is not a guarantee that breast cancer will be prevented in every case, but many research studies have demonstrated that these lifestyle behaviors significantly reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer. And isn't it worth being at lower risk? It is estimated that 30 to 50 percent of breast cancer could be prevented by a healthy diet and lifestyle. Just remember early detection is the other key. Don't forget to get your mammogram. Talk to your doctor or call the Karmanos Prevention Centers to schedule a mamm at 1-(800) KARMANOS (1-800-527-6266)
- Demonstrate to your daughters by example that eating a healthy diet is a way of life. Recent studies are showing that childhood diets may have a more important impact on lifetime risk of breast can than first thought. But if you're just starting to improve your habits, it is never too late to begin healthy eating habits that offer protection for breast cancer and other forms of cancer.
- Eat your vegetables! Study after study show that women who consume the most vegetables have a significantly lower risk compared to those who eat the least. The beta-carotene and vitamin C are important antioxidants that seem to offer protection, as well as indoles that are in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. Thousands of phytochemicals are also found in fruits and vegetables which are believed to work in a complex matrix to offer cancer protection.
- Try to keep your weight close to your early adulthood weight. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the Nurses' Health Study found that women who gained more than 45 pounds during adulthood, before menopause, had a 40 percent increased risk of post-menopausal breast cancer.
- Try to get a least 30 minutes of exercise daily. It is not yet known how exercise reduces risk of breast cancer. It may be through its effect on estrogen, insulin other factors, or it may be due to its ability to help control body weight.
- Women should try to limit their alcohol intake to no more than one drink a day. A drink is 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1 1/2 ounces of hard liquor. Alcohol appears to increase risk through its effect on estrogen levels.
- Eat a diet low in fat, primarily low in saturated and omega-6 fatty acids. Fat continues to be studied for its impact on breast cancer risk. Recent studies show that saturated fats which are mostly from animal sources such as meat and dairy foods may increase risk. Some reports show that a high intake of omega-6 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fatty acids found abundantly in many oils, such as safflower, corn and sunflower oils, may increase breast cancer risk. In contrast, olive oil, which is a monounsaturated fat, and fatty fish, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids may help decrease risk.
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