Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast cancer is responsible for 40,000 deaths each year and is the second-leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women. As October marks National Breast Cancer Awareness month, let’s focus on nutrition options to help combat this often deadly disease.
Although family history, age and breast density are all attributors to Breast Cancer, obesity and inactivity are also known risk factors. Excess fat raises estrogen levels, which increase tumor growth, and enables cancer cells to infiltrate tissue easily. Therefore, what you eat can aid in keeping your immune system healthy enough to discard damaged cells that often lead to cancer.
Foods rich in folic acid such as leafy greens are packed with anti-oxidants that are helpful in fighting breast cancer. It has been suggested that two-thirds of your plate should be made up with green vegetables to avoid excessive saturated fats and load your immune system with phytochemicals that aid in disease prevention.
Calcium rich foods such as low-fat dairy products, salmon, almonds and fortified orange juice have shown promising results at aiding in cancer prevention as well as foods rich in vitamin D. Drinking milk alone though most likely won’t provide you with enough of each of these. Adding a multivitamin to your diet may be the best bet.
Soy products such as miso, tofu, soy milk, soy flour and soy protein are touted as some of the most powerful Breast Cancer fighting foods. Some medical experts recommend that women at high risk of breast cancer should consume around 60 grams of soy protein a day where women at low risk are recommended to consume around 35 grams daily.
Diet aside, early detection combined with exercise and a healthy lifestyle are all necessary means to aid in combating breast cancer.
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