Breast Cancer - Three Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk

Given the dramatic effect that research is showing that genetics is having on young Bahamas women - predisposing them to breast cancer. I have decided to share as much information as possible with you about this disease during October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

And while this disease is still being studied to determine what is contributing to more than 34 percent of the cases diagnosed being in women under age 44 here are three things you can to reduce your breast cancer risk.
It may surprise to learn that you may be able to lower your breast cancer risk by simply controlling your weight, limiting your alcohol intake and adding Soy to your diet.

While Dr. Katherine Lee, a breast specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Breast Center, conceded that there is no one super food that has been positively linked to breast cancer prevention. There are two lifestyle issues — obesity and high alcohol consumption that have been linked to increased breast cancer rates.

An observation that should conce
you as the Ministry of Health has indicted that 68 percent of Bahamians are obese - having body weight at least 20% higher than it should be or Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more.

But its not the diet that lessen the risk of breast cancer but controlling your weight and avoiding obesity which is the benefit of diet. While being overweight doesn’t mean you will get breast cancer it does increase the likelihood. As the higher insulin levels in overweight women, which also leads to diabetes, seems to be linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

So you can lower your risk of beast cancer by eating a healthy diet. That is a diet high in fruits and vegetable, lean meat, whole grain and low in saturated fats and red meats.

By not being obese you also reduce your risk of two other diseases that are also on the rise in the Bahamas heart disease and colon cancer. So a eating a healthy diet is very important change that you should make.

A second change that you should make is to limit your alcoholic consumption to fewer than one a day.

And the third thing you can do is to include two to five servings of natural soy in your diet each week. And be sure it not from supplement but naturally from foods such as tofu and edamame.

Copyright © 2009 – Glenn S. Ferguson