Well, it’s that time of year again — what some people and organizations call Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I’m very aware of my breasts and not only in October, thank you very much. So I’m changing the game – I’m going to just call it “Breast Health Day” …every day, all year!
I like to keep things in the positive and I’m sure you’ll want to join me. Here are a few ways to start on your path to breast health; start out by making small changes until they become a routine part of your daily life. Soon you won’t think twice about them and you can add a few more.
- Minimize stress. When we think of stress, we think of working too hard or running after kids and taking them here and there. These things can be stressful especially if you are not taking any time out to restore yourself, Body, Mind and Spirit.But stress can start with small things that go unnoticed too. Chronic stress can be caused by worry and letting your thoughts get the best of you, by not getting quality and adequate sleep, and by staying on the computer all day and night which is overstimulating to the human body and will mess with a good night’s sleep.
A little bit of stress is actually good for us but from my experience, chronic stress is a killer! We can’t completely erase stress we will always have some of it in our lives, that’s the reality of life. The secret is to minimize it where you can and to do things that restore your body. Here are some of my suggestions: praying, turning off the phone and all other electronics a couple hours before bed, taking walks, enjoying hot baths, or just being with friends who make you laugh! How about taking a day off? Wow, what a novel idea! That’s just a few suggestions and I’m sure you can add some of your own. The point is to find ways that you are not always in a fight or flight mode which stimulates your cortisol and keeps it high as well as triggering your adrenals so that they are constantly pumping adrenaline. Adrenal burnout is so common but often unrecognized; and when it’s not dealt with, adrenal burnout can start to break down the immune system. Love your immune system. Having a healthy immune system is the beginning of the prevention of disease!
2.Get enough Vitamin D3. Did you know Vitamin D actually influences every cell in your body and one of nature’s most powerful cancer fighters? This vitamin has hundreds of references in medical literature showing it can actually enter cancer cells and start apoptosis (aka cell death.) I have read that many breast cancers may be related to a Vitamin D deficiency. I think this is due to so many people using an overabundance of chemical sunblock, toxic creams and spending so much time indoors. Get out side with nothing on your skin for at least 20 minutes a day. I suggest taking a Vitamin D3 supplement every day. Ask your health care practitioner to test your Vitamin D levels. Your levels should be 50 or higher some say as high as 80.
3.Iodine. Iodine is your breasts best friend! By now you have heard that adequate amounts of iodine are essential for thyroid function. It’s also an antiseptic, antibiotic, anti-fungal and is antiviral. Every cell in the body contains iodine and uses iodine, it’s an essential trace element required for the synthesis of hormones. Iodine deficiency can trigger a number of health problems including breast cancer. Most people don’t realize that breasts absorb and use a lot of iodine, which the girls need for proper cellular function. A deficiency of iodine in any tissue will lead to dysfunction of that tissue and tumors can result. There is a lot of controversy over the proper amount of iodine we need, so find a health practitioner to guide you. I personally take high doses and also supplement my diet with, kelp, dulse and other seaweeds and sea vegetables.
Other minerals that are vital are Magnesium, Selenium, and Zinc. Foods high in Magnesium are raw cocao, greens, black beans, bananas, and almonds. I highly recommend supplementing with an internal and topical form of Magnesium. Selenium is found in abundance in Brazil nuts, 4 a day should do it. Also high in Selenium is mushrooms such as Shiitake, also sprouts, flax, sesame and chia seeds. Zinc is found in pumpkin seeds, cashews, garbanzo beans, raw cocoa, (love me some raw chocolate) and greens. Eat your GREENS!!!!!
4.Nourish your gut. A healthy gut is a healthy immune system and by optimizing your gut flora (good bacteria) you will reduce inflammation and strengthen your immune response. Add naturally fermented foods (like sauerkraut, kimchee, etc.) to your diet and a high-quality probiotic supplement is a good idea too.
5.Drastically reduce your intake of sugar and processed foods! Keeping your insulin levels in a normal range by avoiding sugar especially high fructose corn syrup, is one of the most powerful things you can do in the prevention of cancer. Cancer cells feed off sugar and it just gives them the kick in the pants they need to help them multiply. I have plenty of low sugar and sugar free desserts in my cookbook. Click Here for your download of My Healing Kitchen, with over 80 recipes.
6.Green up your plate. Eat a plant based diet and drink a large green juice every day. Keeping the body in an alkalized state is important, this is an oxygenated state where disease can’t grow. Getting at least 80% of your food intake every day from plants and juices will help. We need micro-nutrients and phytonutrients from plants; juicing is a quick and effective way to deliver these nutrients to our cells in a way that is highly bio-available. Be good to your body, eat and adapt yourself to an organic, Non-GMO lifestyle of eating. Here is an easy way to get greens in your diet everyday CLICK HERE
7.Toxic-Free Living – One of the hidden keys to improving peoples’ lives is getting the toxins out of their home and skin care routines. Everybody is switching over to organic food, but I find few people have realized how many toxins we absorb through our skin and airways. There are so many options to cleaning products now; for starters almost every grocery store carries nontoxic cleaning products, laundry detergent and dish soaps. You can also make your own. Get a glass squirt bottle add water, white distilled vinegar and lemon essential oil. The essential oil is the reason for a glass bottle. Citrus essential oils dissolve petroleum so if not in glass you may find a hole in your plastic bottle. Skincare and body products need to be non-toxic as well, your skin is your largest organ and is essentially a giant sponge; it is bombarded all day by contaminated water, air pollution and so much more. I personally use Arbonne skin and body products.
8.Drink filtered water and stay hydrated. Almost all cancer patients were found to be dehydrated at a deep DNA level.
So now you have 8 quick ways to begin to Stack the Odds in Your Favor when it comes to prevention!
Here’s to your healthy beautiful girls – every day, all year long!
