Diet Fitness Health

Lifestyle and environmental risk factors for breast cancer are still an area of active research and many have been identified. Lucky for most people, all of these risks are controlled simply by making proper changes to optimize one’s health. Even men can get breast caner, though it occurs at 1/133 the rate of women.

Women who have had no children prior to age 30 are at a slightly higher risk. The cause of the increase is likely to be twofold: the number of menstrual periods experienced and the related factor of the amount of estrogen in the body. Hormones, particularly estrogen and progesterone, play a role in cell growth and cancer is a condition in which cells grow in abnormal shapes and numbers.

Having had multiple pregnancies prior to the age of thirty reduces an individual’s risk of contracting breast cancer. Pregnancy itself carries its own risks even in the modern medical settings offered today. Using this method to offset the risk of breast cancer is not recommended. But, if you intend to bear children, it should be comforting to know about this side benefit.

The risk of cancer from taking oral contraceptives has yet to be determined. Women who have stopped using birth control for more than ten years show no increased risk. Because most women who contract breast cancer don’t do so until their 50’s or later, it is hard to isolate the contribution.

Diet is a more direct factor. Research is still being conducted and the findings still leave an exact answer unclear. It is however, known that healthy diet and lifestyle choices can be a factor. Obesity definitely raises the risk of contracting breast cancer due to the simple fact that fat cells store estrogen. Fat cells also produce a slight amount of estrogen on their own even though most estrogen in the body is generated by the ovaries.

The exact contribution of an individual’s diet has yet to be determined. It was popular for a time period for people to claim that a high fiber diet acted almost as a preventative. The research, however, does not support that notion rather it has determined that a high fiber diet is healthy for many reasons. Even if diet cannot prevent the onset of breast cancer, having good health in general is extremely important and helpful when it comes to having to get any type of treatment and diet is a significant part of that effort.

Along with diet, age and body type-appropriate exercise is a major contributor to good overall health. An hour a day of moderate activity is a major factor in keeping muscles toned and the body in overall good shape. Exactly how much this helps reduce the risk of breast cancer is unknown, but one study correlated a 1-2 hour brisk walk per week with an 18% lower risk.

Unbelievably, there are many factors that are commonly believed to increase the risk of breast cancer. These risks are not supported by contemporary research finings according to the American Cancer Society. Smoking is one of the risks. No link has been made between cigarette smoking and breast cancer. Lung cancer however, is a completely different story. In general, no environmental pollutants have been deemed to cause breast cancer.

But since these are clearly not healthy lifestyle choices, the goal of optimizing overall well-being would weigh against them.

Alcohol that is consumed in moderation is considered healthy. But the use of alcohol heavily has definitely been correlated to increase the risk of breast cancer. An individual’s risk is increased by 10% with every daily drink of hard alcohol an individual consumes. And because it also causes damage to the liver and contributes to an individual’s poor health overall, it is not considered a wise choice.

Maintain a good attitude and a good health program and your odds of breast cancer will be as low as you can make them.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 6:24 am and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.