Breast Cancer Prevention: 3 Things You Should Do Today

Besides smoking and alcohol, our diet can cause us to develop cancer risks. Did you know that a poor diet causes 35% of cancer cases? And yes, this includes breast cancer, the most common cancer among women.

The risk factors for breast cancer are mainly related to hormones.

However, studies have also found that dietary factors can play a role too.

You may have already heard about how the intake of red meat, refined starches, sugar, etc., increase cancer risk. Even some studies suggested that overconsumption of iron is also linked to cancer!

What should you do?

Besides just consuming less of the above, here are 2 simple things that you should start doing today!

1) Old but Gold:  Eat more fruits and vegetables

You can never go wrong with eating MORE fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods. They are rich in phytochemicals, “bioactive nutrient plant chemicals in fruits, vegetables, grains and other plant foods.” They play a crucial role in reducing inflammation in the body and cancers. This is why nutritionists and dietitians agree that our diet should comprise more fruits and vegetables.

Other benefits of phytochemicals include:
– Strengthening the immune system
– Slowing cancer cell growth
– Regulating hormones
– Preventing damaged cells from reproducing (read more on www.mdanderson.org)

Note that no single plant food can protect you from cancer or any diseases. We need to eat VARIOUS plant-based foods to exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects to their optimum power. 

2) Watch your weight

Obesity opens the door to many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and yes, including cancer.

For women, being obese causes the increase of fat tissues, leading to a rise in estrogen levels, resulting in developing higher chances of getting breast cancer.

Not only that, overweight and obesity increase insulin levels. Some studies discovered that higher insulin level does cause not only diabetes but also breast cancer.

While researchers have found that overweight or obese postmenopausal women are more susceptible to breast cancer risk, pre-menopausal women should avoid unhealthy weight gain. This can be done with regular exercise, good sleep, better stress management, and eating healthy.

3) Do a breast self-exam

Women are advised to examine themselves at least once a year. You can do a self-exam or seek professional help.

Here are the 5 steps when doing the breast self exam – click here.

Prevention is better than cure

Healthy habits can help us in preventing getting diseases. Breast cancer prevention starts with implementing the right and healthy habits into our lifestyle.

If you are struggling with eating healthy, Savor Of Life can help you with that! 

We are a healthy food delivery located in Kuala Lumpur. We deliver whole-food, plant-based meals to your doorstep. Be rest assured, our meals are created by excellent chefs, curated by dietitians, and we have weight loss meals too! Start eating healthy with us. Menu below 🙂