11 Tips for Breast Cancer Prevention

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month, so here are a few simple tips for prevention!

1. Exercise: Women who do aerobic exercise 3-5 times per week have a 37-60% less risk of breast cancer. Exercise lowers the amount of estrogen and dangerous estrogen metabolites.
2. Stress Reduction: Chronic stress is a huge risk factor not only for heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, and depression but also cancer. Breast cancer frequently follows a period of severe, constant stress…a bad marriage, the death of a child, abusive work conditions, and bankruptcy. Cortisol, the stress hormone increases estrogen dominance. Getting rid of stressors, consciously acknowledging them, and altering your response to those stressors is critical in disease prevention. Walk, talk, meditate, laugh, and BREATHE! People who ‘go with the flow' and ‘let it go' rarely get cancer. Release the anger, forgive.
3. Low Carbohydrate Diet: Elevated insulin levels from a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, increase ‘estrogen dominance' by increasing the amount of free estrogen and stimulating the estrogen receptor directly. Tumor cells over express insulin receptors allowing more glucose in to feed the tumor. Breast, and other cancers are stimulated by sugar and other refined carbohydrates. Women diagnosed with breast cancer, who have high insulin levels, have an increased risk of breast cancer coming back and are more likely to die from breast cancer.
4. Whole food, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds: “Let food be your medicine. ” Hippocrates Much of what you need to prevent cancer is a gift from the earth. It's your choice. The more refined the food, the less nutrition, the more chemicals. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds contain Phytonutrients, which naturally balance your hormones. They contain usable minerals, vitamins, and fibers which also lower the estrogen burden and create healthy estrogen metabolites. Eat 5-8 servings a day.
5. Avoid Partially Hydrogenated Oils and Tran fats: They are found in almost all processed foods. They not only increase the dangerous estrogen metabolites they stimulate the breast cancer cell directly. Use olive oil or coconut oil instead.
6. Omega 3 Fatty Acids: Essential fatty acids (flaxseed and high quality fish oil capsules) inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation. Flax seed (2 Tbsp. /day) has been shown to reduce the size of breast cancers between the time of diagnosis and surgery. Flaxseed also increases the good estrogen metabolites and binds to the estrogen receptor directly preventing the strong and chemical estrogens from stimulating the cell. I also recommend chia seeds.
7. Fiber: Fiber lowers the amount of estrogen and estrogen metabolites which are available to stimulate the breast tissue. It also lowers insulin and glucose levels which feed tumor cells.
8. Get the Chemicals out of your home and off of your body: Chemical estrogens are very stimulatory to the breast tissue, acting as very strong estrogen. Lotions contain all types of chemicals which get absorbed into your body through the skin.
9. Limit or avoid Alcohol: Limit alcohol if you have breast cancer. Alcohol is not only toxic to the cell but increases the amount of estrogen made in the fatty tissue.
10. Avoid obesity: This will lower the amount of estrone, a stimulatory estrogen, made in the fatty tissue. It will help prevent the conversion of testosterone (breast protective) to estrogen.
11. Sleep: A low melatonin level has been associated with an increased risk of breast and other cancers. Poor sleep affects the immune system. Hormone imbalance affects sleep.

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Constipation Trouble? Here's 5 Tips to Get You Going...

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Here's 5 Simple Tips to Keep You Going...

Constipation is one of those topics few like to talk about. If you've suffered from this problem, though, you know it can be both painful and frustrating.

Almost everyone gets constipated at some time during his or her life. It affects approximately 2% of the population.  Women and the elderly are more commonly affected.

You are considered constipated if you have two or more of the following for at least 3 months:

• Straining during a bowel movement more than one-quarter of the time
• Hard stools more than one-quarter of the time
• Incomplete evacuation more than one-quarter of the time
• Averaging less than one normal formed, but soft stool daily

Common causes of constipation include:

• Inadequate water intake
• Inadequate fiber in the diet
• Disruption of regular diet or routine
• Traveling
• Inadequate exercise or immobility
• Eating large amounts of dairy products
• Stress
• Resisting the urge to have a bowel movement too frequently
• Overuse of laxatives (stool softeners) 
• Low thyroid hormone
• Neurological conditions, like Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis
• Too much calcium in supplements or antacids
• Certain medications, anti-depressants, pain killers, and iron supplements
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Pregnancy
• Colon Cancer

If you simply treat the causes and the symptoms go away!

Here are five simple natural suggestions to "keep you going":

1. Probiotics - When the wrong bacteria or yeast gain control of the bowels, they slow things down to ferment foods just how they like them. A good quality probiotic like, lactobaccilus or bifidobacter can help change that. You'll want to take a dairy-free brand with at least 25 billion cfu's per capsule daily
2. Dehydration - Without enough fluids to move things through the intestinal tract, the feces becomes hard and your digestion slows way down. Drinking a large glass of water upon waking improves bowel movements in most cases. Drinking a large glass of water few hours of the day can also alleviate IBS symptoms.
3. Fiber - For both constipation and IBS, dietary fiber is the first line of intervention for symptom relief. I usually recommend patients add 2 TBSP of ground flax seed or chia to their breakfast or smoothie.  Another way is to use psyllium caps or powder. 
4. Vitamin C - One symptom of vitamin C deficiency is constipation. Taking vitamin C in amounts just below bowel tolerance (gas, bloating or diarrhea) can definitely improve bowel movements and regularity. Start slow with 3000 mg spread throughout the day and every 2-3 days add another 1,000 mg to the regimen. When you reach bowel tolerance and stools loosen up, back off a little and maintain the dose that works for you
5. Magnesium - if patients I see are complaining of difficulty with constipation, the first thing I usually recommend is adding magnesium citrate at bedtime.  Many patients sleep better, have less muscle pain and bowel function dramatically improves with a little magnesium.  Doses typically range from 300-600mg but may go upwards of 1000mg daily.  

Still no relief?!  If the five suggestions above don't relieve your constipation, then you might have food sensitivities...  A common symptom of food sensitivity is constipation. Studies show that milk can cause constipation and a more recent study also implicates gluten. Constipation is more likely to occur in children fed gluten at at less than six months of age with a 35% increased risk of constipation.  You might try doing a three week elimination diet avoiding the common culprits:  gluten, dairy, sugar, and soy. 

If you have slow moving bowels, bowel pain or both, find the cause and fix it! Treating the symptoms only hides the causes, allowing your problems to grow into bigger problems.