What are some strategies to promote Breast Health and if you have had Breast Cancer to lessen the likelihood of recurrence?
There are some well researched things that we can all be doing to promote Breast Health. Much of this information comes from an online course given by Lise Alschuler, ND. I will cover several of what I feel are the essentials here.
Weight
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is of utmost importance. (Ideal body weight BMI 18-25)
Excess fat puts us at risk of many chronic diseases and particularly breast cancer. The mechanisms through which this happens involve estrogen, insulin resistance and fat signaling hormones. Without going into too much detail: fat cells produce estrogen and they also produce adiponectin and leptin. Estrogen is not ideal when we are dealing with hormone sensitive breast tissue and potentially breast cancer. Excess fat also plays a role in Insulin Resistance (think diabetes). Both Insulin and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 are implicated in breast cancer risk. Diabetics are at increased risk for many different cancers, due to increased insulin levels.
Adiponectin is a protein that is released by fat cells that regulates fat and sugar metabolism. Higher levels are good and can be achieved by engaging in exercise, eating a diet that is high in monounsaturated fats (olives, avocados, nuts, etc), and fish oil (eating salmon a few times per week). Another important hormone produced by fat cells is leptin- which is our satiety hormone. Low levels of this are not great, but neither are really high levels as we can develop a resistance to this just like we can to insulin.
Diet
It is important to reduce sugar in your diet for your general health and longevity. We know that sugar feeds cancer. There are also many harmful chemicals used in food production that we need to avoid as much as possible. When possible eat organically grown fruits and vegetables, grass fed meat, and fish. The most well studied diet when it comes to chronic disease is the Mediterranean Diet- which focuses on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, legumes, fish and limited meat. There is a great app that you can download for free to your phone from the Environmental Working Group – Dirty Dozen.
Exercise
As little as 30 minutes of exercise 5 days per week significantly reduces your risk of dying from breast cancer. Adding vigorous exercise increases Natural Killer Cell activity, which is your body’s mechanism to kill cancer cells. Pretty interesting study here that shows a reduced risk of death in early stage breast cancer patients that eat 5-6 servings of vegetables and walk 30 minutes 6 days/week.
Sleep
This can not be understated in terms of overall health. The goal is 7-8 hours of sleep at night. Getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night is associated with a 62% increased risk of developing breast cancer as identified in this study of Japanese women.
There are some inconsistent findings in regards to this however we do know that little or poor sleep does lead to an increase in mortality – see here and here.
Stress
The impact that stress has on our bodies in terms of insulin resistance, weight gain, sleep impairment, and general well being is a big factor in the chronic disease/cancer epidemic we are experiencing.
There are good studies supporting stress management strategies. Meditation has been shown to protect telomeres (the endcaps on our chromosomes), shorter telomeres correlate with shorter longevity. It also increases melatonin, which improves sleep and can support our immune system.
Supplements
There are a handful of supplements that have been shown to be helpful in terms of prevention of breast cancer and prevention against recurrence.
Multivitamin
Agood Multivitamin/Mineral complex (Vit C, D, E have been specifically shown to reduce the risk of recurrence).
Green tea
helpful especially in early breast cancer. It impacts every step of tumor development and because of this can reduce the growth rate of cancer. If taken as a supplement, dosing is 1000mg daily, to be taken with food.
Curcumin
This comes from the commonly known spice Turmeric. There are some issues with absorption of the active compound, which is improved with the addition of piperine (black pepper). There is no definitive guide as to dosing but it has been shown safe with as much as 10gm/daily. I generally recommend 1-2 grams daily.
Mushrooms
Ingestion of mushrooms has been shown beneficial in treatment and prevention of breast cancer. Several different types ranging from Ganoderma Lucidum, Button Mushrooms, and Trametes versicolor, among others.
Melatonin
This can help with sleep as many people are aware. It also protects cells from free radicals and is an anti-oxidant. Melatonin is also an anti-estrogen.
Lastly I would like to touch on 2 topics that I suspect are on your mind. Those being alcohol and soy consumption.
Alcohol Consumption
1 drink/day raises a 50 yo female’s 5 year absolute risk of breast cancer from 3-3.45%. Between 3 – 5 drinks/week is associated with reduced all cause mortality in women. More than 3 drinks/day increases breast cancer risk by 30% (similar to Hormone Replacement Therapy and smoking 1 ppd). Basically, if you are not a drinker I would not suggest starting and if you do drink, I would try to keep it between 3-5 drinks/week.
Soy
Longstanding debate here. Soy is a weak phytoestrogen, so it interacts with estrogen receptors and does not cause the same effect. Soy is anti-proliferative (growth) and promotes apoptosis (programmed cell death), which are both good things in light of a potentially hormone sensitive cancer. There are studies showing a reduced risk of recurrence with soy consumption. Another showing reduced risk of recurrence and death. This one pertains to those with estrogen receptor positive and negative tumors, being treated with tamoxifen or not- reduced risk of death and recurrence.
Please do not take this as a treatment plan in lieu of what your physician is advising. If you have further questions about any of the above, please feel free to contact us at Now Health, 745-9355.
