Saturday, November 14, 2009

Avoiding Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the many health risks that a woman has to worry about, but just a few changes could actually reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by approximately 40 percent. There are approximately 70,000 cases of breast cancer annually in the United States, of which some could be prevented with liifestyle changes such as eating a healthy diet, breastfeeding their infants, getting 30 to 60 minutes of exercise every day and limiting their alcohol consumption.
Women to know there are things they can do every day to prevent breast cancer. For instance, they can get physically active every day. As best they can, maintain a healthy body weight. Try not to gain weight, if you already have a healthy body weight. If you are overweight, get back to a healthy body weight. If you drink alcohol at all, limit drinking to one drink per day. Just adding any amount of physical activity during your day is beneficial, including waking and climbing stairs. To reduce the risk of cancer is general, diets should be mostly plant-based, emphasizing on fruits, beans, whole grains, and vegetables, and limit the intake of red meats.

A weight gain of 34 pounds can increase the chances of breast cancer as much as 68 percent in younger women. The risk also increases with age and in proportion to an increased body weight. After age forty, a 12-pound weight gain can double the risk of breast cancer. Women that are over the age of fifty at maximum weight gain have triple the chances of developing breast cancer.

Lifestyle changes such as maintaining healthy body weight and exercise can not only help prevent cancer, it can have a greater impace on breast cancer outcomes than chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.”

So if you have a history of breast cancer that runs in your family or are just generally concerned about the risks of developing breast cancer you can change your chance now by changing to a healthier lifestyle. You just might feel better as well by exercising, eating right, and maintaining a healthy body weight.


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