Besides orange colors seen in pumpkins and autumn leaves, the month of October shows bubblegum pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month as a staple color of the fall season.
About 20 years ago, Estee Lauder launched the first National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. From there on, many clothing and food brands promote products with pink color or pink ribbons during that month and give some of their profits to breast cancer charities or research. Besides the concern of how much and where that money is going, the biggest problem that this movement is facing is that it doesn’t ultimately inform women on how this cancer occurred in the first place, and once diagnosed, how to change behavior to decrease the chances of reoccurrence. Have you purchased a “pink” product and ultimately felt you have “helped”? Have you really learned anything about the development of this disease and your odds or if you can decrease your chances?
One out of eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. Sadly, most people are not concerned or don’t know what to do about avoiding cancer in the future. Most people become aware of the potential of lifestyle changes once they have been diagnosed. In addition to conventional therapies, there are many adaptations of lifestyle changes you can focus on that reduce your stress levels, enhance your sleep and physical performance, help create a positive attitude, and strengthen your immune system to increase protective factors.
Look, we don’t know what causes cancer, and it might be outside of our control to protect our cancer genes from mutating. But what research shows is that certain lifestyles and environmental exposures can increase your risk of this disease. Therefore, I think it makes only sense to live a lifestyle that might decrease those chances of mutations in your DNA.
Here is a list of some foods you can incorporate to make your immune system stronger and increase your protection.
· Cayenne Pepper
· Black Cumin
· Blueberries, Cherries, and Cranberries
· Broccoli
· Carrots
· Coffee
· Dark Green Leafy Vegetables
· Legumes
· Flaxseed
· Tomatoes
· Green Tea
· Nuts
· Turmeric, Ginger, and Garlic
· Purple Potatoes
· Mushrooms
· Grapes, Papaya, Pomegranate, Oranges, and Lemons
If possible, purchase organic options to limit toxin exposure! Avoid sugar as much as you can because it is cancer’s favorite food. Also, focus on clean and natural household cleaning and hygiene products without harsh chemicals.
Always listen to your doctor, but it’s also wise to become knowledgeable about alternative options that can be applied next to your standard care. Focus on nutrition and botanical supplements, mind-body approaches, energy-based therapies, and other healing therapies. This might be helpful, not only once you are diagnosed, but also if you are at higher risk and/or want to decrease reoccurrence chances.
Keep in mind that this happens to women every day of the year and not just in October. While tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone, we are all here today, right now, at this moment, and it’s never too late to enhance your repair mechanism built within you.
In good health,
Tanja Samalya, MNT
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