Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Breast Cancer and Diet - Realistic Considerations

The relationship between breast cancer and diet is becoming more defined as far as preventing cancer. However, its role in improving survivability after cancer is discovered is not as clear.

The best tact to take is to live a healthier lifestyle. A healthier body is better equipped to fight off the factors leading to cancer formation and the ravages of cancer after it has become established.

Good Health Foods

Eating a healthy diet for preventing breast cancer (or any cancer) and improving survivability begins with a good breakfast. Whole grains are easy to make and consume in the morning. Good health foods such as whole grains should be consumed in much larger amounts than most people in the United States normally eat.

Whole grains typically offer a large amount of dietary fiber, which is important for a number of reasons. It may help lower estrogen and definitely aids digestion and elimination.

Expelling waste products from your body is important. You don't want poisons from normal bodily functions to remain in your body any longer than they have to. It is well established that allowing these toxins to remain in the bowel longer than normal increases the incidence of bowel cancer. Consuming adequate amounts of dietary fiber helps remove waste products as quickly as possible.

That's a good thing.

Healthful Food Choices

Healthful food choices such as a raw vegetable diet containing spinach, lettuce, onions, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, and various sprouts (bean, alfalfa, etc.) will give you raw food enzymes as well as dietary fiber. Both of these will aid a person wishing to give themselves the best chance of preventing or surviving cancers of all types.

There are also a number of phytochemicals in raw health food that cooking destroys. Eating raw food diets daily or at least a few times per week will help you achieve your goal.

Eating beans on a regular basis will give you additional dietary fiber. These can be easily incorporated into a healthy lunch and/or healthy dinner menu. For example, adding beans to a taco salad comprised mainly of raw vegetables will increase the fiber content of that delicious meal.

Using low fat turkey meat with the grease removed after frying will further enhance your natural healthy diet by reducing fat intake. You should already have turkey meat on hand for making those delicious low fat turkey burgers on the grill. You do have some in your freezer at all times, don't you?

Eating healthy is not difficult. Adopting a healthy diet plan, which will prevent all sorts of health problems, is easy if you put a little thought into it. Often, you can slightly modify the foods you normally eat to make them more "body friendly."

Pre-planning your meals helps tremendously so you can keep the worst foods to eat out of your house while keeping your pantry well stocked with healthful food choices.

Some of the worst foods to eat for preventing breast cancer, increasing cancer survival, or preventing heart and/or vascular disease are trans-fats. You will see trans-fats listed as "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" on the package.

These altered fats are commonly found in foods that have a long shelf life. Yes, these are fast foods. That is one of the reasons why fast food is bad for you. Avoid trans-fats.

Low Fat Dairy Products

Low fat dairy products appear to be helpful in achieving weight loss or weight maintenance. Less weight carried on the body reduces the risk of cancer to a certain extent. One study has shown that women who ate more dairy products and had higher amounts of calcium in their diet also had higher rates of survival after breast cancer was discovered.

Regularly using yogurt fruit dip recipes or cream cheese fruit dip to add calcium to your diet is a smart tactic. The fruit will add raw food enzymes, fiber, and many beneficial nutrients.

It is a good alternative to a salty, sugary, fat-laden snack containing trans-fats. And it is much tastier.

Breast Cancer And Diet

The relationship between breast cancer and diet is beginning to become apparent.

Shifting your diet to more healthful food choices will benefit you in numerous ways.

No comments: