Everyone knows someone with breast cancer. If it’s not a mother, sister, cousin, or friend, it’s someone else’s relative or dear one. Globally, more than 2 million new cases of breast cancer are reported annually*. The awareness around breast cancer and how we can protect ourselves by striving for optimal breast health is encouraging. In recent years, it’s been much more of an open conversation about breast health and I’m so grateful for that.
For me, breast cancer is very personal as I have close relatives on both sides of my family who have battled breast cancer – some of them, before the age of 40. It only makes sense to me to try my hardest to prevent breast cancer as much as possible because that’s really all we can do. Since I’m over 40, I make sure to get my yearly mammogram (and extra screening for me) in, but beyond that, there are a ton of lifestyle habits you can adopt to help you achieve optimal breast health. My top tips are all about: eating for breast health, supplementing accordingly, and lymphatic drainage. Read on to see how you can help your breasts stay healthy and be sure to share these tips with a friend!
Eating for Breast Health
When you eat for breast health, what you’re really focusing on is eating for estrogen metabolism. Excess estrogen in the body has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, so helping your body metabolize and eliminate estrogen effectively is key to not just optimal breast health, but overall hormone balance as well. Here’s what I try to get into my diet as frequently as possible:
- Cruciferous veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, radishes, turnips, arugula, bok choy, and collard greens are a few examples. Cruciferous vegetables are full of compounds such as DIM, which is known to be an effective cancer chemopreventive agent. In other words: great for estrogen metabolism. Add more of these cruciferous veggies to your salads, roast them, or add them to soups, noodles, omelettes, or broths to get in plenty of plant powered DIM. I love making my Thai Shrimp Curry with bok choy, or my Roasted Fall Veggies with Tahini Maple Dressing. Getting four to six cups of leafy greens in daily also helps with hormone balance and detoxification.
- Fermented foods: you’ve probably already heard plenty about the superpowers of kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, miso, kefir, and kombucha. These foods also help with removing excess estrogen and are fantastic for gut health. One of my favorite fermented treats is Coconut Cult probiotic coconut yogurt, which is fermented and absolutely delicious.
- Flax seeds: these contain lignans, which help to promote the conversion of stronger estrogen into weaker forms and therefore help to balance estrogen in the body overall. I love incorporating flax seeds into salads and smoothies, but my High Protein Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins are my favorite recipe to add ground flax seeds to (and are one of the most popular recipes on my site as well!).
All of the foods above are really low hanging fruit since they’re all easy to find and prepare. When coaching clients, I like to focus on the ABUNDANCE of foods we are able to easily incorporate into our diets, rather than talking about everything we should not be consuming. However, there, is one substance that is worth calling out and you guessed it, it’s alcohol. Alcohol increases the toxic burden on the liver and is estimated to increase your breast cancer risk by 30% – 50% if you’re drinking 1-2 drinks per day**. Even one drink a week can have an affect on breast cancer risk and overall health. No amount of alcohol is safe or beneficial for overall health, which is why I limit alcohol to a few very special occasions / celebrations per year. If you’re wondering what the best time to really avoid alcohol is, check this out.
Supplements for Breast Health
As with all supplements, you’ll have to run these by your primary health care provider first:
- DIM (Diindolylmethane) – aside from consuming plenty of cruciferous vegetables, your OB-GYN may suggest a DIM supplement as well, especially for those who are at higher risk of breast cancer and those who may have dense breast tissue.
- Vitamin D – it’s not just for stronger bones, mood regulation, immune function, and anti-inflammatory effects, but also for hormone regulation as well. Some studies suggest that higher vitamin D intake / levels are associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, so be sure to check with your health care provider on what the right amount of vitamin D is for you to supplement with.
- Omega-3 fatty acids – key to reducing inflammation in the body and help with hormone balance as well. I recommend taking an omega 3 (fish oil) supplement if you’re not already consuming enough wild-caught salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, anchovies, walnuts, hemp seeds, and chia seeds.
- Magnesium – a quality magnesium supplement can help with blood sugar stability, hormones, overall stress levels, and breast health. Take a look at the different types of magnesium and what their main function is here.
Lymphatic Drainage
Your lymphatic system helps flush out toxins and waste, but does not have its own “engine” to do so (unlike your heart, which is able to pump blood all throughout your body). To keep your lymphatic system moving, here are a few key things to try:
- Massage the areas around your breasts, armpits, and collarbone to help your body move the lymph. I tend to do this while in the shower since it’s low hanging fruit – you’re already putting soap all over your body, so may as well take some extra time to massage those areas that need that extra TLC.
- Dry brushing – also an easy way to get the lymph moving and stimulate the lymphatic system. Start by getting a dry brush and brush your body in broad strokes, starting at your feet and always moving towards in the direction of your heart. You can find dry brushes pretty inexpensively online. Here’s one of my favorite ones to start out with.
- Sweat – I like to get a sweat session in daily, but that does not mean you have to be training for a marathon or lifting weights for hours at a time. Even a brisk walk, yoga, or quick bike ride will work. You don’t need to be sweating buckets, but gentle movement helps with the release of toxins, waste, and even a bad mood!
If you’re not already doing monthly breast self exams, now would be a great time to start! I love this guide on how to do a breast exam, which takes just a few minutes and can be done right before you get in the shower.
What questions do you have about optimal breast health? Be sure to leave a comment or shoot me an email. I would love it if you could share this post with a friend who could use it!
*https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7295577/
**https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696243/
