Breast Health, Natural Cure Doctor, Costa Mesa, Orange County, California, Dr. Robert Janda, Chiropractor, Natural Healing, Traditional Naturopath, Naturopathic Healing
Breast cancer is extremely common. In general, doctors will tell you that nobody knows what causes this disease and therefore little is being done with prevention with the exception of mammograms. Speaking as a pure scientist, this is probably true. However, being a clinician we are forced to make decisions and give advise with what information we have, plus personal experience, tradition and intuition. There is enough known to give good advise right now.
| A Woman’s Chances of Breast Cancer Increases With Age | |
|
By age 30 |
1 out of 2,212 |
Toxins
A couple of years ago Scientific American had an article in which they estimated one half of all cancers are caused by pesticides. They are conservative by nature in their estimates so we should take this as a dire warning that eating pesticide soaked vegetables is dangerous for women. Fortunately, we have access to organically grown food. The problem with plastics is more pervasive since many pipes and tubes and water bottles are made of this material. All we can do is try to avoid plastic containers when they are heated, such as in microwaving food in plastic dishes. Also drinking water stored in plastic bottles should be avoided, in particular don’t leave them in your car in the hot sun. Plastics mimic estrogen and are known to be carcinogenic. Another potential toxin is growth hormone that is often found in milk.
The arm pit area is closely associated with the breast for lymphatic circulation. This means that antiperspirants will probably end up in breast tissue. I have not found that much information on the subject, but I would be careful what you put on your skin on or near the breast.
Diet
The Mediterranean diet offers some protection against breast cancer possibly because of its emphasis on olive oil, vegetables, salad and fish. The dietary factors you would think would be correlated with cancer such as fat, red meat and dairy have not shown much relationship to cancer. The one factor that does show a low correlation is glycemic load, meaning the amount of food that is turned into sugar. (Possibly the lesson here is that the toxic load in the food is a bigger factor than the type of food consumed). An Italian MD, Doctor Simoncini has developed a theory of cancer based on Candida Albicans. A high sugar diet fosters Candida growth, which may be why glycemic load and Type ll Diabetes are correlated with cancer. Although fat intake is not correlated with cancer, many toxins are dissolved in fat, making contaminated fat a risk.
Mammograms
I know breast x-rays are considered a form of prevention, yet breast tissue is one of the most sensitive tissues in the body to radiation. This means that x-rays of breast tissue are highly carcinogenic. For this reason I object to this as a means of general screening for breast cancer. There are other better options. (See the section on mammograms).
Artificial Hormones
For years medical doctors have delt with menopause by prescribing artificial hormones such as Provera and Premarin. More recent research has found these substances to be highly carcinogenic. For some reason this information has been generalized to natural bioidentical hormones. As a result many women have stopped hormone replacement completely. There is not much research on natural hormones, but at the moment, this generalization is not justified. Current information supports natural hormone replacement, which should have been used all along.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Foods have become severely depleted in nutrients so it is a good idea to take supplements. In particular, antioxidants have proven to be protective against a wide range of cancers. These include Mixed Tocopherols, Alpha Lipoic Acid (which causes cancer cells to die), carotinoids, Resveratrol and Melatonin. It is a good idea to keep all antioxidants high. Another nutrient that is particularly effective against most cancers is Selenium, which works in conjunction with Vitamin E. The effect of Selenium is apparently countered by Chromium, so the relationship of these 2 minerals needs to be considered.
Infections
Some cancers are known to be caused by infection, particularly viruses. Flukes are known to be associated with bladder cancer, and Candida Albicans may be a primary etiological factor in cancer genesis. The extent of microbes in cancer is not known. For general health as well as for protection against cancer an attempt to rid yourself of pathological microbes should continue unabated for your whole life. This needs the help of someone knowledgeable in these matters.
Lack of Exercise
Generally cancer is anaerobic, meaning its metabolism is not based on the use of oxygen. Therefore, anything that increases oxygen in the body will help rid you of cancer. At least one study has shown a protective effect of exercise on breast cancer.
Circulation to the Breast
Surprisingly research has found the use of bras to be carcinogenic. Breast tissue is high in lymph tissue, which has a passive circulation. This means breast tissue has to move to have good circulation.