Breast cancer prevention requires addressing the real issues surrounding the global increase in incidence of breast cancer. Public health education, corporate responsibility, and governmental regulation of toxic chemicals and poor quality modern foods must be included in addressing the factors contributing to today’s cancer epidemic. Environmental factors influence an array of molecular mechanisms and consequently influence disease risk and gene expression.
To compound the problem of our toxic environment, we have refined away much of the nutritional value of our food supply and replaced it with artificial colorings, preservatives, flavorings, conditioners, etc. This poor quality diet-combined with extensive use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture-may have predisposed many of us to experience a kind of ‘internal pollution.
Endocrine Disruptors
Of all the common pollutants we are exposed to, the most harmful are those potent substances known as hormone disruptors, estrogen mimickers, or xenoestrogens. These pervasive chemicals, common in our daily lives and contained in most of our personal care products, household cleaners, pesticides, and plastics, have the potential to disrupt our hormonal and endocrine balance and cause chaos to many systems including the immune system, increasing the risk of cancer and other diseases.
Nutrients including resveratrol, curcumin, sulforaphane, Green tea polyphenols and Vitamin D3 have been researched for their use as both protective agents as well as for the chemotherapeutic role in the treatment of cancer, including breast cancer.
The bottom line: eat a plant based diet, maintain moderate weight throughout life, and get some exercise.
