by Dr. Paul Jaconello, M.D.
One in ten women in Canada are getting breast cancer. This illness has become a major cause of mortality in the female population. The effects of breast cancer cause a staggering amount of human suffering and can strike down a woman in her most creative and productive years.
Although the research is many times conflicting about its prevention, it does appear that simple, safe measures can be taken to reduce breast cancers' incidence in the population.
This article suggests early procedures to reduce risk.] t does not advise on treatment of the established disease.
DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Reduce calorie intake and maintain a normal body weight.
Obesity and excessive calorie intake should be avoided.
2. Avoid excessive fat intake.
High fat diets seem to be associated with increased breast cancer risk. This is for all types of fats, not just one kind. So, it seems a good idea to restrict fat intake to 20-25% of total caloric intake.
3. Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Epidemiological surveys have indicated that high sucrose diets are a major risk factor in the development of breast cancer over the age of 45 years.
4. Avoid consumption of deep-fried foods.
5. Restrict the intake of partially hydrogenated oils, as in margarine.
6. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
7. Consume higher amounts of fibre in the diet, found in whole grains, starchy and non- starchy vegetables and legumes (chick peas, lentils, kidney beans, etc.).
8. Eat lower on the food chain.
Switch your diet to a more vegetarian mode. Reduce your intake of red meat and fatty poultry. If you can't go totally vegetarian, at least consume three or more vegetarian meals in your diet every week.
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION
1. Take antioxidants.
Breast cancer may be triggered by the product of rancid fat by-products. The breast is composed of a dense accumulation of fat, which is very susceptible to oxidant damage from exposure to chemical agents in our food chain.
The antioxidant group of nutrients act as rancidity traps and they reduce the production of these rancid, cancer triggering chemicals. These antioxidants can be listed as follows:
i) Vitamin C -1000 mg to 2000 mg
ii) Vitamin E - 400 iu
iii) B Carotene - 25,000 iu
iv) Vitamin A – 10,000 iu
v) Gelenium 100 mcg
vi) Zinc 20 mg, Copper Zinc, Manganese – 15 mg
(all of the above doses on a daily basis).
2. The use of specific oils. These include the following:
i) Evening Primrose oil, 6 x 500 mg capsules or oil of borage seed, 2 x 1000 mg capsules daily.
ii) Flaxseed oil, 1 tablespoon daily.
These oils seem to have cancer-protective properties.
3. The role of detoxification.
Because the breast tissue is a sink for the accumulation of fat soluble chemicals which find their way into our food chain and therefore into our bodies, it may be worthwhile going through decontamination procedures to reduce the levels of these toxic substances.
There are various ways that this can be achieved, such as in metabolic clearing procedures, the use of macrobiotic type diets and one elective program called The Hubbards(TM) Method of Detoxification, which involves sauna, niacin and exercise. This method is fully explained in the book "Clear Body, Clear Mind," by L. Ron Hubbard.
Lowering the bio-accumulation of toxic chemicals in the body could be a major step in breast cancer prevention.
SUMMARY
No nutritional program, no number of antioxidants and no detoxification program will totally prevent the occurrence of breast cancer. It is the cunning nature of "the beast" (the cancer cell), which weasels its way through the body.
But, it is my opinion that you can reduce risk, and reduce your chances of developing breast cancer, by making simple changes to your life style, by taking certain nutrients and by reducing contaminant load in the body.