Mammograms and breast checks are 100 percent worthwhile for early detection of breast cancer but they’re not breast cancer prevention.
Absolutely, 100 percent worthwhile. Do it. Early detection is life saving.
But ya know what would be even better?…
More talk about how to better protect yourself from breast cancer forming in the first place.
Breast Cancer Prevention
There’s a lot more you can do in the name of breast cancer prevention than you’ll hear about from the most prominent voices in breast health and cancer awareness.
We know 80 percent of breast cancers are ER+ (estrogen receptor positive), meaning a type of cancer cell that grows in response to estrogen.
Estrogen is an amazing life-giving hormone – it’s what gives us babies and periods, and also healthy bones, plump skin, and even that motherly instinct.
But like anything involving hormones, it’s all about balance.
And when estrogen is out of balance, and we end up with too much relative to other hormones (like progesterone), we can have issues related to Estrogen Dominance.
Maybe you’ve heard the term, maybe you haven’t – it’s something we all need to be aware of because it’s incredibly common —
Estrogen Dominance is one of THE most common hormonal imbalances for women today.
It’s so common that many of its symptoms are considered normal — PMS, hot flashes, fibroids — all involve estrogen having the upper hand.
Sure we can deal with some cramping and sweating, the problem is though these can be early signs of a hormone imbalance that can predispose something much worse.
This isn’t to scare you.
This is to say there’s much more in our control when it comes to breast cancer prevention and risk.
When it comes to breast cancer prevention, avoiding estrogen dominance is where it’s at.
How to Prevent Estrogen Dominance
The first thing is knowing that the body doesn’t just go rogue and start overproducing estrogen for some mysterious reason.
Estrogen Dominance usually comes down to two things:
- An increase in exposure to estrogen-mimicking substances – a.k.a. xenoestrogens, that are in many conventional skin care and beauty products, pesticides, plastics, etc.
- And a decrease in the ability to detox and excrete estrogens.
As you can probably imagine, this can be a nightmare combo.
And it may explain why we’ve seen an increase in breast and other hormonal cancers over the past two decades.
Now, the good news though is this: There’s a lot we can do about these two things.
Protecting yourself also comes down to two things:
- Avoiding environmental estrogens (a.k.a. estrogen mimickers)… see above.
- Optimizing your body’s ability to detox and clear estrogens.
Do these two things consistently, and you can greatly decrease your risk of breast and hormonal cancers.
Of course we’re all our own little walking chemistry experiments with different genetic make up, health histories, etc., nothing is 100 percent, fool proof, or guaranteed.
What I can tell you is staying consistent with these two things is a fantastic way to optimize your overall hormonal health, reduce symptoms of estrogen dominance, and reduce cancer risk in general.
