Five ways to prevent Breast Cancer!

October is celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month worldwide, which is also known as Pink October to increase the wakefulness on this dreadful disease.

While majority of women are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps and chalk out a plan to detect the disease in its early stages. There is also less awareness about the proper diet, which actually helps to prevent the risk of Breast Cancer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has predicted that by 2020 the number of breast cancer cases will jump to an alarming figure and one in every eight women would run the risk of developing the disease in her lifetime.

Nearly 85 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer Do not have a family history when caught early. The best part is that breast cancer has a 98 per cent survival rate.

A healthy diet and lifestyle modification can reduce the chances of breast cancer by nearly 40 per cent. Some of the factors like family history can't be changed but there are lifestyles changes that you can make to lower down the risk of the breast cancer.

Let's have a look at them:
1. Keep your weight in check: Maintaining a healthy weight is an important factor to reduce the risks of various types of cancers which includes the risk of breast cancer especially after menopause

2. Breastfeeding is a must: Women who breastfeed consistently for 6 months are at less risk. This further helps keeping their child healthy and their own bodies healthy too

3. Keep it moving!: Doing exercise and physical activity seem to protect against the breast cancer in several ways. It also helps in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeps the weight in check.

4. Say No to smoking and limiting alcohol intake: Smoking has already been proven as a major factor for various types of cancers which also includes breast cancer. It is also advisable to keep your alcohol intake in control.

5. Diet, the most important part: There is growing evidence that eating the right food plays an important part in helping to prevent breast cancer risks. Some foods, such as oily fish (forage fish, sardines, pelagic, etc) can prevent the growth of cancerous tumors; while others, such as green leafy vegetables helps to fight cancer-causing hormones.

Some of the key foods that can help protect you against breast cancer are:

Tomatoes: They are rich in lycopene, which have been proven to lower the risk of getting cancer.

Green Tea: It is packed with powerful antioxidants that may lower blood pressure.

Grain cereals: They contain folate, Vitamin B, which helps prevent breast cancer.

Beans and Pulse: They offer an excellent source of vegetable protein into your diet and the intake of beans and pulses such as lentils and chickpeas are associated with reduced breast cancer risk.

Garlic: It contains rich source of cancer-fighting compounds that can slow tumor growth and prevent breast cancer risk.

Dark Green Leafy vegetables: Studies have shown that chemicals present in them may help prevent cells from DNA damage and induce cell death, which could reduce the risk of cancer.

By: Kanchan Naikawadi

The writer is a preventive healthcare specialist at Indus Health Plus.