6 Tips to Keep Your Breasts Healthy

Breast cancer often happens in women with no risk factors, but you can help yourself by adopting the following habits all year long for optimum breast health.

Although most lifestyle factors influence risk of breast cancer only to a minor extent, here are some tips to keep your breasts and your body healthy.

1. Maintain a healthy body weight
   Weight gain and obesity may increase your risk of breast cancer. In addition, women who are overweight or obese after menopause have a 30-60 percent higher breast cancer risk than those who are lean. The best way to figure out if you’re at a healthy weight is to calculate your body mass index (BMI). However, even BMI isn’t a perfect measure since we come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s better than weight alone since it takes height into account too. Weight gain and obesity may increase your risk of breast cancer.
2. Make time for regular exercise
   Adopt an active lifestyle. Aim for 30 minutes or more of moderate aerobic activity at least five days per week. What you do doesn’t need to be intense or time-consuming. Small things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, biking short distances instead of driving or parking farther away when you drive to the store can make a difference.
3. Minimize or avoid alcohol
   Alcohol is one of the most well established dietary risk factor for breast cancer. Women who consume more than two glasses of alcohol a day are at higher risk. Drinking in moderation may be okay, but try to limit yourself to less than one drink a day (less than 2 drinks a day for men).
4. Eat more veggies
   Consume more vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower), dark leafy greens, carrots, tomatoes, citrus fruits, berries and cherries.
5. Breastfeed if you can
   you may have heard that breastfeeding is good for babies, but did you know it has benefits for mothers too? One of those benefits. Mothers who breastfeed their babies for six months or longer may have a slightly lower risk of developing breast cancer.
6. Prevention is your best protection
   Living your healthiest life is a great step toward reducing your breast cancer risk, but it’s not enough on its own. It’s also important to know your risk, get screened regularly and pay attention to your breasts so you can take action if you notice a change. The truth is no one can control whether they get breast cancer—but there’s a lot we can control to keep ourselves, and our breasts, as healthy as possible. Current recommendations include a breast self-examination every month and:
   

(This October take advantage of the October Offer and get screened at M.P.Shah Hospital at 50% off. See Poster for Details).