Promote Breast Health with Foods, Supplements, and More

Foods for Breast Health

• Juice with raw fruits and vegetables at least twice a week.
• Add garlic and ginger to foods for flavor and antioxidant activity.
• Eat phytonutrient-rich foods such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale. All contain indole-3-carbinol, which promotes breast health.
• Drink green tea daily.
• Increase your intake of healthy fats through fish oil-rich fish such as salmon, cod, and haddock, as well as monounsaturated extra-virgin olive oil.
• Eat soy and flax 2-3 times per week, unless you have estrogen-dependent cancer, in which case, avoid all soy.
• Avoid eating well-done, burned, or charred meats.
• Limit your intake of alcohol to no more than one glass a day.

Supplements for Breast Health

• Alpha lipoic acid is a versatile antioxidant that is both fat- and water-soluble. It has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of radiation and chemotherapy as well as recycle other antioxidants such as vitamins C and E. I recommend 50-100 milligrams daily for all women.
• Antioxidant vitamins A, C, D, and E help protect immunity. You can get all four in a quality multivitamin mineral complex.
• N-acetylcysteine (NAC), when broken down to glutathione, promotes breast health. The same is true of whey protein. I recommend 500 mg of NAC and 30 grams of whey protein daily.
• Melatonin is a sleep-regulating hormone that decreases with age that may also support breast health. Start with ½-1 mg prior to bedtime, and work your way up to 3 mg, keeping in mind the potential for side effects such as vivid dreams and, very rarely, headaches. At these doses, you must work closely with your physician.
• Immunomodulators, such as coenzyme Q10, promote a healthy immune system. Take 180 mg a day for maintenance and 400 mg a day for extra breast health support (120 mg if you take Q-gel).
• Essiac tea contains herbs such as burdock root, sheep's sorrel, slippery elm bark, and others, and is regarded as a potent tonic and detoxifier that supports the body's natural defenses. You can find it in most health food stores.

Environmental Toxins and Breast Health

• Maintain a hormone-residue-free diet with organic range meats and dairy whenever possible.
• Halt use of chemical pesticides and insecticides around your home, your yard, your pets, and yourself. Also avoid hair spray, perfumes, soaps, plastic wraps and food containers, household cleaners, and dry cleaning and gasoline vapors. These "xenobiotics" can mimic estrogen and lock on to receptor sites in the breast, causing abnormal cell division.
• Try to buy foods from markets that use old-fashioned butcher paper to wrap meats and seafood. If that's not possible, remove the plastic wrap from your foods as soon as you get home and place in glass containers. Do not microwave food with plastic wrap.
• You can neutralize many petrochemicals by consuming at least one tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, rice bran oil, wheat germ oil, or shark-liver oil daily on salads or veggies. These oils contain squalene, an immune-enhancing nutrient that neutralizes many petrochemicals.
• Avoid antiperspirants. They prevent you from eliminating toxins, which may be deposited in the lymph nodes in the armpits. Use a natural deodorant instead, or consider a mineral-salt "stone" deodorant found in health food stores.