Breast health is health, which is why we need to think about it all year long!
You would literally have to live under a rock to not know that October is Breast Health Awareness Month. This is the month that we are bombarded by all things pink, while being poked and prodded to get our annual mammogram. Breast cancer is big business and October is its biggest sales month.
Whether or not you agree with the breast cancer business (I don’t), breast cancer is not waiting until October to rear its ugly head, and neither should you.
Every month, every day, should be about breast health awareness because at the end of the day, breast health is health. There is no time like the present to get healthy.
Here are my six rules to live by that will not only lower your risk of breast cancer, or breast cancer recurrence, they will lower your risk of all chronic diseases. Remember that in every decade of a woman’s life after the age of 40, exponentially more women die of heart disease than breast cancer. Additionally, as many women die each year of complications of bone fractures as do of breast cancer. By following these simple rules, you can significantly decrease the likelihood of breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and weight-related illnesses.
- Adopt a plant-based, whole-food, low-glycemic diet. The Mediterranean diet is a great example of this.
- Be active. Sitting is the new smoking.
- Practice gratitude. Grateful people live longer and happier.
- Prioritize sleep. It’s where the healing happens.
- Filter your water. Get rid of plastics. Detoxify your environment.
- Live with joy and purpose. We were all put in this world to be the best versions of ourselves. Strive for that every day.
Jenn Simmons, MD
Integrative oncologist and functional medicine physician
