5 simple ways to prevent breast cancer

Exercise

Regular exercise promotes good health and also protect against breast cancer in several ways. Exercise helps to control weight.

In fact, the Women’s Health Initiative found that women who walked briskly for 1 hour and 25 minutes to 2.5 hours had an 18 per cent less risk of breast cancer than women who were inactive. To protect yourself from breast cancer—and all cancers.

Know your family history

About 5 to 10 per cent of all cancers, including breast cancer, are hereditary, passed from one generation to the next via a variety of mutated genes. Your father’s family counts as much as your mother’s. Multiple diagnoses on either side of your family can be a clue to a hereditary link, so be sure to take a look at second- and third-degree relatives, too (aka, your aunts, uncles, cousins, and more).

Breastfeeding

Women who consistently breastfeed for the first 6 months have a 10 per cent reduced risk of death from cancer compared with those who don’t, found a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. One reason: Because a woman doesn’t menstruate while breast-feeding, it limits the number of cycles she has over a lifetime, which lowers the amount of estrogen her body is exposed to.

Eat the right food everyday

Women who had the highest carotenoid levels in their blood including lycopene and beta-carotene had a 19 per cent lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels. Carotenoids vibrant pigments that act as antioxidants are found in fruits and vegetables such as leafy greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and red peppers. Women who consumed more carotenoids had an even lower risk of developing estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer (which is often more aggressive).

Take extra steps if you are at high risk

You have ever heard of the word ‘previvor’? Women with a higher risk of breast cancer can undergo prophylactic mastectomy after being diagnosed with BRCA mutation

And while a prophylactic mastectomy can drastically reduce risk, it isn’t your only option. You can also opt for chemopreventive drugs such as tamoxifen, which reduce risk, along with close monitoring and lifestyle changes.