The Alphabetical Breast Cancer Prevention Series
“C” Is For Carcinogens and Coconuts
A carcinogen is something that causes or produces cancer. Cut and dried. I once told my husband he was a carcinogen after he managed to once again make smoke come out of me ears. I consider anything that makes me upset like that cancer causing. It's called Stress. But the truth is, stress alone can't cause cancer. It's all the other bonafide pollutants that will get you first.
Top carcinogens include tobacco, asbestos, alcohol, acid mists, Hepatitis B&C, coal-tar, soot, solar radiation, sunlamps and sunbeds, Tamoxifen (an anti-cancer drug I just happen to be on), wood dust, ultraviolet radiation and x-rays.
Carcinogens accumulate in fatty tissues. Breasts, unfortunately, are made up of, mostly, fatty tissues. The average woman comes into contact with innumerable carcinogens and toxins daily, from the soaps she washes with to the makeup she uses, not to mention pesticide residues, smoke and exhaust fumes, solvents, and cleaning compounds.
You can help cut down the exposure and thus the risk of these carcinogens collecting and accumulating enough to kick-start a cancer problem by doing lots of little things.
The next time you go to buy a bottle of shampoo or conditioner, reach for something natural. Try Burt’s Bees or the Live Clean series which is pure vegan, eco-friendly and made from certified organic botanicals. Use Garnier pure clean styling gels and ammonia free hair dyes and beauty products.
I became a Norwex salesperson recently because I am trying to switch over to their chemical-free house cleaning solutions. They have microfiber cloths with silver in them that you simply wet with water and wipe to kill 99.9% of all the germs they come into contact with. Clean your entire house with water: the floors, bathroom, walls, sinks and counters. When your house smells like a cleaning agent it's because that agent has left a residue on whatever it was you cleaned. How clean is that?
If you want to know more about it, let me know!
Of course, it's not easy to quit smoking, but if anything will kill you, it's tobacco. It's a real no-brainer. And as we learned, our breasts accumulate carcinogens. They store them up, waiting for whatever level is enough for them to kick off a cancer growth. So that means your "odd cigarette" you have only when you're out drinking is remembered. Not by you, but by your boob. Go figure. Brainy boobs. They keep count of your drinks, your smokes, your falls, everything that can damage cells.
More tips are to eat much less char-broiled foods (up there with the soot-factor I figure). Avoid the “fake and bake” booths before you head south this year. Use a self-tanner by a reputable company like Arbonne.
I became a Norwex salesperson recently because I am trying to switch over to their chemical-free house cleaning solutions. They have microfiber cloths with silver in them that you simply wet with water and wipe to kill 99.9% of all the germs they come into contact with. Clean your entire house with water: the floors, bathroom, walls, sinks and counters. When your house smells like a cleaning agent it's because that agent has left a residue on whatever it was you cleaned. How clean is that?
If you want to know more about it, let me know!
Of course, it's not easy to quit smoking, but if anything will kill you, it's tobacco. It's a real no-brainer. And as we learned, our breasts accumulate carcinogens. They store them up, waiting for whatever level is enough for them to kick off a cancer growth. So that means your "odd cigarette" you have only when you're out drinking is remembered. Not by you, but by your boob. Go figure. Brainy boobs. They keep count of your drinks, your smokes, your falls, everything that can damage cells.
More tips are to eat much less char-broiled foods (up there with the soot-factor I figure). Avoid the “fake and bake” booths before you head south this year. Use a self-tanner by a reputable company like Arbonne.
Wear sunscreen always. And avoid having x-rays done if possible. I’ve had 2 CT scans in the past year- which has given me the same amount of radiation most people would get in four years. All in the name of trying to survive my breast cancer diagnosis. Does this make sense to anyone? Yes, we needed the information the CT scans gave us before we could proceed, but getting rid of one cancer by giving a patient something that could cause another cancer still mystifies me.
Let’s not even go to the Tamoxifen issue! As I write this, I have a biopsy scheduled for December 13 in Terrace to see if the Tamoxifen is causing ovarian cancer, like it can. I have been dealing with daily cramping of the uterus area for months now. Like Japanese water torture, it never lets up. Good thing stress can't cause a cancer. Although it will help a cancer to grow once it starts.
Your best bet is to use your common sense and try to keep life as organic and healthy as possible. Don’t get x rays every time you see the dentist if you don’t need to. Don’t have mammograms more than is recommended. And if you do have to have x rays, try to de-tox yourself immediately after. Soak in a warm bath of sea salt and baking soda or sit in an infra red sauna for 30 minutes. If nothing else, your skin will feel nice and soft after.
Our Food Topic This week is “C” for Coconuts.
Listed in the Top 10 Super Foods (foods that have a dozen or more unique healthy properties), coconuts can save your life. Used as alternative blood plasma during war times, coconut milk, oil and cream from young coconuts has fifteen pages of benefits listed in David Wolfe’s Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future.It says that coconut oil, due to its complete saturation, is superior to olive oil for cooking and can withstand being heated up to 170F. Coconut oil is a healing oil containing immune system enhancing properties. It regulates hormone production, increases the body’s metabolism (which helps with weight loss) and supports cardiovascular health, to name only a few attributes.
Recommended is one to four tablespoons a day, used in salad dressings, stir-frys, baking or straight up. Look for it at your health food store.
