How to Decrease Your Breast Cancer Risk

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Increase your exercise.

   Getting at least four hours of aerobic exercise per week has been correlated with a decreased risk of breast cancer.
   
   Aerobic exercise is anything that elevates your heart rate, such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, or riding a bike.Exercise has the additional benefit of helping you to lose weight and/or maintain a healthy weight.
   
   Being overweight is correlated to an increased risk of breast cancer.
   
   For this reason, exercising in order to stay at your ideal body weight can in turn reduce your risk.
2. 2

   Step 2: Quit or cut back on smoking.

   Tobacco smoke contains over 70 known carcinogens, so if you want to reduce your risk of breast cancer (among other cancers, such as lung cancer), you will want to quit smoking if possible.If you are interested in quitting but unsure of how to do so, your family doctor can provide you with strategies as well as medications that can help to satisfy your craving for nicotine while avoiding cigarettes.There are some factors that increase your risk of cancer over which you have little or no control (such as genetics) — but smoking is something you can control.
   
   Make a choice to greatly reduce your risk by quitting smoking.
   
   Speak to your doctor is this is of interest to you, because the health benefits are multiple, including reducing your risk of breast cancer. , Consume alcohol only in moderation if you are wanting to reduce your risk.Women should have one or fewer servings of alcohol daily.
   
   Men should have two or fewer drinks daily.
   
   One serving of alcohol is 12 oz of beer, 5 oz wine, or
   1.5 oz spirits. , Breastfeeding (for at least six months) has been correlated with a reduced risk of breast cancer, not to mention the numerous benefits it provides for your baby.
   
   If you have a newborn or are considering becoming pregnant, think about breastfeeding.Breastfeeding for a year or longer may further decrease your risk of breast cancer.Giving birth to your first child before age 35 will decrease your chances of developing breast cancer later in life.
   
   If you have your first child after age 35, however, you may in fact increase your risk of breast cancer.Having more children can also be a protective factor against breast cancer due to the beneficial hormonal effects of being pregnant. , Interestingly enough, people who work night shifts have been shown to have an elevated risk of breast cancer.
   
   This is hypothesized to be due to disturbances in their levels of melatonin, a hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle., Reducing the stress in your life also has numerous health benefits which could all contribute to improving your overall health and reducing your risk of breast cancer.
   
   We live in a world where doing and accomplishing more can be thought of as an asset; however, make sure you also have enough time to rest and recharge, so that you do not suffer the potential health consequences of working around the clock., There is no conclusive evidence on this yet; however, eating a healthy and well-balanced diet is always in your best interest and good for your health, so there is no harm in prioritizing this area of life.
   
   Try focusing on lower fat diets that are high in fruits and vegetables, limiting red meat to less than five servings per week.
3. 3

   Step 3: Cut back on alcohol.Alcohol is another substance that can be harmful for your body and can lead to an increased risk of breast cancer.

4. 4

   Step 4: Opt for breastfeeding.

5. 5

   Step 5: Get good sleep.

6. 6

   Step 6: Reduce your stress.

7. 7

   Step 7: Eat a healthy and well-balanced diet.It is uncertain in the medical research whether or not dietary choices play an important role in one's risk of developing breast cancer.

Detailed Guide

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