Breast Health 1 – Five Chemicals to Avoid for Reducing your Breast Cancer Risk

Reduce your breast cancer risk.

by Judith G. Cobb, MH, CI, NCP

This article is not meant to diagnose or prescribe. It is meant for educational purposes only. Judith Cobb, Cobblestone Health, and Nature’s Sunshine Products accept no responsibility for results you get, whether good or bad, from using this information. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional.

I thank Ginny Irvin for permission to share her excellent article with you.

It takes more than just family history to help determine your breast cancer risk. Only 5–10% of cases are hereditary. But this number shouldn’t scare you. It should motivate you. Your risk for developing breast cancer is something you can help control. You need to know the environmental factors that put your health in danger. And new research from the National Institutes of Health can help. They looked at data from 60 studies and 3.5 million women. The results may surprise you …

Here are five chemicals to avoid for lowering your risk for breast cancer:

1.     Acrylamide: You’ll find it in commercial products like adhesives and grouts, but polyacrylamide gels also appear in surprising places including baby diapers, drinking water treatments and tobacco smoke. But most exposure to this chemical comes from your diet. Eliminating starchy foods cooked at high temperatures is a great start. Foods like French fries—which are usually loaded in chemical preservatives to begin with—may be the most dangerous.
2.     Aromatic Amines: These chemicals are ingredients in polyurethane and pesticide production, tobacco smoke and combustion exhaust and also show up in paints, printing inks, paper, liquid crystal displays (LCD), and even pharmaceuticals and hair dye. At least 15 of these chemicals produce mammary gland tumors and some of them may also cause asthma and lung damage. Many of them lack any testing.
3.     Benzene: Products like adhesive removers, paints, sealants, oils, and finishers usually include this chemical. Nothing exposes you to benzene like gasoline. Pumping gas is one way you’ll encounter it and storing gasoline in a basement or garage is another.  Even riding in a car can put you in contact with it. But don’t sell your car just yet. Auto exhaust and industrial air pollution in urban areas make this chemical almost impossible to avoid completely.
4.     Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): PAHs are found in tobacco smoke, car exhaust and air pollution. But the most surprising source may come from your grill. Charring or grilling your foods—especially meats—can create PAHs. You’re actually eating these. Marinating meats in beer before they hit the grill can help lower PAH levels by over 50%, but the best way to avoid this risk may be to cut back on the amount of foods you char or grill.
5.     Styrene: You can’t avoid this one completely. Cigarette smoke and air pollution—even indoor air filtration materials—put you into contact with it. One study looked at over 54,000 cases of invasive breast cancer in Texas between 1995 and 2000. Researchers found styrene increased breast cancer risk the most. It beat 11 other known environmental toxins. This chemical is also in building materials, adhesives, carpeting, home maintenance products, home craft supplies and Styrofoam packing.  Eating foods that touch Styrofoam can put you at risk: the cup you drink your coffee in at work, the plate you use to serve your child’s birthday cake, even the foam packing materials some foods come in. Skip the Styrofoam to help avoid this chemical.

The chemicals in your environment can mess with your hormones. And the ones on this list may put you at greater risk for breast cancer. You can’t avoid them entirely, but knowing the most dangerous ones and where to find them may help put the odds in your favor. Avoiding high temperature cooking, air pollution, and Styrofoam products are all good places to start. And remember, men get breast cancer, too.

What can you do to help protect yourself from damage that may have resulted from past exposure to these damaging chemicals? I recommend you consider using Nature’s Sunshine’s Enviro-Detox, a synergistic formula that helps cleanse and strengthen the detoxifying organs and eliminate toxins that are ingested through air-borne pollutants and exposure to chemicals. Enviro-Detox can be taken daily to ensure maximum protection and provide nutritional support for vital body functions. Toxins, if allowed to build up, can cause a large variety of health problems and weaken the immune system.

Ginny Irvin, ND, MH, CHC

Below are links to the product Ginny describes:

Nature’s Sunshine CANADA: Body DetoxNature’s Sunshine USA: Enviro-Detox

I invite you to read this follow-up article, where we look at things you can do proactively to keep your breasts healthy. If you have concerns about your health, or just don’t know where to begin making improvements, please contact me, Judith Cobb, to book an appointment. Skype, phone, webinar, and face-to-face appointments are available.

I also invite you to Like us on Facebook (Cobblestone Health Ltd) and to visit my other websites:
YourMenopauseCoach.com
CobblestoneHealth.com
iridology.education

Copyright © 2015 by Judith Cobb, Cobblestone Health Ltd. All rights reserved. Please respect the time it takes to write and publish articles. If you will link to this article and give proper attribution, you are encouraged to quote sections (though not the entire article).