Healthy life tips - exercise #1!!!

16 Steps To A Healthier Life For You And Your Family

from the Breast Cancer Options 2011 Healthy Lifestyles Calendar

A growing body of evidence shows that healthy lifestyle factors like a good diet and regular exercise provide significant benefits, possibly offering protection against cancer recurrences about on a par with chemotherapy and the newer hormonal and drug treatments. If you combine these risk-reducing habits and also limit your exposure to toxins you will benefit even more.

1. Exercise! Breast cancer patients will be 50 percent less likely to die from the disease than sedentary women if they exercise on a regular basis. Women undergoing treatments for breast cancer benefit from moderate intensity, regular aerobic activity.

2. Control your weight. Weight is a bit confusing. If you are overweight before menopause, your risk of breast cancer is lower than average. If you are overweight after menopause, your risk of breast cancer is higher than average.

3. Spend eight hours a night in darkness to encourage normal melatonin levels. The hormone Melatonin is released at night and has cancer-fighting properties. It's the reason you get sleepy when it's dark and research indicates that melatonin also puts cancer cells to sleep. Make sure you get regular exposure to bright light during the daytime.

4. Eat an organically grown diet whenever possible. Your diet should contain fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, organic protein and healthy-fats. Breast cancer has been linked to some pesticides used on non-organic fruits and vegetables and estrogen-like hormones used in raising livestock.

5. Avoid fried, char-broiled, or barbecued as forms of cooking. The Char contains PAHs polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that cause mammary tumors in animals. Can't give it up? Take an aspirin with your char-broiled meal, as studies suggest that aspirin may negate the potentially harmful effects of flame-broiled foods.

6. Avoid bleached products, i.e. coffee filters, paper,napkins, toilet tissue, tampons and sanitary napkins. Using bleached coffee filters alone can result in a lifetime exposure to dioxin that exceeds acceptable risks. The  FDA detected dioxins and dozens of other substances in conventional tampons.

7. Avoid using chlorine bleach for household cleaning or laundry. The chlorine in your dishwashing detergent mixes with steam to create a gas. When the dishwasher is opened, this toxic gas is released. Hydrogen peroxide bleaches are a safe alternative; they break down into water and oxygen.

8. Drink filtered or bottled water, not city water that contains chlorine and fluoride. A simple water filter can now serve as a valuable safeguard against toxic substances and cancer.

9. Do not use pesticides or herbicides on your lawn or garden. They mimic estrogen, a known breast cancer risk factor. A cup of salt in a gallon of vinegar will kill weeds.

10. Reduce or eliminate purchase of plastic products. Some plastics leach hormone-disrupting chemicals into whatever they come in contact with. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics are dangerous and used in toys that children put in their mouths, so keep an eye out for nontoxic toys.

11. Use personal care products without chemicals like parabens or phthalates. They disrupt normal hormone function and are found in many personal care products.

12. Avoid alcohol. Regular, moderate use of alcohol affects the levels of important female hormones. Two to five drinks per day may be associated with a 40% higher rate of breast cancer than in non-drinkers. Women who choose to drink can lower their risk of developing breast cancer by taking 400 mcg. of folic acid or eat a  olate rich diet.

13. Use wet cleaning rather than dry cleaning which contains PERC (perchloroethylene). If you must use traditional dry cleaning, open the plastic bags on your clothing and air them out before putting them in a closet or on your body.

14. Avoid PBDE s (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) found in electronic equipment and furniture. They are endocrine disruptors linked to reproductive damage, affect thyroid hormones and may cause cancer. They are flame retardants often added to polyurethane foam, various plastics, and electronics equipment. Choose carpet pads, bedding, cushions, and upholstered furniture made from natural fibers including wool, cotton, and hemp.

15. Learn how to handle stress. Levels of the stress hormone cortisol rise with increased stress. High cortisol levels suppress immune response by reducing natural  killer cell activity. These cells are important in surveillance against malignant cells and for destroying viruses and tumor cells.

16. Learn to read labels; become an informed consumer