Chances are that you know someone who has faced a breast cancer diagnosis. Many of us have lost loved ones to breast cancer. There are so many factors on the plate when it comes to preventing and healing breast cancer. In particular, diet is an extraordinarily powerful anti-cancer treatment, but that is a whole separate post in itself. Here, I focus on three lifestyle changes every woman should know for better breast health.
1. Take an underwire haitus
Breast tissue houses a big part of our lymphatic tissue. Our lymph system is like the garbage disposal for the body and it flushes out toxins. Unlike our cardiovascular system, however, the lymph system does not have a pump to move the fluid. Instead, the movement of our body is fully responsible for flushing toxins through lymph. Yes, that means breasts are supposed to bounce!
According to breast health expert Cheri-lynn Burk, underwire bras impede the movement of breast tissue and cause the lymph tissue to gather toxins. And she isn’t alone in spreading this news… many, many alternative health practitioners warn against wearing underwires. Additionally, a highly respected energy worker and holistic health practitioner once explained to me that, since we are energetic beings, the metal in underwire bras impede the flow of several important meridians that flow across our torso.
But are underwire bras really such a big deal? Some convincing but circumstantial evidence says yes. In the book Dressed to Kill, authors Sydney Singer and Soma Grismaijer conducted a study of over 4,000 women and discovered some shocking results:
- women who wore bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer
- women who wore bras less than 12 hours per day had a 1 out of 52 risk of breast cancer
- women who never or rarely wore bras had a 1 out of 168 chance of breast cancer
Further, one controlled study found that bra wearers had twice the risk of breast cancer compared with non bra users (although this could also reflect the point that the non bra users generally had smaller breasts and that correlated to the reduced cancer risk) And a Japanese study found that a bra can lower your melatonin (a extremely beneficial hormone) levels by 60%.
“Don’t underwire bras keep the girls perky?” you may be asking. Actually, according to a bra study from France (where else?), going braless actually keeps the girls perkier.
…women who did not use bras benefited in the long term, developing more muscle tissue to provide natural support. As France’s The Local notes, Rouillon also noticed that nipples gained a higher lift, in relation to the shoulders, on women who went braless. When bras are worn, the restrictive material prevents such tissue from growing, which may actually accelerate sagging, the study concluded. Source
I get it if going braless isn’t a lifestyle change you want to make. Fortunately, there are safer bra alternatives that allow better lymph flow.
First, you can remove the underwire from your bras. It does remove some support though, as would be expected.
Second, purchase non-underwire bras. Some options include non-underwire bralettes from your favorite lingerie brand, or the organic bras from Blue Canoe.
If you can’t see yourself making the changes listed above, there are still steps you can take if you won’t give up your underwire:
- Massage and bounce your breasts before bed to aid lymph flow
- Wear you bra as little as possible
- Never ever sleep in a bra, as night is when the detox processes of the body rev up. We need to support that natural detox by keeping the breast tissue unconstricted.
2. Skip the Mammogram
I ruffled a lot of feathers when I gave you the other side of the colonoscopy story and urged you to think hard before getting a routine colonoscopy. Now I’m going to tell you to think twice about mammograms as well!
Mammograms have long been controversial and, as time passes, we have more and more evidence to avoid the harmful affects of this type of cancer screening.
According to health expert Dr. Mercola,
The Institute of Medicine is finally acknowledging the toxic effects of mammogram radiation as a significant factor in the development of breast cancer; just one mammogram can expose you to the radiation equivalent of 1,000 chest x-rays…
In September 2010, the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical journals, published the first study in years7 to examine the effectiveness of mammograms. Their findings are a far cry from what most public health officials would have you believe.The bottom line is that mammograms seem to have reduced cancer death rates by only 0.4 deaths per 1,000 women—an amount so small it might as well be zero. Put another way, 2,500 women would have to be screened over 10 years for a single breast cancer death to be avoided. (Source)
The radiation and lack of effectiveness is not the only problem with mammograms. A big problem is the staggering numbers of false positives from mammograms. One study looked at three decades of U.S. data and found that 1 million women may have been mistakenly diagnosed with breast cancer due to mammogram screenings. Additionally, there is concern among alternative medical practitioners and even some Western medicine doctors that the intense compression of breast tissue during mammograms may spread the growth of any cancerous cells.
Interestingly, the body has a strong defense system against breast tumors and the immune system allows 30 of breast tumors to go away on their own (source).
Screening Alternatives
Growing in popularity, thermograms provide a safer method for breast cancer detection. There are pitfalls, however, as Sarah explains in her post Thermography: Not a Perfect Alternative to Mammograms. The problem is that women are often pressured to get a mammogram before or after a thermogram. She explains:
Be sure to have a discussion with your chosen thermographer before the appointment to be sure that he/she has a way for you to get only a breast ultrasound and not a mammogram if a suspicious area is detected.
3. Stop the toxic personal care products
In our modern world, we are inundated with chemicals. There are chemicals that we cannot always avoid, like air pollution.There are chemicals that we can minimize, like the toxic furniture and carpeting that we bring into our house. And then there are the chemicals that we can completely avoid, like the chemicals in cosmetics and body care items.
Whatever we put on our skin is absorbed into the blood stream. Those unpronounceable chemicals from your shampoo and hairspray and body wash all end up inside your body, where they increase the risk of cancer, warp your endocrine system and may even increase the risk of heart disease. In particular, natural health experts condemn perspirants and deodorants, since the aluminum from these products are found in cancerous breast tissue (source). I suggest DIY deodorant or this option.
Additionally, the estrogen-like chemical additives found in many cosmetics may increase the risk of breast cancer. Parabens are a primary offender, found in countless body care products. The molecular structure of parabens resembles estrogen, and may cause excessive estrogen activity in the body. Estrogen dominance is a contributor to breast cancer.
Formaldehyde, another cancerous additive in body care, is disguised under various names. Scan your hair care products for these 8 ingredient names indicating formaldehyde.
Fortunately, you don’t have to give up your primping for better breast health. There are so many online resources for safe cosmetics and body care recipes. Here are a few of my favorites:
Switching to safe personal care items is only part of the picture when it comes to reducing the carcinogenic burden on our bodies… but it is an important step and the first place to start if you are a newbie to toxin-reduction.
Do you practice any of these tips for breast health?
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I read a similar blog post on Cheeseslave some time back…..and I was thrilled to have an excuse to get rid of my bra. My problem is small breasts and the fact that I look like a ten year old boy without a bra. I just chose to wear one when I am out in public and go braless at home.
Jessica, my problem is people think I’m vulgar if I walk around with no bra, because mine are so big. I envy all the women who are small-breasted and don’t (have to) wear bras publicly. Also, there are physical issues with being active and being large (pain, and black eye as mentioned above).
Absolutely, ditch the bra. I haven’t worn a bra in 10 years because they suffocated my breasts. Every time I took off my bra my breasts felt like a ton because of all the blood suddenly rushing into my breasts. Bras impair the coopers ligament from doing its job. My solution: I buy a cotton bra, 1-2 sizes smaller, take out the under wire, cut off the sides and straps so that I only have the cups and a bit of the sides left. Then I pin the bra to my blouses. In the summer I wear blouses with breast pockets so the safety pin won’t show. In cooler weather I pin the bra to my undershirts. At home I go bra-less. I am 58 and my breasts are purkey. C-cup. I had one mammogram 15 years ago and will NEVER have another, so painful how they squeezed my breasts into that machine. I don’t use deodorant either.
This doesn’t make sense: “Further, one controlled study found that bra wearers had twice the risk of breast cancer compared with bra users.”
What’s the difference between a bra wearer and a bra user?
I assume that’s a typo and that she meant to type “non bra users.”
Yes, it is supposed to be “non bra users.” Sorry for the typo!
It makes more sense now.
I’m confused. The studies didn’t seem to differentiate between bras with underwires and those without. So according to the studies then non-underwire bras and training bras (I guess they’re called bralettes now) are bad too?
What I’d really like to know is how safe are training bras to wear at night.
The less constriction on all parts of your body at night, the better. That especially includes your breasts and underwear region, but also sock area and every part. The body does best when it’s not bound. If binding prevents lymph from movement in the breasts, it stands to reason it would do the same everywhere else. Let your body relax when sleeping, and wear as little as possible.
For young people that still want cute bras, I have switched over to wearing ‘triangle bras’ and ‘bralettes’, even popular places like Victoria’s Secret sell them. I am also not that well endowed (C cup), but I have found that some of the thinnest bras seem to actually look the best because they don’t squish my breasts into an unnatural shape.
Kaela, thanks for the blatant ageism! Not-young women appreciate cute bras too. I should know.
I’m not so sure that advising women to not get a mammogram is a good idea.
There are risks with every type of health care that we get. People forget that even the every day medications that they take can have an impact on their health in the long run.
Yes there may be a risk with mammograms, but there is also a risk with radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. The same radiation they use to reduce the amount of cancerous tissue is the same radiation that can cause it, however it is well known to significantly reduce the number of tumors and cancerous cells. It is difficult enough to know what to do for your health sometimes, as the media and government will bombard you with “Do’s and don’t’s” that change sometimes week by week. i.e. drinking the occasional glass of wine whilst pregnant still causes controversy and confusion among women. However, as we age as women we are all at a risk of developing break cancer. I have studied it on a basic nursing level and it almost seems “we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.” Pretty much everything we do, from our diet, to exercise, to the type of deodorant we use, to treatment of breast cancer, to whether or not we are on contraception, to being pregnant, even not being pregnant increases our risk of developing breast cancer. Putting people off getting screening might leave out a person who is unknowingly suffering from breast cancer and maybe asymptomatic. The earlier the diagnosis the more effective the treatment. I understand that there are false negative/positive results, but there are false negative/positive results for a lot of tests that diagnose various conditions and situations.
Encouraging mammograms in women over 50 is encouraging women to know the signs of breast cancer and allowing them to take an active role and taking responsibility for their own health and well being, it is also a method of health promotion.
Again I appreciate that there are risks but surely there are risks with everything we do, is it not better to get checked annually to be sure?
I am from the UK so maybe there are different protocols in different countries and hospitals in those countries for treatment and diagnosis.
I’m not trying to argue I’m just looking at it from another perspective. Again I emphasize I am looking at this from studying at a basic nursing level so I would be open to suggestions if anyone has a furthered knowledge in this area.
So, about removing the underwire: You can only realistically get away with that in a “full frame” bra, i.e. one that has material and elastic below the cups, rather than ending at the underwire line below the cups. Most bras these days are “frame-less” or “partial band”, so most of your existing bras probably won’t work. You can Google “partial band bra” and “full band bra” for pictures, if that’s helpful.
(I sew my own bras, which is why I know this–always an option if you’re patient and determined!)
also: for the well-endowed out there: There are bras out there with plastic underwires (I believe they’re usually marketed at breast cancer survivors). The plastic eliminates the metal concerns and is also more flexible than the metal kind, so you get a compromise in terms of support/comfort vs. cutting off circulation and lymph flow.
Nearly everybody has a hard time finding bras that fit, large and small breasted, but I would say anytime a bra is causing pain or discomfort, it should be retired. Pain is telling you something, and it’s not that your breasts are wrong–the bra is wrong!
Hello Lauren,
Just discovered your site today – honestly my heart just leaped with joy after reading a few of yours posts. Your site is a blessing. It is very encouraging to read about your healing journey. I have a friend who suffers much like you do and is on thousands of dollars of medication just to combat it. It is my hope that one day he will be able to embark on a GAPS diet and be on the road to recovery. Also- you are totally not alone with suffering from hair loss. I have recently gone off using topical steroids and one of the nasty side effects of withdrawal is that my hair has turned baby fine with a receding hairline and numerous balding spots. Unfortunately I exacerbated the situation by applying apple cider vinegar to my hair for the past week and it made it even finer! I didn’t realize that using it more than once a week would do that. I would really like to try your raw honey shampoo eventually once it gets a bit stronger.
This post was very informative, Definitely going to be looking into making my own deodorant from now on as well as buying wireless bras. Those statistics are quite shocking!
Thank you so much for your site Lauren. You are such a blessing to the online community.
Cheers, from your sister in Christ.
Thank you so much for your kind words and sharing your experiences!
Great article! But you forgot to mention *breastfeeding* as a way to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Many researchers speculate breastfeeding completes the life cycle of the breast cells thereby reducing the likliehood of abnormal cell growth. But from the comments it sounds like a lot of your readers are already on top of this;-)
Yes, great reminder and thanks for sharing!