InnerLife Wellness Center
17 Pine Road, Belleville, St. Michael, Barbados
Email: health@innerlifewellness.com :: Telephone: 246-426-3825
17 Pine Road, Belleville, St. Michael, Barbados
Email: health@innerlifewellness.com :: Telephone: 246-426-3825
The incidence of Breast Cancer in women in the United States has quadrupled in the last 40 years, causing 44,300 deaths annually. If it is localized and detected early, the survival rate is 96%. However, if the cancer has spread regionally, the survival rate drops to 75%; if it has spread to distant parts of the body, the rate is only 20%. Cancer prevention and early detection are paramount to lowering your risk of this disease.
Depite a dramatic increase in research funding and awareness, cancer’s cause is still under debate - ranging from genetics to retro-active viruses to our daily exposure to environmental and lifestyle pollutants, including radiation, contraceptives, diet, pesticides, man-made carcinogens, hormones and antibiotics and few conclusive preventative measures have been developed. Unfortunately, mammograms have not been as accurate in cancer diagnosis as originally hoped because their difficulty to interpret leads to a broad range of inconsistent conclusions.
Yet, in all of this, there is a definite ray of hope! While most observations have been highly selective in looking only for some outside, external agent as the cause, some research has been directed to looking at the breast tissues themselves and what may be going wrong inside them to allow cancer to occur. The fact is, it’s unlikely that it’s any one factor alone. It’s more probable that many elements - both external and internal are involved in some way in breast cancer. From this recent research, some remarkable facts have emerged which can be quickly turned into a cost-effective program of prevention and self-help.
Your body’s largest lymphatic network stretches from the breasts to an area just under each arm. This area contains a network of filtering devices and pathogen storage areas which act to cleanse the breast and blood of cellular debris and toxins, and safely hold viruses, bacteria and other pathogens for destruction and removal by the body’s immune system. Such a filtering network is essential to a healthy body. Like plugged-up plumbing, if the network becomes blocked or constricted, lumps, cysts and infections can develop which, if not corrected within a timely manner, can turn into cancer. Ensuring that the lymphatic network within the breast remains unconstricted is of critical importance.
It’s reasonable to conclude that restriction of the lymphatic network and circulation within the breasts could greatly increase one’s risk of developing breast cancer, as it allows the build-up of carcinogenic compounds without the appropriate lymphatic drainage. In other words, when the lymphatic network cannot be drained, the body’s garbage cannot be removed, poisoning the life within the breasts, allowing cancer to ensue. Therefore, anything which is found to restrict lymphatic flow within the breast is a contraindication of breast health and should be avoided.
Finding the means to enhance lymphatic drainage could just be the safest, easiest and most effective way to reduce the risk of breast cancer, and perhaps even prevent it from ever occurring.
Quite ironically, what may cause the most unhealthy restriction of the breasts is not found within the breast tissue but outside of them: bras have been found to severely constrict lymphatic flow in the breasts and impede blood circulation. Indeed, because of this, bras may just be the single most important factor behind breast cancer. It is not just coincidence that breast cancer rates are highly correlated to the bra’s cultural popularity - an invention solely promoted by fashion in the 1930’s as we’ve seen breast cancer rates increase over the past 50 years. They offer no real medical benefit, and even when they were first promoted, some health professionals spoke against bras because of the possible restricting effects it has on the lymphatic network.
Recent research seems to justify their concerns. A medical anthropologist, Sidney Singer, performed a very simple experiment, comparing the incidence of breast cancer in Fiji within two groups of women: those that wore bras and those that didn’t. Diet, lifestyle and environment were the same for both groups. Interestingly, it was discovered that those who wore bras had the same rate of breast cancer as women living in the U.S., whereas those that went bras-less experienced little, if any, breast cancer at all. Later, it was also learned that wearing a bras some 12-14 hours a day actually increased the production of prolactin, a hormone which acts to decrease overall blood circulation in the breast.
Again, the facts are becoming clear. The constricting properties of a bra not only make it difficult for safe and healthy lymphatic flow, but also decreases overall blood circulation When both lymphatic and blood flow are unduly restricted, cellular debris, impurities, toxins, environmental pollutants, and pathogens cannot be safely excreted from the breast. This leaves a kind of "systemic garbage" that the breasts are left to "stew" in which, if left too long, will cause infectious carcinogenic blockages which may eventually lead to cancer.
If you think about it, it makes all the sense in the world! When bras are not worn, the breasts are allowed to move independently with the body, creating a natural and efficient "pumping action" that acts to drain the lymphatic network of the breasts regularly and easily. Unfortunately, bras restrict such independent movement of the breasts. Obviously, anything we can do to re-introduce or accelerate the body’s lymphatic drainage of the breasts, removing the toxins and carcinogenic compounds from within the breast tissue, will thus lower the risk of these compounds causing any problems.
Bras are likely here to stay, despite their restrictive nature, so there are ways of perhaps getting around these drawbacks and help accelerate drainage of the lymphatic network:
Most importantly, if a bra is absolutely necessary or preferred, wear one that is not too restrictive or constricting. It should offer support but not entirely interfere with the all-natural movement of your breasts when walking or moving. The more free your breasts are to move independently from the body, the more pumping action will naturally take place, and that means the more drainage that will naturally occur. Also remove your bra when sleeping to allow the blood to circulate and lymphatic drainage to proceed normally at night.
Regularly stimulate the nipples by gently rubbing and squeezing them for a few minutes. This action will naturally release the hormone oxytocin within the breast tissue. Remember, wearing a restrictive bra causes the release of the hormone prolactin which acts to reduce the circulation of fluids within the breast - something we don’t want! Oxytocin is a hormone which will naturally and safely reverses these effects, especially helping release any build-up of fluids and toxins within the breasts glands.
Get into the preventive habit of massaging each breast nightly, or at least 3 times weekly. Holding each breast gently, begin squeezing and releasing a small portion of the breast, in a sort of gentle pumping action, rhythmically working your way up from the base of the breast to the underarm - always towards and into the underarm, following the natural direction of lymphatic flow. Massage each breast in this manner for at least 5 minutes at a time. This action of massage is most important as it acts to accelerate lymphatic drainage of the breast tissue, pushing and pumping the lymphatic vessels clear of debris and unwanted, possibly infectious, materials.
Be aware of the fact that as you massage each breast, toxins will be pumped back through the lymphatic network, actually returning back into your body’s circulation, allowing the body now to naturally excrete these toxins, or render them harmless. If your breasts have been storing toxins for some time, don’t be surprised if suddenly within the first few days or weeks of massaging, you begin to experience some form of allergic reaction to the amount of toxins now being released. We have some anecdotal reports of women experiencing mild to medium cases of hives, increased allergies of the sinuses, headaches, some cramping, etc. So, don’t be alarmed.
This is actually a rather good sign that the toxins are finally being released from the breast tissue. Remember, toxins are not friendly chemicals. In sufficient numbers, they can cause an allergic reaction such as hives. If you are individual that is sensitive to these problems, simply cut back on the amount of initial massaging you do, allowing the body to more slowly get rid of your toxins, reducing the reactiveness of these chemicals in your body simply by reducing the amount of toxins the body has to deal with at one time. You may also wish to try a number of Vaxa products which will help detoxify toxins being released in the body, such as TriCardia+ and Anti-Oxin+, and Aller-Sine too, which helps the body naturally counter the effects of histamine (and hence, the allergic reaction) build-up the toxins may have initiated.
TriCardia+ and Immune-Aid+ which will help to drain the lymphatic network while enhancing immune system activity so as to fight against any lymphatic infections occurring within the breasts. Foods that will also naturally help cleanse and flush the lymphatic system are raw (to slightly steamed) cabbage, brocolli and cauliflower, as well as squash.
Also the use of whole grains, fruits & vegetables, and berries, cow’s milk, soya products, and flax seed contain wonderful substances called phyto-estrogens which are know to be anticarcinogenic. Include these regularly and amply within your diet. Indeed, a number of studies within the last decade have demonstrated that a diet high in phyto-estrogens have been strongly associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of breast cancer. *You may also also supplement with standardized, all-natural phyto-estrogens by taking Vaxa’s Endocrin for Women and Preserve to ensure adequate phyto-estrogen intake.
Antiperspirants generally use chemicals which cause the underlying lymph node in the underarm to become constricted and subsequently block lymphatic drainage.
Avoid eating vegetables which have been grown with pesticides, and meats which have been raised with hormones and antibiotics. The low-strength antibiotics used in most farm bred cattle, chicken and fish feed, lowers the effectiveness of your immune system, and can allow infections to worsen within the lymphatic network of the breast tissue. And both the pesticides and hormones in animal/fish feeds will greatly interfere with your endocrine system, introducing uncommon (non-human) estrogens into your system which may prove carcinogenic when stored within the tissues of the breasts.
If at all possible, try to abstain from synthetic estrogens contain in some hormone replacement therapies, especially those which are derived from the urine of horses. These contain non-human estrogens which have bee linked with the risk of cancer in women. In a meta-analysis of over 51 studies involving over 160,000 women from around the world, it has been found conclusively that non-plant based HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) increases the risk of breast and other cancers in women, and further, that the risks of cancer increase the longer a women stays on the HRT.
If a hormone replacement strategy is needed, use phyto-estrogens which are plant based, completely safe and carry with it the added benefit of being anticarcinogenic (keep cells from becoming cancerous) and antiangiogenetic (tumor reducing) activities. In a meta-analysis of over 51 studies involving over 160,000 women from around the world, it has been found conclusively that non-plant based HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) increases the risk of breast and other cancers, and further, that the risks increase the longer a women stays on the HRT. *Vaxa offers the Women’s Strategy Pac, rich in safe phyto-estrogens, for just these very purposes.
Naturally occurring substances found in coffee, tea, cola and chocolate, which are well known to stimulate overproduction of cellular products such as fibrous tissue and cyst fluid. Women who abstain from these products have generally less problems with cysts, especially during PMS. Also, make sure that your intestinal bacterial flora are constantly being renewed (Vaxa’s ReFlora+ will ensure this) as this has been shown to prevent the resynthesis of toxic estrogen compounds, especially if you are a meat eater.
And make sure that your bowel movements are regular and normal (try using Vaxa’s Colod-Aid+ for restoring normal movements), as a link between cellular abnormalities in breast fluid and the frequency of bowel movement has been found. Women having fewer than 3 bowel movements per week experience 4.5 times more fibrocystic breast disease than women who have at least one movement per day. Again removing toxins from the body is imperative in keeping the system clean. When the "plumbing" is backed-up, even breast tissue suffers.
A new study out of Sweden and Harvard, adds to the growing evidence that eating monounsaturated fats, the kind of fats found in olive and canola oils, may significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer. In a study consisting of 60,000 women, those women who ingested about 10 grams of monounsaturated fats daily (3/4 of tablespoon) cut their risk of breast cancer in half.
These results were similar to previous studies that looked specifically at olive oil, the main source of monunsaturated fat in Mediterranean diets. But its not yet clear that these results mean that polyunsaturated fats are really detrimental. Rather, it is suggested that a balance intake of fats which include mono- and polyunsaturated fats, as well as sources of saturated fats (in a ratio of unsaturated to saturated to at least 2:1, are essential to good health, as these are our only source of Essential Fatty Acids -- Omega-3’s and Omega-6’s. Indeed, cutting out saturated fats from the diet in a recent large government study (U.S. Govt. MRFIT study involving 12,000 men and women) were seen to increase the risk of cardivascular diseases and other degenerative carcinogenic dysfunctions, including cancer.
Other recent studies also suggest that it is a good idea to keep away from hydrogentated fats (margarine and refined cooking and salad oils) as much as possible, since they generally contain the dangerous and toxic “trans” form of fatty acid which are known to now be a major cause of heart disease and cancer. The good news is that “butter” is really “in” again, being a needed saturated fat, and much safer than margarine, and tastes better too. But regardless of the source of fats, 1 gram of fat still contains 9 calories, and studies suggest that the heavier you are, the higher the risk of breast cancer, especially after menopause.
The bottom line: use and eat olive oil and canola oil, fry with them too, but sparingly, and, use butter instead of margarine in all your cooking and eating needs, and even some lard (a saturated fat), which is safer than using margarine and refined cooking oils. Be sure you’re eating twice the amount of unsaturated to saturated fats in your diet (roughly twice the amount of olive/canola oil to butter), and make sure your daily fat intake is only 30% of your calories per day. If you’re worried about relying solely on your diet for your EFA intake, try supplementing with Vaxa’s Omegacin, a complete formula of all Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) which guarantees that you receive all Omega-3’s and Omega-6’s, as well as all other hard to find fatty acids essential for good health.
Finally, be sure to share this preventative information with every female you know and, most especially, with every female pubescent or older child that you have in your family. Knowing these simple preventative procedures goes a long way in reducing the stress and anxiety caused by the fear of cancer onset. Moreover, these simple procedures could save your life and theirs. Breast cancer could be just this easy to prevent. Of course, please continue to follow the advice of your physician, and report to him/her about any lump or pain which remains within the breast for more than a month. Don’t wait to do something about your health right now, especially when it’s so easy!