Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence
This is exciting news! Recommendations from the American Institute of Cancer Research or AICR for diet and lifestyle to reduce breast cancer recurrence have been studied and have been shown to reduce the risk of recurrence. These are the very recommendations I help my patients to follow!
Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations to Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer Returning: AICR's Recommendations:
These recommendations for prevention (which are the same for survivors) include:
1. Be a healthy weight – keep your weight within the healthy range and avoid weight gain in adult life.
2. Be physically active – be physically active as part of every day life – walk more and sit less.
3. Eat a diet rich in whole grains vegetables, fruits and beans – make whole grains vegetables fruits pulses such as beans and lentils a major part of your usual daily diet.
4. Limit consumption of red and processed meat – no more than moderate amounts of red meat such as beef, pork and lamb. Eat little if any processed meat.
5. Limit consumption of sugar sweetened drinks – Drink mostly water and unsweetened drinks.
6.Limit consumption of fast food and other processed foods that are high in fat, starches or sugars – limiting these foods helps control calorie intake and maintain a healthy weight.
7. Limit alcohol consumption – for cancer prevention it’s best not to drink alcohol.
8. For mothers: breast-feed your baby, if you can – breast-feeding is good for both mother and baby.
9. After a cancer diagnosis follow these recommendations, if you can – check with your health professional about what is right for you.
10. Do not use supplements for cancer prevention – aim to meet your nutritional needs through diet alone.
These recommendations also include the mention that not smoking and avoiding exposure to tobacco and excess sun are also important to reducing cancer risk.