It’s that season again where we’re awash with little, and big, pink ribbons everywhere. But more importantly than showing your support with a ribbon (which I am not knocking at all), it’s time to show your support now, and all year long, by taking preventive measures to reduce your risk for breast cancer. The thing that you should be most aware of is how to make healthy modifications to your lifestyle to improve your health and prevent cancer, and other diseases. Crazy Sexy Cancer author and documentary film director Kris Carr has a whole page on her blog dedicated to prevention tips, and none include buying cosmetics, skin care products or other items that have potentially toxic materials that can actually increase your risk instead of reduce it.
Carr declared September to be Prevention Month on her blog, leading up to the more popular October Breast Cancer Awareness month. But in case you missed her Prevention Month tips, here’s a summary of some of her best advice for all year round.
Stress-less, says Daphne Oz, on Carr’s blog. “Worrying is just a prayer for the worst possible scenario—and when has it ever solved anything? It breeds stress, which compromises your immune system and prematurely ages you (no thank you!). Instead of spinning your wheels thinking about nightmare situations, focus on what you can control and take action—change the things you can and forget the rest…And to keep stress to a minimum, bear in mind that perfection is not the goal: doing things a little bit better is.”
Buy organic when you can. “Simply put, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides that are sprayed onto crops are meant to kill. Sure, they kill the unwanted stuff, but that’s not all they do. Many of these chemicals, which are poisons by their nature, can make their way into our land, water, food and bodies, wreaking havoc as they go,” says Carr.
Use greener cleaners. “It’s hard to know without a full ingredient list, which most products don’t have. Find greener cleaners at EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning.”
And lastly take care of yourself and exercise.