Every October we are accosted by pink ribbons, pink buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken, pink M & M’s and more! We are urged to get “our mammograms.” But preventing breast cancer is not about pink ribbons. and mammograms. No one ever brings up prevention!  A healthy diet & lifestyle IS primary prevention; regardless of your genetics.  It is NOT as though all you can do is is get your breasts irradiated (with cancer-causing radiation) to find out if you have cancer and them get them lopped off!

I know that last sentence may come off as vulgar & radical but ladies, there is much you CAN do! And maybe the shock of a ‘respectable doctor’ talking about it this way will wake up some folks! I can only hope!

So, How do you prevent cancer and cause it at the same time???

You can’t. The facts are clear: a high-fat diet, like the Standard American Diet, is a Class 1 (Proven), Cancer-causing agent. And the radiation in a mammogram (especially a 3D digital one) is also a contributor to breast cancer.

But no one talks about ANY strategies to PREVENT BREAST CANCER; it’s all just about “early detection.”

Let’s look at what the Medical-Industrial Complex calls ‘prevention:’

Some facts about mammography:

A Canadian study of 44,910 women ages 40-59 who had routine mammography found that 22% of breast cancers (106 of 484 positives) were over-diagnosed. This means 106 women were subjected to surgery and some to chemo and/or radiation who DID NOT HAVE INVASIVE CANCER!

Cancer Research UK and the Department of Health (England) published findings that said in part, “. . . to prevent 1 death, about 250 women need to be screened and 11-19% OVER-DIAGNOSED.”

The UK department detailed, in the above-cited document, that if 10,000 women were invited for screening, 681 cases would be diagnosed, of which 129 would represent over-diagnosis  (almost 1 in 5 cases!).

A study in the Netherlands estimated that screening decreased the death rate by 1-2% while increasing over-diagnosis by 32%!

Over -Diagnosis

Part of the problem with ‘over-diagnosis’ is that women don’t know they were (are) part of this statistic.

Let me explain: Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the most common form of ‘breast cancer’ diagnosed by mammography.

Autopsy studies show large numbers of women die WITH DCIS but don’t die OF it. DCIS is, by definition, not invasive. It plays no role in causing death according to at least 14 separate studies. Some in the medical community feel that DCIS shouldn’t even be considered ‘cancer.’

Increasing Cancer Detection Rates at what price?

Now here’s the real kicker: when mammography was instituted as a regular screening procedure, the rate of diagnosis of breast cancer in the United States went from 1:9.5 to 1:8. This represents thousands of more diagnosed yearly. However, the rate of breast cancer DEATHS has not decreased! So, we are diagnosing more, we are treating more but we are not saving more lives! This, by definition, means we are needlessly screening, diagnosing and treating more women (who have non-invasive conditions).

Did the TEST Find the Cancer?

Now, I understand there are women out there that feel their life was saved by a mammogram and that could be true. Many (perhaps most) of those are cases were cases where the woman found the lump herself and the mammogram confirmed it.  Cases of invasive cancers found first by mammography are extremely rare. And, as mentioned previously, the most common kind of cancer found by mammography is DCIS.

What happens during a mammogram & the potential harm

Now, let’s look at the mammography procedure. The breast tissue is smashed and squished between 2 plates of inflexible material; a physical action that CAN disrupt the tissue enough to cause bleeding under the skin (bruising) and then the breast is exposed to ionizing radiation (which can cause mutation).

The nature of bruising is such that it stimulates white blood cells to flow into the area which stimulates increased circulation to the area. Pressure can also disrupt the capsule the body forms to wall off a cancer mass. So, now, in someone with DCIS, you have damaged the (formerly contained) cancer mass and increased the circulation in the are making it more likely that those cancer cells can be spread.

Then you’ve applied ionizing radiation to the area; potentially stimulating the growth of the cancer cells! So, if the mass was DCIS you have just injured it enough that the cells could be picked up & spread by the circulation to distant body sites. This is something that typically wouldn’t happen with DCIS! And if the cancer is a more invasive form, you have also stimulated possible spread.

A Suspicious Result: What’s Next?

Then, if the mammogram comes back suspicious, a needle biopsy is used to extract cells. The process of puncturing the mass and extracting cells can, again, cause cancer to spread. Then, if you do surgery, the same thing again! (Now I’m not telling you “don’t do any of this.” I’m admonishing you to be aware of what you’re doing and weigh the potential risks and benefits.)

Can You Do Something Else? 

For those that feel they MUST have a procedure for “early detection,” an option is to educate yourself about thermography, which is non-diagnostic but capable of showing inflammation and see if that makes sense to you. Alternatively, you could adopt a healthier lifestyle and understand that there are no guarantees in life.

What About Prevention?

Now that you know all that, how about taking concrete steps to prevent breast cancer in the first place?

First: the absolute best primary prevention comes from diet & lifestyle. A low-fat, plant-centered diet and regular exercise will do more to prevent cancer than any other tool regardless of genetics!

My colleagues at Wellness Forum Health and The Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine have teamed up to put forth a 4-point pledge that WILL diminish the likelihood that you’ll get breast cancer. These 4 actions (choosing more whole plant foods, exercising regularly, limiting alcohol intake and maintaining a healthy weight) have all been positively correlated with decreasing the rate of ALL cancers.) So, sign the attached form & send it back to me & I can get you a gift certificate for $100 off a course through Wellness Forum Health. Their science-based approach will teach you to be pro-active and make choices that will result in better outcomes and longer life. 

Disclaimer: The information about the diagnostic procedure in this article is intended to educate and inform only. It does not represent recommendations.

The post Preventing Breast Cancer Pink Ribbons = False Hope appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.

Does this mean I have diabetes? Or I’m likely to get it? Can’t I just take a pill?

‘No,’ ‘not necessarily but maybe’ and ‘you can but. . .’ are the short answers. You COULD take a pill for ‘pre-diabetes’ and you could take a pill (or a shot) if you get the full condition. But most people don’t realize that medication will not make you ANY less likely to experience the negative consequences (or sequalae) associated with the disease. And there are NO studies that show that taking medication at the pre-diabetes stage will help avoid the full-blown condition! Only diet and lifestyle change can do that.

The major consequences of diabetes are diabetic neuropathy; leading to unrelenting pain, circulatory problems; leading to amputations of toes and more, kidney disease; leading to dialysis and possible necessity for transplant, diabetic retinopathy; leading to blindness, and heart disease; leading to heart attack and commonly, death. If THAT list isn’t enough to get you to pay attention for yourself, maybe the idea of putting your family thru all that is something that might concern you.

So now, what do you do? Many people try to address this thru a keto or paleo diet but I’m going to suggest that this isn’t the best approach. Heart disease is already the #1 killer in this country and it’s unlikely that such a diet, made up of mostly animal foods and some veggies, will diminish your chances of cardiovascular issues. (Actually, just the opposite is far more likely).

Many people are surprised when I tell them the latest research; that diabetes happens because there’s too much FAT in the cells and because of that, insulin is unable to escort the sugar in! If you picture a cell like house during a crowded house party; your escort (Insulin) brings you to the party (you are sugar) but there are so many other folks (fat) blocking the door, you literally can’t get in & neither can you other (sugar) friends. You have to wait outside until they leave. (And the sad truth is that Insulin is trying to lead you into the house so you can refresh the snacks, clean things up & keep the party going but FAT is the drunken neighbors & frat friends that are making a royal mess and won’t leave!)

In fact, the latest meta-analysis (a study that reviews other studies) showed that INDEPENDENT of body mass index (BMI) people who had the highest plant-based food intake had a 23% -30% lower risk of developing diabetes than those who ate more animal foods. That means that obese people who adopt this diet have a likelihood of being able to avoid diabetes that is nearly the same as that of their thinner counterparts.

People are also shocked by the rapidity with which pre-diabetes and full on type 2 diabetes can be reverse with diet. My clients who start a low-fat plant-based diet are often discontinuing medication (with their doctor’s consent) in 2-4 weeks! In addition, because they are eating low fat, plant-based; significant weight loss is common as well.      

So what foods are these folks eating?  Another thing that surprises people is that they can eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other foods they think of as ’forbidden’ as long as they’re NOT slathering them with butter or sour cream. I regularly eat baked potatoes with mushrooms sautéed in wine or concentrated veggie stock & garlic (you can also add nutritional yeast to give it a buttery flavor). Whole food starches, it turns out are NOT pro-inflammatory. (If you doubt this, look up what the Okinawans eat. They are the longest living people in the world.) The beauty of eating this way is that you can eat all you want & still lose weight.                                                  

Another thing I love about this diet is the simplicity of throwing a meal together with little or no forethought. My dinner tonight consisted of Japanese black rice (AKA forbidden rice or emperor’s rice) and a veggie & tofu saute of onions, garlic, fresh basil, summer squash and broccoli. Those happen to be what was in the frig, so that’s what got thrown in. It was sauteed in concentrated veggie broth (I use “better than bullion” concentrate & water). The tofu was the pre-cooked stuff with sriracha spices. The spiciness of the sriracha tofu blended really well with the fresh basil, onions & garlic to give the veggies a  yummy savory/spicy flavor that went well with the nuttiness of the black rice. A simple unplanned meal was on the table in about 30 minutes.

So if the idea of losing weight while diminishing your likelihood of getting diabetes, heart disease or a number of other chronic diseases appeals to you, watch for upcoming info on group programs I’m putting together for the fall.

The post My Doctor Says I Have Pre-Diabetes. . .Now What or SO What? appeared first on Dr Leslie K. Empowered Wellness.