Are you "aware" and making healthier choices?
You hear all about awareness for breast cancer through the gazillion commercials and advertisements with the pink ribbon letting you know you should “be aware”. Do you choose the foods you eat or the personal care products you use because they support Breast Cancer? And why are these products only supporting women’s needs? What about the men?! Are they really teaching you anything or just helping to increase their profits which in turn allows them to make a donation to ‘the cause’?
Let’s begin by acknowledging that what you put on and in your body can make a difference for your health. Whether you’re a woman, a man or a child, the foods we eat, the personal care products we choose, our lifestyle choices and supplementation can help support our overall health. While genetics can’t be changed, providing a healthier environment within your body may be helpful.
Supporting products that include ingredients such as Parabens, Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)/Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), Fragrances, Synthetic Colors, Phthalates and Triclosan just to name a few, ultimately are not in support of your better health for the prevention of cancer(s). These ingredients are best to be avoided and instead look for products that are Cruelty free, Paraben free, Organic, Vegetarian, Non GMO, and for some, Gluten, Dairy and Soy free.
Supplements that I’ve found to be helpful for prevention include;
Probiotic, Green Tea, Vitamin D3 (have your blood level checked), Melatonin, Maitake mushroom, Turmeric (and other natural anti inflammatory products), Vitamin C and CoenzymeQ10 as well as a quality multiple is an important place to start.
The personal care products I choose, with or without a ribbon, for hair care, make up, deodorant, lotions, toothpaste, etc all come from natural and organic sources and my source to purchase them all are found at LuckyVitamin.com for the best quality, selection and prices but where ever you shop, be sure to look at what your product(s) are made of, or not made of!
As well, choosing organic foods that are free of hormones is especially important as these added hormones can also help to feed some cancers. Your chicken may not be as “plump” but there’s a good reason for that! A diet with less dairy and red meat may also be helpful to assist with keeping inflammation down. Instead try to include more healthy fish, grains, fruits and nuts. I try for less sugar (even organic sugar) in my diet as sugar may feed the cancer cells.
So, now you know what are some healthier choices to look for but what about all those awareness products? When was the last time you saw a product that was advertising/helping with awareness of male breast cancer? No specials on men’s care products during October? Although male breast cancer only accounts for about 1% of breast cancer, does that make saving the life of a man less important? Most men are diagnosed too late as most don’t even know they can get breast cancer or even have ‘breast’ for that matter. Awareness for early detection is what will help to save a man’s life with this disease.
So why not add some blue to those pink ribbons and educate both women and men at the same time? Well maybe it’s because men are not incline to buy ribbon jewelry, tote bags, socks and scarves to shout it out so how will these companies raise dollars then? Is that what this is really all about?
Let’s make this month of October an even healthier one by checking those ingredients to eliminate the bad and favor the good and make better choices of what we put in and on our body. And by promoting breast cancer health and awareness for both women and men to really educate and save lives and not just increase profits during this time of year with more ‘pink stuff’! If you’re looking for pink and blue awareness products, you’ll find them on the SHOP page and all dollars raised goes back to education. When you help educate others about breast cancer in men with HIS Breast Cancer you are saving lives! #pinkandblue #breastcancerinmen
Modah Ani- I Am Thankful
Best of Health,
Editor: Vicki Singer Wolf, Co-founder