Reduce the risk of cancer in your life.
Pink ribbons, marathons, mailing lists, fundraisers. These and many other endeavors are created every year to combat the cancer that takes far too many awesome and amazing women from us.
There are many things we now know are linked to cancer, and one of these things is a large belly size to hip size ratio. It turns out that women who have a larger waist tend to get diagnosed with breast cancer. The fat cells that set up in your abdominal region emit hormones that breast cancer cells are very responsive to. This is called hyperinsulinemia, or a pre diabetic condition. The large amount of insulin receptors that is created with this condition has been shown to correlate with higher breast cancer diagnoses.
Here are two tips to reduce your belly fat and therefore your risk for developing breast cancer.
- Adopt a whole grain, high fiber diet. This goes without saying, but in order to lose pounds, you must get more bang for your buck in terms of calories ingested. Lose the white flour and sugar and replace your sandwich bread and pastas with whole wheat breads and whole wheat pasta. If the texture is too weird for you, consider cutting the whole grain pasta with regular pasta, and then gradually phase out the less nutritious stuff. Get plenty of crunchy fruits and vegetables in your diet.
- Aim for ab-worthy exercise: All exercise is beneficial, and while there is no real way to spot reduce a problem area such as your stomach, you can consider certain workouts that will strengthen your core (abs, hips and thighs). We love tae bo, kickboxing, swimming, and yoga. All of these workouts demand a lot from your abdominal region. When you build muscle here, you will burn more calories at rest.
- Get a checkup. Regular mammograms and consistent self exams are vital for every woman. Don’t skip these important steps.
