My Answer to Breast Cancer- Talking Prevention

Foreign. It is Tuesday, it's seven o'. Clock. And you know what that means. That means it's time for my answer to breast cancer. And I am hoping that tonight's talk will really resonate with a lot of people because it is springtime and I know I'm not going to talk about the vaccine tonight, but a lot of people have been vaccinated. The world is opening up, and people are starting to move around. In 2020, I know a lot of people just didn't do the preventative medicine maintenance thing. So people weren't going for colonoscopies and they weren't going for the routine examinations. In fact, I completely forgot to take my children to the pediatric. And now in 2021, the world is opening up again. People are moving about a little more freely. They're feeling okay about going to the doctor and doing their maintenance and keeping themselves up. And not too long ago, there was an article that came out, I think it was published in jama, talking about the decrease in breast cancer incidence. And just to be clear about that breast cancer incidence, the number of diagnoses that we have every year is almost entirely dependent on how many mammograms we do. And the number of mammograms that we did over this last year is highly, highly decreased from what we would normally do in the United States annually. And I'm sure around the world, that applies too. And this was a very, very, very stressful year for everyone. I mean, even if you found a s lining, and many people did, most didn't. But even if you found silver lining, there were still a lot of undue stressors. You know, everything from working from home, working in a different environment, having more people living at home. And if you were able to make that transition successfully, there was still a lot of monotony. And a lot of us were put into positions that we weren't necessarily comfortable in. We had to learn new skills and concerns about health, concerns about money. It was a very stressful year. And breast cancer incidence is highly, highly, highly tied to stress. Both acute stress, things that happen in the short term, but also chronic stress, and probably more so, chronic stress. But the amount of time that this virus has consumed our attention, this is chronic stress for everyone. And so as the world starts to open up, as people go for mammograms again, breast cancer incidence is going to increase and it's going to increase significantly. So I am here to say that if you're one of those people that is going for your mammogram and they find something. I want you to know that I'm here for you. My team is here for you, and we can be of tremendous support to you and in multiple ways. You know, you can work with me individually, you can work with my team, you can be part of our group. And I'm really excited to say that. I think that my book will be out by September, and so that's going to be a tremendous resource for everyone. Now, if you are fortunate enough to go for your mammogram and they do not find anything, you are in the prevention zone. And that's what I want to focus on, focus on today. I really want to talk about prevention because you have so much more power than you think, so much more power than you think. And despite how stressful this time is, and despite what is going on in the world, you still have the power to decide how you're going to respond to that. So let's talk about the overarching things that you need to think about to be the best version of you to help to prevent a diagnosis like breast cancer. So the first thing that I'll talk about is nourishment. And when I talk to my group, my. My answer to breast cancer group, we. We focus on nourishment, and we focus on it in two ways. And I'm going to credit Joshua Rosenthal from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, because he was the one that taught me that there is primary food and secondary food. So secondary food is the food that you put in your mouth, and that is for sure, important. For sure important. But there are many, many ways that we get nourishment that is not the food that we put in our mouth. And I hope that that makes sense to you. But when I talk to people about what they eat, and I ask them to make sure that what they eat is what they're hungry for. Because sometimes you eat to fill a void that you're not meeting otherwise. So sometimes you're eating because you're actually thirsty, but sometimes you're eating because you need a hug. And remember that it's physical touch and relationships and the joy that we bring others that we get a lot of nourishment from. So nourishment isn't all about the food that you eat. Nourishment is about all the different inputs that we take in that bring us joy and that nourish us. So. Primary food is very important, and we need to. We need to dial in on that. We need to dial in on those relationships, the ones that feed us, the ones that nourish us. And at the same time, we need to pay attention to which relationships are toxic to us, because toxins is a big issue. And so when you're thinking about nourishment, I just want you to think about those relationships. Now, of course, food is important and I talk a lot about being on a whole food plant based diet, Getting away from the processed food, making sure that you're eating things that grew as a plant and didn't come from a factory plant, and eating foods in their natural original form, and making sure that most of the things that you eat are non starchy vegetables. And so if 75% of what you're eating is non starchy vegetables, then that other 25% becomes far less important. And making sure, you know, this is one of those areas where diversity really, really matters. And so if you're eating a variety of vegetables, I know everyone always has that protein concern, like how can you just eat veget vegetables? You won't get enough protein. It's just really simply not true. So if you're eating a variety of vegetables, you're going to get all the protein that you need and you're also going to get all the nutrients you need. So as far as nourishment is concerned, yes, we want to make sure that we're eating all of our vegetables, eat the rainbow, eat in a very diverse manner, but also make sure that you're nourishing yourself with relationships and doing things that you enjoy and you know, those things that are in and around you make you feel good. Because it's really about creating an internal environment of joy so that your body doesn't feel stressed inside. Because it's the chemistry of stress that actually your normal breast cells are reacting to. And cancer is just a normal adaptation to an abnormal environment. So we want to focus on really making that internal environment as healthy as we can. And that means that you have to have some tools in your toolbox for stress management. There is no way that you're going to get rid of the stressors in the world. And you really wouldn't even want to in that. We need our ability to respond to stress if we're going to get out of bed in the morning, if we're going to have the motivation to accomplish things, meet deadlines. I mean, we need the ability to mount a stress response. You need the ability to mount a stress response if you're going to heal from a wound. You know, if you trip and fall and cut yourself or break a bone or something like that, get in an accident, you need to be able to heal, so you need that stress response in order to do it. But then you also need to be able to calm that stress response when you don't need that reaction. And so things like having a meditative practice or practicing Tai chi or yoga or any of those things, having a breathing practice, any of those things to be able differentiate between when you need the stress response and when you don't, and being able to decide for yourself, yourself which things are going to evoke emotion in you and which things you're not going to let in. So having that skill allows you to be the gatekeeper of what does and doesn't influence your internal chemistry. So having those mindfulness practices, having tools under your, in your toolbox that can help you to manage those stressful situations so that you don't take in anything that you don't want to let in is very, very, very important. And there are so many programs and apps and there's so much access, free access to things that will teach you to meditate or you can learn Tai chi, you can do yoga for free. You know, there are just so many ways to access those skill sets. But like any other skill, you have to practice, right? And that's why it's called a practice. You have to do it and you have to do it every day. So that's something that should be in the forefront of your mind to work on a gratitude practice, making sure that every single day you, you look around you and find things you're grateful for. Because it really allows for a much more joyful existence when you can look around and see what's good rather than seeing what's bad. Because if you, if you're looking for the negative, you know you're going to find it. But if you're looking for the positive, it's there. It's there. And remember that what you think about grows. So you need to put your mind on something that you want to grow. And if you're focused on a bad outcome, that's exactly what you're going to get. But if you're focused on a good outcome, if you're focused on your health, if you're focused on vitality and energy, then that's what you're going to get. And while we're talking about that, let's talk about sleep. I know I talk about sleep a lot, and that's because sleep is where things healing happens. So it's so, so, so important that we get nourishing sleep and so many of us I know, I, for one, have zoom fatigue, have blue light toxicity, have way, way, way too much blue light exposure. And so really having some guidelines about that, setting some limits and thinking about, like, you know, what's the worst thing that's going to happen if you shut it down when it's dark out. I had to learn that lesson myself. And you know, what happens when you shut down after dark? You get a better night's sleep. You get more time with your family, you have a lot more patience, and you sleep better and get a lot more energy. So I was very much caught up in zoom fatigue, in being on that computer way, way, way more than I should have. And trust me when I tell you, it's a thankless endeavor. So make sure you're setting limits. Turn off your WI fi at night, shut it down, watch the sunset whenever you can. That helps to program your brain for sleep. Get sunlight as early as you can in the morning. Like, literally when your eyes open, see if you can get some natural light. And it's okay if you're getting it through a window, but that's still refracting some of the light. It's best if you can go outside and get natural light. And, you know, the weather's changing, it's getting beautiful out, so people will have a lot more access to sunshine, and I hope that you can get it. Making sure that you get a good pair of blue blocker glasses and start wearing them not only when you're in front of your computer, start wearing them when the sun goes down, and start dimming the lights in as much as you can, as much as you can reduce the artificial light after dark. Remember, electricity has only been around for about 150 years, so our bodies still don't really know what to do with it. And I'm very, very concerned about this blue light tux today. While we're on the topic of toxins, the plastic just has to, has to, has to go. And there's plastics everywhere. So the easy things are don't drink out of plastic, don't store in plastic. You know, try to get away from plastic in as much as you can. Make sure you're not putting plastic in your dishwasher and you're not putting plastic in washing machine. So none of those individual pods. If you're drinking coffee, those keurigs are made of plastic. Lots of people's coffee filter is held in a plastic bin. So just being mindful of the plastics that are coming into your body because they are quite Disruptive for your hormone system. And your body has to clear out these toxins. And it's working hard enough as it is. It doesn't need another toxin to clear out. So in summary, today we talked about nourishment, we talked about food, we talked about stress management, movement, I forgot to mention movement. But movement is really, really, really important. It helps you to detoxify. It is the number one thing to prevent depression. And we know that there is decreased incidence of breast cancer, probably decreased incidence on all cancers in people that have a daily movement routine. So it doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's joyful. And you should try to focus on getting your heart rate up, sweating, sometimes lifting something that's heavy every now and again. Work on your balance, work on flexibility. These are all things that will promote longevity, fitness, and help you to prevent a cancer. We spoke about gratitude and just feeling grateful for the world around you. That will, that will translate into a joyous chemistry inside. And getting nourishing sleep, because sleep is where the healing happens. Most people need in and around eight hours. It's best to go to sleep before midnight. Sleep before midnight is more nourishing than sleep after midnight. And you know, everyone's a little different. Remember that sleep cycles happen in 60 to 90 minute intervals. So you may have tiny bits where you wake up in between. As long as you go right back to sleep, you're probably getting nourishing sleep. You can track with something like an oura ring. I've been wearing one for the last few months. And of course I'm a horribly competitive person. So I like to wake up every morning and see my sleep score and feel really good about myself. If I'm in the 90s, you know, I, I always love that A so those are things. Lastly, I want to talk about your social connections. Make sure when you're looking for those toxins that you find those toxic relationships and you throw them out with the trash. Like no one has any time for toxic relationships, especially in this environment. So take the trash out. That is all I have for you tonight. It was great to see you and I have some super exciting, terrific guests coming up. So I'll see you next week right here on my answer to breast cancer. Bye for now.