Breast health dietary recommendations

The most friendly dietary logic for breast health has never been "eating certain foods to enlarge breasts/disperse bloating" as spread on the Internet, but to control chronic inflammation, stabilize endogenous hormone levels, and avoid stimulation of exogenous estrogen. Those breast enhancement recipes and dietary remedies for dissipating bloating that are so popular are basically useless, and some can actually damage the breast glands.

Let’s talk about the most controversial soybean issue first. After all, the Internet sometimes says that “soybeans contain estrogen, which can stimulate nodules,” and sometimes says that “eating soybeans can prevent breast cancer.” Many people are confused. In the early years, small in vitro experiments did mention that high concentrations of phytoestrogens may stimulate the proliferation of breast epithelial cells, but later large-sample cohort studies on East Asian women have long overturned this conclusion: women who consume 15 to 25g of soybeans per day (equivalent to a cup of 200ml sugar-free soy milk + 100g of northern tofu) have a 12% lower risk of breast cancer than those who basically do not eat soybeans, and a lower risk of breast nodule progression. The core reason is that the isoflavones in soybeans are "two-way regulators". The activity of binding to human estrogen receptors is only 1/1000 of endogenous estrogen. When the estrogen level itself is high, it will preemptively occupy the receptors to help you reduce the level. When the estrogen level is insufficient, it can supplement a slight effect and help stabilize the hormone. But let’s make an important point: what we are talking about here are natural soy products, not purified soy isoflavone health products. I met 52-year-old Aunt Zhang at a breast department follow-up before. She was afraid of aging after menopause, so she took two Internet-famous soy isoflavone capsules every day. After half a year of taking the medicine, her physical examination revealed grade 3 breast nodules, which were also accompanied by irregular swelling and pain. She stopped health products and drank soy milk and ate tofu as normal. Half a year later, the check-up dropped to grade 2, and the swelling and pain disappeared.

In addition to the clichéd controversial issue of soybeans, the pitfalls that many people step into on a daily basis are actually more subtle. For example, many girls cannot live without full-sugar milk tea, fried cakes, and fried chicken and chips that are repeatedly fried. It is not alarmist. Friends who have breast hyperplasia must have experienced it: showing off these every day for a week, before and after ovulation, the breasts will be so swollen that they cannot be touched. This is because foods high in sugar and trans fat can quickly increase the body's chronic inflammation levels and stimulate the expansion of breast ducts. Long-term consumption can also lead to excessive body fat, and adipose tissue can secrete additional estrogen, directly disrupting hormone balance. Data from the World Cancer Research Fund also shows that women with a BMI over 28 have a 30% higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer than those with a normal weight. To stabilize hormones, you must first control the intake of high sugar and oil to prevent body fat from rising too high.

As for whether coffee can be drunk, which many people ask, there is really no one-size-fits-all approach. It is true that some clinical observations have found that for people who are particularly sensitive to caffeine, drinking coffee will aggravate the swelling and pain of benign breast diseases. If you feel uncomfortable drinking it, don't touch it. However, existing large-scale studies also show that drinking 1 to 2 cups of black coffee without sugar or creamer every day can reduce the risk of breast cancer by about 10%. So it all depends on your body's reaction. You don't have to quit after hearing others say you can't drink it, and you don't have to force yourself to drink things you don't like for the so-called "cancer prevention".

There is one thing that I really recommend all girls try not to touch, and that is alcohol. Whether it is red wine, fruit wine or so-called health rice wine, as long as it contains alcohol, it is a type of carcinogen, which will increase the metabolic burden of the liver and affect the inactivation of estrogen. Even if you only drink less than 1 cup of sweet wine three times a week, the risk of breast cancer will increase by 15%. This is supported by clear data and is not controversial.

In fact, there is no need to look for any "magic food to protect breasts" in daily life. It is enough to have a solid basic diet. Eat a pound of dark vegetables every day, just alternate between broccoli, spinach, and purple cabbage. Eat deep-sea fish 2 to 3 times a week, including salmon, saury, and sardines. Add some Omega 3 to help reduce inflammation. Replace one-third of the white rice and flour with whole grains such as oats, brown rice, and quinoa. Avoid processed foods with more than a dozen additives. This is much more effective than buying hundreds of dollars of breast-protecting health products. A 27-year-old girl came to me for consultation before and was diagnosed with grade 3 breast nodules. She used to eat takeout and always order a cup of full-sugar milk tea in the afternoon. Later she adjusted her diet and brought her own food every day, drank sugar-free soy milk or lemonade, and only drank milk tea once when she was craving for food. The nodules shrank from 8mm to 3mm during the six-month review, and the pain before menstruation basically disappeared.

Finally, I would like to refute two rumors that have been circulating for many years: the first is papaya breast enlargement, which is totally unfounded. The papain in papaya is decomposed and inactivated by gastric acid when eaten. It has no effect on the breast glands at all. If you eat too much, your whole body will become deformed due to too much carotene. Yellow; the second is that collagen can nourish the breast glands. Ordinary collagen is decomposed into amino acids when eaten and will not be directed to the breasts. On the contrary, many Internet celebrity collagen drinks are added with illegal estrogen analogues. Drinking them may stimulate the growth of nodules. Don’t buy them randomly.

After all, breast health cannot be guaranteed by eating a certain thing. Diet is only one part of it. Staying up less late, less sulking, and having regular breast examinations are more reliable than any folk remedies. If nodules are found, don’t panic. See a doctor first to determine the nature. Don’t blindly search for dietary supplements and supplements, which will put a burden on the body.