Reduce your exposure to environmental carcinogens; reduce your risk of breast cancer

Environmental pollution / toxins cause breast cancer

With the growing evidence, linking pesticides, insecticides, and chemical sprays to cancers, it is necessary to limit our exposure to them, and a host of other cancer-causing environmental toxins.Diet for preventing cancer is essential is reducing the risk of developing breast cancer

• Do not over consume foods that have a tendency to accumulate insecticides and pesticides, such as – meat, eggs, cheese, and milk.
• Organic foods are recommended by nutritionists and dieticians world over. Organically grown fruits and vegetables, i.e. without, the use of synthetic pesticides, are the best to opt for.
• Remove the peels of the vegetables and fruits before consuming them. (peels are known to contain most of the nutrients, than the pulp, but they also tend to concentrate lots of carcinogenic pesticides.
• It would be advisable to use an additive free soap to wash your fruits and vegetables, which will help remove some of the chemicals sprayed on.
• Avoid pickled vegetables. They comprise of compounds called nitosamines, which are cancer causing.
• Grilling produces carcinogens. Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are produced when meat is cooked at high temperatures. When the muscle protein in meat is subjected to intense heat, it creates HCAs, which have been connected to cancer, especially cancer of the breast and colon. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are produced when the fat drips from the meat in to the flames, and produces smoke. This PAH filled smoke rises and coats the meat. They are also produced, when the flames touch the meat, charring and blackening it.

How do you lower your exposure to these grill-produced carcinogens?

1. Choose smaller cuts of meat, as this reduces the grilling time and thus, reduces the exposure to carcinogens.
2. Use minimum fat while grilling. This diminishes the amount of carcinogens produced. Select lean meats, take the skin off poultry and reduce any visible fat prior to grilling.
3. Marinate the meat prior to the cooking. Marinades made out of thin, liquid sauce using citrus juice or vinegar or red wine may decrease the formation of HCAs.

4. Precooking the meats, Reduces the grilling time, and consequently decreases your exposure to the carcinogens. So, cook the meat to some extent prior to grilling.
5. Cook / grill at lower temperatures, because higher temperatures produce more HCAs.
6. If you are using charcoal / wood, increase the distance of the meat from the fire. Importantly, when cooking at lower temperatures, don’t forget to use a meat thermometer to make sure that the interior meat reaches the correct temperature for safe consumption.
7. Flip your meat often. This will cook the meat a lot faster and produce lesser HCAs.
8. Use an aluminum foil to place between the meat and the fire. If you place the foil on the grill, perforate it, to permit the fat to drain off the meat. This will decrease the contact of the food with the flame and lessen the possiblity of charring. Don’t eat charred / blackened foods. PAHs form when any food is smoked and charred.
9. Grill fish and vegetables as an alternative. Vegetables will not produce HCAs. And fish has lesser fat than red meat and poultry, and needs lesser time to grill, further reducing the exposure to carcinogens.
10. Don’t grill too often. Grilling infrequently won’t cause too much harm. But avoid grilling too frequently, especially if you have a family history of cancer.

• Higher is the consumption of meat and animal products, higher is the risk for developing breast cancer.
• Try to limit your exposure to environmental smoke and pollution. Even second hand smoke is carcinogenic.