Take our advice...

Take our advice ... on breast health

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In recognition, nutritionist Jennifer Lucas of U.Va.'s Cancer Center offers some nutritional tips that may help women reduce their risk of breast cancer and improve their overall health.

• Avoid alcohol. Studies have established a link between alcohol consumption and an increased risk of breast cancer, although they have not determined the level of consumption that increases that risk. An occasional drink may not be significantly risky.
  
  
• Seek out soy. Soy products contain isoflavones, which researchers suggest may protect against breast cancer by imitating human estrogen. Lucas recommends consuming 30 to 50 milligrams a day from foods like soy milk, soybeans, tofu, tempeh and soy nuts. One cup of soy milk and a half-cup of tofu and tempeh each contain about 40 milligrams of isoflavones. (Soy sauce, however, has none.)
  
  
• Eat your fruits and veggies. Besides being regular parts of a generally healthy diet, fruits and vegetables also provide chemicals called antioxidants, which repair naturally occurring cell damage. They also provide a better, more natural source of many nutrients and vitamins than dietary supplements.
  
  
• Cut the fat. Studies on the role of fat in cancer are divergent, although it has been shown that weight gain after menopause increases the risk for breast cancer, and a low-fat diet can address that. There is also a stronger link between a low-fat diet and prevention of heart disease, which is the No. 1 killer of women -- far beyond breast cancer. During October, the U.Va. Medical Center is offering reduced-cost screening mammograms. For information and to schedule an appointment, call 243-4535.