If prevention is the best medicine, then consider education to be your daily vitamin boost. Staying informed is one of the best ways to ensure you remain proactive in protecting your health and prolonging your life.

But when it comes to breast health, it can be overwhelming to navigate the multitude of resources out there. Luckily, wellness expert and breast cancer survivor Dr. Veronique Desaulniers has broken it down into seven “essentials,” in her book, “Heal Breast Cancer Naturally”.

Essential #1 – Starve Cancer

Studies show a diet full of fruits and vegetables, as well as healthy oils, trace minerals, enzymes and probiotics, can significantly reduce your risk of breast cancer… by as much as about 70 percent!

Keep it simple, as fitness icon Jack Lalanne says– “If man made it, don’t eat it.”

Essential #2 – Reduce Toxin Exposure

A toxin is a poisonous substance, either naturally occurring or man-made. The latter seems to be everywhere – from the air we breathe to the household cleaners we use.

So, how do you avoid them?

Organic foods are always best, especially when cooked without a microwave or aluminum foil. Limiting cell phone use and cutting out pesticides and chemical sprays, among other tips, are also a good start.

Essential #3 – Strike An Energy Balance

Everything is energy, including our bodies, so be sure it is well-aligned. Healing arts like chiropractic care and acupuncture, along with monitoring hormones, exercising and getting enough sleep, can ensure your body’s energy is charged up and flowing effectively.

Essential #4 – Heal Emotional Wounds

You might not know it but your emotional wellbeing affects your overall physical health. Things like stress, negative emotions, even being a chronic “people pleaser” can eventually take a toll.

Relaxing through sleep, exercise or meditation and the simple power of positive thinking can help your brain work for, not against, your body.

Essential #5 – Make The Dental Connection

Infections in teeth and gums can spread to other organs, and Dr. Desaulniers says the mercury – the most toxic metal on the planet – used in many dental procedures can, over time, create estrogen-dependent malignancies and other ill effects in the body.

Herbal remedies – and the right questions for your dentist – can help remove toxins and keep your teeth from coming back to bite you.

Essential #6 – Use Therapeutic Plants

Certain nutrients and herbs can boost your immune system and weaken cancer. A 2012 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information found, for example, that bromelain – an enzyme found in pineapples – helps kill cancer cells in breast cancer patients.

Essential #7 – Adopt Early Detection

Here, Dr. Desaulniers – like so many internationally recognized medical leaders – recommends thermography alongside routine anatomical tests like mammograms.

The technology – administered locally by Gretta Cullen at Thermography Clinic Ireland, – is a non-invasive tool used to identify changes in the body over time. It has been lauded for its ability to detect pre-cancerous signs six to eight years before a visible mass appears.

In addition to early detection, Thermography Clinic Ireland remains committed to educating women of all ages so they can fully take charge of their breast health.

PMS, fibroids, cellulite, menopause, hair loss, allergies, hip fat, belly fat, thyroid nodules or cancer, breast or uterine cancer, endometriosis or infertility? It could all be due to your estrogen.

What is Estrogen Dominance?

You might have heard of the term before used loosely in magazines and conversations.
That’s hardly surprising – Estrogen Dominance is one of the most common hormonal imbalances women experience today.
In fact, it is so common, that we assume that feeling PMS, being menopausal and having fibroids is pretty normal. I want to show you that it is not and there is a way to fix it.

Which 3 Reasons Cause Estrogen Dominance?

You can experience estrogen dominance if you have one or even all three of the below:

1. E1, E2 and E3 ratio: When there is too much estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2), also known as the “aggressive estrogens”, as compared to estriol (E3), which is the “protective estrogen.” This measurement is called the “Estrogen Quotient” and can be measured with a simple saliva test.

2. Progesterone: Estradiol ratio: When there is insufficient progesterone to oppose the more aggressive estradiol (E2) – this shows up as a ratio of progesterone to estradiol in saliva or urine tests.

3. Metabolites: When estrone metabolites called 2:16 hydroxy-estrone get broken down unfavorably towards the “dirty” metabolite – 16 hydroxy-estrone (that tends to be highly estrogenic and act on the estrogen receptor).

What Are Estrogen and Progesterone?

Before we go any further, let me first explain the role of these hormones. In very simplistic terms, think of estrogen as the “builder” and progesterone as the “differentiator,” and as the name implies, “pro-gestation” hormone.

Estrogen and progesterone do a beautiful dance together. We can’t function without them and can only function well with both these partners in a delicate balance.
Take a look at the below chart to gain an understanding and appreciation of how these two hormones dance together.

Source: DrLam.com

Do You Have Estrogen Dominance?

If you have not done any tests yet, that’s OK. A good diagnosis is always based on lab work, symptoms and family health history, especially from your mother’s side (this applies to women).

Start by taking my Free Estrogen Quiz which will help to determine if you’re experiencing any symptoms of Estrogen Dominance.

Why Address Estrogen Dominance Proactively?

If you are already diagnosed with Estrogen Dominance you are probably motivated to do something about it. Some women experience painful PMS or other symptoms and learn to live with it. However, there is a far greater question:

“How is estrogen affecting me in the long run?”

The evidence that worries me the most is that of the clear connection between Estrogen Dominance and breast cancer. You can read the medical research and references here.

Breast cancer is second only to non-melanoma skin cancer as the most common cancer among women in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 192,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the United States. Other conditions that have been linked to Estrogen Dominance are uterine cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infertility.

Why Do We Become Estrogen Dominant?

Estrogen Dominance is a complex condition and can be caused by some of these:

• Eating non-organic food – which is grown “conventionally” (this term is ridiculous, in my world), contains a high amount of pesticides, fertilizers as well as growth hormones and antibiotics that are fed to animals. They contribute to endocrine disruption in every way you can imagine
• Excess exposure to environmental xenoestrogens – a number of chemical compounds (like phthalates, BPA, SLS, and many others) found in consumer products such as detergents and skincare products.
• Use of synthetic estrogens such as the birth control pill and hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
• Digestive issues which inhibit the estrogen detoxification process in the liver and overproduce cortisol which blocks progesterone receptors
• Chronic stress which strains the adrenals and the thyroid,
• Unresolved emotional issues from the past and present-day
• Poor diet
• Poor liver function, as the liver is responsible for eliminating metabolized or “used up” estrogens
• Lifestyle choices such as drugs (prescription and recreational), smoking, and alcohol
• Genetic variants that make some women more prone.

What Should Be Your Next Steps In Regards To Estrogen Dominance?

Here is the good news. You can do many things to help yourself right away.
There is always an option of taking topical creams but I do not recommend this as an immediate solution. Build a healthy foundation for yourself so you can prevent other conditions – like autoimmune conditions which are also becoming a pandemic. Your food and lifestyle choices can take away the underlying causes of Estrogen Dominance. Here is how:

1. A Thermography Scan can provide information about hormonal imbalance affecting Breast Tissue

A Breast Thermography Scan, can be suggestive of hormone imbalance and how this affecting/stimulating the growth of Breast Tissue. Remember the single biggest risk factor of a person developing Breast Cancer, is their exposure to estrogen in their lifetime. This information will not been given by structural tests such as MRI, Mammogram Ultrasound etc… Therefore Breast Thermography can truly play a role in Breast Cancer prevention.

2. Go organic

If you think that organic food is just a hype or a “hippie thing” to do, think again. Most of the chemical compounds used in raising “conventional” food and growing animals are highly detrimental to your hormonal balance. If you are on a tight budget, all main supermarkets offer a range of organic fruit & veg.

3. Eliminate xenoestrogen

Xenoestrogen are compounds found in general consumer products such as creams, lotions, soaps, shampoos, perfumes, hair sprays, and room deodorizers. Such compounds often have chemical structures similar to estrogen and indeed act like estrogen.
Other sources of xenoestrogens include: car exhaust, petrochemically derived pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides; solvents and adhesives such as those found in nail polish; paint removers, and glues; dry-cleaning chemicals; practically all plastics; industrial waste such as PCBs and dioxins, and synthetic estrogens from urine of women taking HRT and birth control pills that are flushed down the toilet and eventually find their way into the food chain and back into the body. They are fat soluble which means we need the engage the liver to get rid of them.

4. Improve your liver function

In short: your liver is responsible for the evacuation of metabolized estrogens (the methylation pathway in the liver) to make way for more healthy estrogens.

Please note that in order to detox your liver, you need to make dietary and lifestyle changes for a period of time. Powders, pills, and supplements alone will NOT be effective enough to help your liver.

5. Restore the health of your digestive system

The health of your gut is central to your overall health as much as your hormonal balance. I am yet to meet a person who is healthy but has digestive issues. When I say “digestive issues” I mean chronic constipation, gas, bloating, diarrhea, acid reflux, burping, and frequent stomach aches.

A distressed digestive tract will prompt the adrenals to release cortisol. Cortisol is a progesterone blocker at the cell level. Can you see now why any form of stress (emotional, physical, digestive, etc.) can lead to Estrogen Dominance?