Lifestyle, Diet, Exercise, and Breast Health - Words from Tigerlily's Melanie!

Breast health and prevention.  When you think of these concepts, what do you think of?  Mammograms? Self-exams?  If you answered yes, that’s fantastic – those are key elements to supporting breast health, but have you ever thought of diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes and how they play a role?

Now, let me start out by saying I’m certainly no doctor… but, I can say that I am blessed to not only be a volunteer for Tigerlily, but to have a full time job at an integrative medical practice in Northern Virginia.  With that being said, I’m privileged to spend the majority of my time surrounded by and learning from a phenomenal team of medical providers on a daily basis who think “outside-of-the-box” – or, as I like to think of it… they think back to the basics.

Before I started working for my company, I had no idea what an integrative, holistic approach to healthcare meant.  I had never heard of a naturopathic doctor, never thought twice about trying acupuncture, and rarely thought about the power of food being used as medicine.

But, as I spend more time surrounded by the phenomenal integrative health team of naturopathic doctors, registered dietitians, cognitive behavioral therapists, fitness instructors, massage therapists, and more – I don’t understand how anyone can not believe in an integrative, holistic approach to medicine!

So, you may be asking what exactly am I talking about?  Well, to put it simply – a holistic approach looks at the whole picture in attempts to uncover the root cause of an illness or disease rather than simply treating the symptoms.  It looks at an entire being – the physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and environmental elements – all of which play an important role in optimal health and disease prevention.

An integrative approach combines the best theories of traditional western medicine with alternative medicine – so that includes your naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, dietitians, fitness instructors, chiropractors, and so much more.

In being surrounded by such individuals, I’ve learned that lifestyle factors that we have complete control of – such as diet and exercise – play such a huge role in optimal wellness and disease prevention…and that includes breast cancer!

Sure, you’ve probably heard that daily exercise and a low-fat diet can help to prevent obesity and diabetes, but they can also help to prevent other diseases too, like breast cancer!  Check out this article on the Mayo Clinic’s Web site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer-prevention/WO00091 or this one on Women’s Health: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/protect-yourself-from-breast-cancer-2.  There’s tons of research supporting these simple concepts – try a Google search!

So, while we unfortunately haven’t found a cure for breast cancer yet, we can certainly put effort into preventing this terrible disease!   I encourage each of you to live a vibrantly healthy life – eat a low-fat diet filled with colorful fruits and veggies: eat the rainbow (http://www.wholeliving.com/173430/eat-rainbow), exercise daily, consult with your doctor about dietary supplements, spend time with friends and family, volunteer, de-stress: meditate, take a yoga class, or get a massage, do things that you love to do and surround yourself with positive people – get out there and live, laugh and love!  It’s amazing what all of these simple concepts can do for your health…

In health,
Melanie Schmidt