I was fortunate to hear an interview of Dr Kristi Funk, well known breast surgeon and author of the book, Breasts: The Owner’s Manual, when she spoke at the Food Revolution Summit. I usually only share summaries of my notes from such things on our daily Facebook lives and type them up for members of the Whole Food Muscle Club (which I will be doing with these as well).

Because this is such an important topic and breast cancer touches too many lives, I’ve decided to share a few of the key takeaways in this post. If you’d like to watch the Facebook live where I went through my notes you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/RnRJourneyToHealth/videos/2224042201227320/

Please be aware that some of the points here are direct quotes and some are my interpretation of what Dr Funk said. As with any handwritten notes during a lecture, some leeway must be given for brevity’s sake. If you want more information on the specifics and the science, I would highly encourage you to read Dr Funk’s book.

A partial list of the points from my notes:

• Women make choices every day that either move them towards or away from getting breast cancer
• Most people believe – falsely – that breast cancer is completely in the hands of genetics or fate.
  • Not so. Only 5-10% of breast cancer can be blamed on genetic mutation. The rest is environment (what you eat/breathe/are exposed to)
• 87% of women diagnosed with breast cancer don’t have a first degree relative who had it
• We have choices: most easily through diet and nutrition, alcohol consumption, exercising, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress, hormone replacement and avoiding environmental toxicity
• You can’t expect to live on the edges of the bell curve. That’s like taking a gun with room for ten bullets, loading it with eight and thinking it’s safe to play with. In breast cancer, those eight bullets can be controlled by lifestyle choices
• 77% of women believe there is nothing they can do with their diet to reduce their risk of breast cancer - - this is FALSE!
• What do you think your cells use to run and replicate other than the food you eat? It’s not magic
• Cancer can “crosstalk” to other cells to make you a better host for it to grow. Eating plant-based turns down that ability to hijack your system
• 2-3 servings of whole-soy (edamame and tempeh) can DECREASE your risk of first-time breast cancer by 60% and if you have already had breast cancer you will reduce your risk of recurrence by 32%
• Soy and broccoli are two of the most healthful foods you can eat to fight breast cancer
• Berries also quiet the crosstalk from cancer cells, causes them to explode (apoptosis) and keeps the blood vessels that cancer needs to live from growing
• The lack of nutritional education in medical school makes doctors believe that nutrition doesn’t matter. Patients MUST be their own advocate and researcher when it comes to nutrition
• ALL animal protein and ALL animal fat are hugely detrimental to human cells. It actively PROMOTES illness.
• One drink of alcohol a day increases your risk of breast cancer by 10%.
  • Two drinks a day Ꙟ risk 20%
  • Three drinks a day Ꙟ risk by 40%
  • You can add 10% risk for every drink thereafter
  • The safest amount of alcohol to consume for breast health is zero
• Tight bras have nothing to do with breast cancer risk

Don't wait to get a scary diagnoses to move towards a plant-based lifestyle. Not sure where to start? We offer several support options. Email us at Health@RnRJourney.com to discuss what would best get you on the path to better health.