Breast cancer risk reduction starts with healthy habits like moving your body every day and lowering your stress. Making changes in your lifestyle can help reduce your risk for breast cancer.

A risk factor is anything that might increase your risk of getting a disease, like breast cancer. However having a risk factor, or many, doesn’t mean you will actually get the disease. Some women’s personal or family history can increase their risk of developing breast cancer, as well as those who carry certain genetic mutations. Certain risk factors for breast cancer are things we don’t have control over like our family history or genetic makeup, but some risk factors are related to personal choice, like diet and exercise.

If you are concerned about your risk for breast cancer, you might be curious what lifestyle changes you can make to help lower your risk. Clayton Bell, MD, an Integrative Medicine physician at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, recommends these five lifestyle changes to help lower your risk for breast cancer.

1. Start a daily movement routine. Moving your body for 30 minutes each day, like taking a walk, is all it takes to start reducing your risk for developing breast cancer. Being physically active has positive effects on your body weight, levels of inflammation, hormones, and energy. Exercise helps reduce your risk of both breast cancer and cancer in general.
2. Lower your stress. Excessive stress can have many negative effects on your health. Bell recommends to boost your resilience to stress in an effort to improve your overall health. According to Bell, “Of the thousand women with breast cancer I have seen over the past five years, almost 100 percent experienced chronic stress or had a major stressful event occur within six months of their diagnosis.” Ways to decrease stress and boost your resiliency include exercise, meditation, journaling, time in nature, and any other form of self-care.
3. Spend time in nature every day. Quality time spent outdoors can help boost your overall health, can provide a great opportunity for exercise and may help give your emotional and mental health a boost. “Forest bathing” (being in the woods) is a great stress-reduction strategy and research has shown it can help boost immunity and mood. Some studies have even shown that breathing in compounds released from trees can enhance the activity of white blood cells known as natural killer cells that aid in fighting infections.
4. Eat a whole food, plant-based diet. Eating more plants and less meat decreases risks of breast cancer, and this is especially important if you have a BRCA mutation. Organic soy foods (tofu, tempeh, edamame) and organic unsweetened soy milk have natural phytoestrogens that are protective against developing breast cancer or having a recurrence. Having organic soy in your diet can help decrease your risk for cancer.
5. Get adequate sleep each night. Getting enough sleep is important for many aspects of good health including a decreased risk for developing breast cancer. While we sleep our bodies repair and refresh much of the wear and tear that happens from everyday life. Sleep deprivation can cause low grade inflammation, which is linked to almost all types of cancer and heart disease. Women should aim for nine hours in bed each night to ensure eight hours of actual sleep time.

Visit the University Breast Center website to learn more about breast cancer screening services at UT Medical Center.