October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

and many people consider this month a time to reflect on the impact that this disease has had in their lives and in the lives of those they love. Also, let's face it - we all love boobies! They're awesome! They provide nourishment and comfort to us as babies and, even in adulthood, they continue to provide comfort for a certain segment of the population (wink, wink - hint, hint). They also tend to look incredible in t-shirts and push up bras. They're practically magic! So...what was I saying?

Oh yeah, so during this time in which we empathize with those who suffer with or have lost a loved one to the struggle, we should all resolve to do whatever we can to help put an end to this vicious cancer once and for all. On that note, I will be committing at least one weekly article during the month of October to the issue of breast cancer and how whole food nutrition, supplementation, and other lifestyle changes can be used to prevent and treat this disease.

Before I begin, however, it is important to dispel a widely held notion; a common assertion by many people (and their doctors) is that they are "genetically predisposed" to certain types of cancer due to their family history. This may be true in some cases, but in most you will find that what is actually passed down from one generation to the next is not cancer prone DNA, but cancer promoting lifestyle and dietary habits. Since most people tend to maintain the same or similar eating habits and lifestyles as their parents and close relatives, it's practically unavoidable that they would also tend to (eventually) suffer from the same or similar diseases, including breast cancer.

It's important to understand the causal relationship between environment, lifestyle, diet, and cancer and to use this understanding as a springboard for discussion, and change. I will aim to do this in this month’s articles by discussing;

• The preventative benefits of whole food nutrition
• The preventative benefits of vitamin and mineral supplementation
• Nutritional steps to healing after breast cancer
• Popular alternative cancer treatments

and, hopefully, even more related topics.

For your viewing (and learning) pleasure, below is a brief trailer of the popular documentary Food Matters, an engrossing look at how food and modern medicine affect our health.