Balancing a healthy lifestyle with healthy choices is key in all cancer prevention. According to the American Cancer Society, a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes. There are many things you can do to prevent yourself from becoming a statistic.

Lifestyle factors such as regular exercise, increasing vitamin D intake, and eating a low-fat diet can help reduce your risk of getting breast cancer. All the prevention methods listed here can all help you live a well-balanced life – one full of energy and vitality:

Alkalize your blood. A healthy pH balance – the ratio of alkalinity to acidity in the body – is crucial to being cancer-free. Cancer thrives in acidic environments but is unable to survive in alkaline ones. Edgar Cayce, typically referred to as the “father of holistic medicine,” consistently emphasized the importance of maintaining a proper acid/alkaline balance in the body. Cayce said that “a normal diet is about twenty percent acid to eighty percent alkaline-producing.” Make sure your diet is rich in alkalizing foods such as green vegetables, beans, spices, herbs, seeds and nuts. Limit your consumption of alcohol, coffee, meat, fish, poultry and eggs. You can measure your pH levels with litmus strips to be sure your body is more alkaline than acidic.

Go braless! Or at least limit how many hours a day you wear a bra. Bras restrict the flow of lymph within breast tissue which hinders the breast’s natural cleansing process. Multiple studies done on bras have shown some astounding results. Women in Figi who don’t wear bras have almost no incidence of breast cancer. In a Harvard study researchers found that women who wore their bras 24 hours per day had a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer compared to women who wore their bras less than 12 hours per day and had a 1 out of 152 risk.

Eat your veggies. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli may protect against breast cancer because they lower levels of estrogen which is a hormone that plays a role in tumor growth. Additionally isothiocyanates- the anti-cancer compounds found in broccoli- can help in the detoxification of your liver and can rid your body of carcinogens.

Get some sun! Vitamin D is a hormone that your body naturally produces when your skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D is essential to your body but as many as 36% of us are deficient in Vitamin D. According to Science Daily, Vitamin D protects us from breast cancer by stimulating a protein that prevents breast cancer cells from growing. Fair-skinned individuals need just 15 minutes of sun a day while 20 to 30 minutes is needed for darker skinned people. In the winter months make sure to get your Vitamin D from fish oil, mushrooms and Vitamin D supplements.

Get regular exercise: The Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina has done multiple studies showing that moderate exercise can reduce the risk of breast cancer. Exercising promotes the circulation of oxygen in the blood and floods cells with enough oxygen to get rid of cancer. Cancer cannot survive in an oxygen-rich environment. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes 5-6 times a week.

Drink green tea. According to a study published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry the EGCG in green tea aids in preventing breast cancer. The polyphenols-powerful antioxidants found in green tea- can prevent cancer cells from growing. Drink 1-3 cups of caffeine-free green tea per day.

Eat a low-fat diet. A diet high in fat significantly increases a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute concluded that women with high-fat diets had a 32 percent higher risk of getting breast cancer than those who followed a low-fat diet.

Try Black Cohosh. This is an herb used typically to treat the side effects associated with menopause. A recent study showed that extracts from Black Cohosh may stop breast cancer cells from forming.

The true cause of cancer can depend on a number of factors. Diet, environmental factors, and genetics all play a role. By making healthy lifestyle choices you can dramatically tip the odds in your favor and enjoy a vibrant, healthy, cancer-free life.

Tip No: 1 ‘ Reason Positively, Be Positive, Act Positive.

For you to achieve your desired goal easily, you must have a positive view of yourself. Your health is somewhat psychological in nature, especially when it comes to self-esteem and self-confidence. It is in view of this that experts advise that negative thoughts should be avoided because it blocks one’s chances of success.

Tip No: 2 ‘ Consume Light and Healthy Foods.

A good number of other good-to-follow weight loss tips recommend that one’s diet consist of low fat, a high amount of vitamins, minerals and complex carbohydrates. Although, these diets might not always taste very good, one must always remember that it is only determination that remains the short-cut to success. With time, you’d come to discover that following the right weight loss tip can be a lot easy. Why? You might want to ask. Well this is because when one slowly but consistently makes a low fat diet an important part of life, it becomes ideal at all phases of one’s life.

It is advised that such diet should include whole grain cereals, fresh fruits, pasta, green vegetables, breads, beans and nuts. The eating of junk and fried foods should be stopped at once. May I also add that it is important that one drinks much water all through the day as well. From experience, beginning the day with a heavy, but fat free meal such as Cornbread with Taramasalata would be very helpful as it makes one feel less hungry during the day.

At the end, it can be concluded from the above discussion that you are not only required to put physical efforts towards your weight loss plan, you are also required to put mental efforts as well; so be positive all the time. There are uncountable options that are available to all those who want to reduce their weight. Which solution to choose and which one to ignore becomes a challenge. So always pick up smart solutions; selection of healthy and light diet with healthy exercises to reduce weight. The simplest formula that you can use in order to measure your progress is the calories intake divided by calories lost, the smaller the value, the better the result.

The people of northern Nigeria love spicy-hot meat kabobs. In southern Nigeria, the people love many kinds of seafood stews with shrimp, fish, lobster, crab, rice, and vegetables. In the central part of Nigeria, the people love to have stewed meats served with mashed yams or cassava.

Egusi Nigerian Stew

In Nigeria, edible melon seeds go by the name of “egusi,” and with this popular Nigerian stew, the melon seeds are finely ground to give this dish a unique color and flavor. In place of melons seeds, pumpkin seeds work very well with this stew recipe.

And the shrimp can be replaced or added along with any smoked fish or crab. In place of the chicken, smoked oysters right out of a can, or beef can be used.

Red palm oil gives this stew a distinctive African cooking taste. It can be found on the internet, in international grocery stores, or Latino markets in particular. Do not try to substitute for the red palm oil. This oil is worth the effort to look for.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces

Salt to taste

1/3 cup red palm oil

2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut in half, seeds squeezed out, and grated through the largest holes of a grater.

1 small onion, chopped

2 habanero chile peppers, stemmed and halved

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2/4 cup water

1 1/4 pounds fresh shrimp, heads and shells removed

1 pound fresh spinach, with stems, chopped

Directions:

Put the pumpkin seeds in a food processor and blend for about 20 seconds until in a powdery form.

Reserve.

Salt the chicken, then in a large casserole frying pan, heat the red palm oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides, for about 6 minutes in all.

Place the tomatoes, onion, and habanero pepper in the food processor, and blend for about30 seconds, or until very smooth. Reduce the heat to low, and cover partially. Cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken can be easily pulled off the bone with a fork, or about 1 1/2 hours.

Add the water and shrimp and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add the spinach and the reserved ground seeds and continue simmering for about 10 minutes more, Serve immediately. This Egusi African Stew recipe makes 6 servings.