Exercise and Women's Breast Health
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Most women are very concerned about breast health,
and particularly about avoiding breast cancer.
It's certainly an important issue to address
because, "Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer,
breast cancer is the most common form of cancer
in women. Breast cancer is the number one cause
of cancer death in Hispanic women. It is the
second most common cause of cancer death in white,
black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American
Indian/Alaska Native women.
In 2003 (the most recent year numbers are
available),181,646 women and 1,826 men were
diagnosed with breast cancer 41,619 women and 379
men died from breast cancer" 1
The good news for women is that there are things
they can do to reduce their chances of
contracting this disease. We know that regular
exercise is extremely important for many reasons
concerning our overall health: weight loss,
cardiovascular strengthening, balancing blood
sugars, and much more, but did you know that
exercise might also help you avoid breast cancer?
My clinical experience brings to me women who are
experiencing signs and symptoms of estrogen
dominance and there is evidence that this
estrogen dominance may lead to breast cancer over
a period of time. Dr. John Lee states in his book
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause:
"Since many women in their mid-thirties begin to
have nonovulating cycles, they are producing much
less progesterone than expected, but still
producing normal (or more) estrogen….They develop
signs of estrogen dominance relative to
progesterone deficiency resulting in fluid
retention, weight gain (especially around the
hips and torso), depression and decreased libido."
2 But this extra estrogen could have a more
ominous effect.
Dr. Bob Arnot, in his excellent book The Breast
Cancer Prevention Diet, cites many good studies
that associate high estrogen levels with a high
risk of breast cancer:
"Researchers at NYU measured estrogen levels in
women long before they ever
developed breast cancer years later the NYU
health study found that those post-menopausal
women who developed breast cancer had a markedly
higher amount of estrogen measured in their blood
than those who did not have cancer."
Arnot also points out that exercise intercepts
the estrogen pathway at several critical
junctures. This results in a decrease in estrogen
dominance. The more women exercised the less
likely they were to get breast cancer. In America,
a study at the University of Southern California
of 1,000 women concluded that those who exercised
3.8 hours or more a week had less than half the
breast cancer of those who remained inactive. 3
Here's what I recommend for my patients:
For young women—high intensity aerobic activity 4
or more hrs/week
For middle-aged women—moderate aerobic activity 4
hrs a week. Moderate intensity of exercise helps
to stabilize insulin levels and lower body fat
better than more intense exercise. Also, moderate
intensity exercise may prevent adrenal fatigue in
middle-aged women as compared to high intensity
aerobic exercises.
Obviously, if you have had limited or no exercise
recently you should start slowly and work up to
the 4 hour/week mark. The important thing is
consistency and persistence in following your
exercise program. So what are you waiting for?
Get moving and get (and stay) healthy!
1 Department of Health and Human Services Center
for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/
accessed June 20, 2007.
2 Lee, John R., MD, and Hopkins, Virginia. What
Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause: The
breakthrough book on natural progesterone. New
York: Warner Books; 1996.
3 Arnot, Dr. Bob. The Breast Cancer Prevention
Diet. Boston: Little, Brown and Company; 1998.
About the Author
Dr. Tina Marcantel is a naturopathic physician in Mesa, Arizona. Before entering medical school she was a registered nurse. Dr. Marcantel has over twenty-five years of experience in the health care field including diabetes management, women's health, weight loss, and mental health. She practices holistic, integrative patient care. For more information please visit her site at drmarcantel.com.
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