**A little note before getting to this truly vital info about breast cancer: My leg reconstruction surgery, originally scheduled for today, was postponed a week. It's now set for a week from today, on May 9. Have a great weekend — XO Meg.**
According to nutritional biochemist T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., there are at least four important breast cancer risks affected by nutrition. Many of these relationships were confirmed in his book, The China Study, after being well established in other research. Here are some of his major findings:
Risk of breast cancer increases when a woman has:
1.) early stage menarche (first menstruation)
2.) late age of menopause
3.) high levels of female hormones in blood
4.) high blood cholesterol
A diet high in animal foods and refined carbohydrates:
1.) lowers age of menarche
2.) raises the age of menopause
3.) increases female hormone levels
4.) increases blood cholesterol levels
With the exception of blood cholesterol, these risk factors are variations on the same theme: exposure to excess amounts of female hormones, including ESTROGEN and PROGESTERONE, leads to an increased risk of breast cancer. Women who consume a diet rich in animal-based foods, with a reduced amount of whole plant-based foods, reach puberty earlier and menopause later, thus, extending their reproductive lives. They also have higher levels of female hormones throughout their lives.
According to The China Study data, lifetime exposure to ESTROGEN is at least 2.5-3 times higher among Western women when compared with rural Chinese women. This is a huge difference for such a critically important hormone. To use the words of one of the leading breast cancer research groups in the world, "There is overwhelming evidence that ESTROGEN levels are a critical determinant of breast cancer risk." Estrogen directly participates in the cancer process.It also tends to indicate the presence of other female hormones that play a role in breasts cancer risk. Increased levels of estrogen and related hormones are a result of the consumption of typical Western diets, high in fat and animal protein and low in dietary fiber.
The difference in estrogen levels between rural Chinese women and Western women is all the more remarkable because a previous report found a mere 17 percent decrease in estrogen levels could account for a HUGE difference in breast cancer rates when comparing different countries. Imagine, then, what 26-63 percent lower blood estrogen levels and eight to nine fewer reproductive years of blood estrogen exposure could mean, as we found in The China Study.
This idea that breast cancer is centered on estrogen exposure is profound because diet plays a major role in establishing estrogen exposure. This suggests that the risk of breast cancer is preventable if we eat foods that will keep estrogen levels under control. The sad truth is that most women simply are not aware of this evidence. If this information were properly reported by responsible and credible public health agencies, I suspect that more young women might be taking very real, very effective steps to avoid this awful disease.
New York Times Magazine. It was about how she changed the spiritual landscape of America and several of its Western allies and how she has helped many people. 
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