Loving ourselves is important to maintaining a healthy body. The more we do to nurture and assist our body in important tasks, the better it will perform.

Daily, eat a well-balanced diet consisting of dark green, orange and red vegetables and fruits; high quality meats and proteins; and healthy fats and nutrient-dense foods. Increase your intake of broccoli and cabbage. Be aware of food-gut sensitivities and replace them with good foods, including organic, non-GMO products, essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Probiotic foods allow the body to eliminate excess estrogens and xenoestrogens.

Keep a healthy weight. Obesity raises the risk of breast cancer, especially after menopause. Excessive estrogen lives in fat cells. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), a woman with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 (obese) has a 13 percent higher risk of cancer than a woman with a BMI of 25 (slightly overweight). Avoid sugar and refined foods, pesticides and herbicides, chemicals and food additives, and trans fats and hydrogenated oils. These have all shown to be factors in increased breast disease. Avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates to decrease inflammation and acidity.

Cut back on coffee and caffeinated products except green tea which is loaded with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a potent antioxidant believed to suppress new blood vessel growth in tumors and keep cancerous cells from invading healthy tissue.

Avoid alcohol and smoking. Both are connected to higher incidence of breast cancer. Dr. Laurie Steelsmith, N.D. says alcohol boosts estrogen levels in women and is broken down in the liver to acetaldehyde, a known toxin that causes cancer in laboratory animals. According to the AICR, a woman who has five drinks a week boosts her risk by five percent. Two or more drinks a day boosts such risk by 40 percent.

Eat more fiber, including flax, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, to bind the excess estrogens in your colon and flush out toxins, including unfriendly estrogens. Avoid getting constipated. Congestion anywhere in the body leads to problems with the lymphatic system and immune system. There are many readily available nutritional supplements and foods that boost breast health factors, including garlic, turmeric (a natural anti-inflammatory), flax seed and oil, omega oils, green tea, fresh green vegetables and fruits. Avoid antibiotics whenever possible.

Avoid harmful chemicals and antiperspirants found in personal care products and cleaning products. Choose natural deodorants instead of antiperspirants. Do not eat or drink anything hot in plastic or foam containers.

Breasts lie in the fourth quadrant of our body, just over the heart. Loving them with unconditional acceptance and love along with a gentle lymphatic self-massage will help to balance, detoxify, promote lymphatic circulation and soften them from fibrocystic tissue, all which will stimulate the immune system to ward off disease.

It is easier to recognize changes and feel sexy as you do the breast self-massage. If you feel you need to wear a bra to be comfortable, find one that fits well without underwires. Never wear one to bed.

Breasts want to hang around “till death do we part”. Appreciate them and care for them. Big or small, young or old, there is always time to give them a loving lymphatic breast self-massage. Make healthy lifestyle changes to always have happy and healthy breasts.