Breast Cancer Awareness Contest

In honor of all breast cancer survivors and casualties, we'd like to welcome you all to our annual October BREAST CANCER AWARENESS event. We're a few romance authors who want to spread some happily ever afters around while urging you to get your annual checkups! Just visit the following websites or blogs to read up on the latest health information and learn how to enter each of the participating authors' contests.

http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com/
http://www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com/
http://www.annakathrynlanier.com/id18.html

Each author will offer a prize. So, be certain to enter at each location. Prizes will be announced Halloween night. There's nothing like a wonderful treat on Halloween!

This year I’ve decided to take a new approach. I’d like to catch those women so young they say to themselves, “I’ll worry about this later on,” to those who are getting ready to turn forty, contemplating their first mammogram to those who are fifty, tested yearly and nervous every time. Bet you’re wondering what I’m talking about. Well, simple enough, there are steps we can all take now to possibly lower our chances of getting this disease that visits one in eight women every single day. What’s this miracle cure you ask? No cure, but preventative and purely dietary. Yep, that’s right, changing our eating habits now could help us down the line!

Take the time to read the following dietary changes you can make NOW and I’m willing to dish out a slew of prizes to a random commenter. You read right, a slew of prizes, including two of my novels, a $10 gift certificate to The Wild Rose Press and a Breast Cancer awareness T-shirt! That’s how much I want you to become more aware of this disease.

I spent hours scouring the internet looking for dietary changes you can make. Here’s what consistently seemed to be at the top of the list…

-SEAWEED! Who would have thought? Best bet, Kelp and Nori. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I had it in a soup one afternoon in Boston. Wow, was I shocked. It tasted great! What does it do? Fights those free radicals cancer cells find delectable.

-FIBER! Don’t hold back- dish up the fiber whenever you can. Fruits and veggies, beans, whole grains. I don’t know about you but I’ve found a lot of creative ways to eat fruits and veggies. I dip my apple slices in low fat peanut butter, coat my broccoli in crushed up wheat saltines (yeah, they make those now) and sauté them in margin and extra light virgin olive oil. Why is the fiber so important? Fiber interrupts the body's metabolism of estrogen and decreases the blood levels of estrogen. High levels of estrogen in the bloodstream correspond to a higher risk of breast cancer. High-fiber diets can decrease breast cancer risk by up to 54 percent! Load up on cruciferous vegetables--broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, turnips, bok choy, kale, and cauliflower.

GO FISH FOR FATTY ACIDS! I’ll tell you right off the top, I take 3,000 ML’s of Omega 3 powered fish oil pills a day because I have no time to cook. This option is super for those who don’t like fish as well. Like fish? Super! Eat at least three servings a week of cold-water fish such as tuna, salmon, halibut, mackerel, haddock, cod, and sardines. Why? Omega-3 oils found in the aforementioned fish inhibit the effects of the compounds known as prostaglandins, which have been associated with the inflammation that suppresses the immune system's ability to identify tumors

The list is endless after this. I’ve found mixed reviews about Soy products, so I say research on your own. Eat what feels right. I also learned dairy products as well as olives were a good preventative measure. I listed the foods I did because I eat them religiously now. Did I mention my family history is full of breast cancer? Nothing I’ve listed here is “cut in stone.” I am not a doctor. At the very least it’s healthy! Talk to your doctor and see what he or she recommends.

All you need to do for a chance to win the grand prize is leave a comment about my topic. Do you agree, disagree, have another great point to make? Please share, it’s a go here. I’m all about awareness. If you took the time to read and become more aware, I’m happy!

Sky