Over the last 60+ years, the focus of breast health has been the symptoms, such as calcifications, cysts, and cancer, which is why there haven’t been improvements in the statistics. It's like focusing on garden pests, such as aphids or potato beetles, and using poison to eradicate them and then saying the problem is solved. It surely isn't solved for the next year's crop when the cause of the infestation is not cured. The cause could involve the soil's mineral deficiencies, microorganisms, and pH, the moisture level, the toxicity of the soil and water, the plant's genetic constitution, and so on.
If we approach our breast health with the same sensible awareness involved in a well-tended garden, we will understand that everything is connected.
Jackie Bell
If your breasts become infested with symptoms, it’s not their fault. Breast disease and symptoms are always a secondary condition resulting from association with other glands, organs, and systems in the body.
Like every organ, they are managed and maintained by systems in the body, namely the
endocrine,
circulatory,
mesenchymal,
lymphatic, and
nervous systems.
If the endocrine or any of these other systems are chronically dysfunctional (sick), the breasts have a diminished chance of staying healthy. Chronic symptoms and disease take years to develop. Dysfunction starts in the physiology and ultimately unbalances an organ system. One system working poorly disturbs another, and eventually symptoms with multifaceted, interrelated causes can appear.
The best time to recognize and treat a disease process is, of course, before symptoms develop. From a naturopathic stance, the 6 Facets of Breast Health neatly outlines where to look for potential dysfunction. Empowered with this knowledge, a woman can sensibly manage and optimize her breast health.
An Overview of the 6 Facets of Breast Health
Make mental notes of any symptoms, mild or bothersome, that you have in each of these 6 facets, keeping in mind that unresolved, chronic and recurring symptoms compound with each other and can lead to unhealthy breast conditions, setting the trajectory for eventual breast disease like cancer.
Breast Tissue
Anatomy & Physiology 101: Each part of a woman's breast is connected to an organ system. Learn the ABCs so the rest of the facets make sense and you can begin to see the importance of a holistic approach.
Your breast tissue is dependent upon the delicate balance of estrogen and progesterone. This delicate balance is dependent upon a whole array of influences, from adrenal stress and progesterone deficiency to estrogen dominance. Telltale signs of imbalance are seen in common symptoms such as hot flashes, PMS, and fatigue and can get complicated if they are not straightened out sooner than later. (Remember that we're talking about causal influences of menses, menopause, moods, and energy levels)
Immune System
Your immune system is as healthy as your lymphatic system, which has a two-fold purpose:
supply and deliver white blood cells to the whole body, and
haul away waste and toxins.
Since your breasts, like every other part of your body, depend on the lymphatic flow to supply immune fighting white blood cells and to cleanse itself, how important do you think the lymphatic system is to your breast health? Well, like every cell in your body, the cells in your breast tissue are only as healthy and vibrant as the environment in which they live. So if you have chronic symptoms like occasional UTIs, inflamed joints, irritable GI tract, or cold sores, you can bet that those infections are contaminating the ECM (extra cellular matrix) throughout your whole body and overloading your lymphatic system too, making it difficult for cells everywhere, even breast cells, to live in a healthy environment.
Detoxification Pathways
The body has excretion pathways and detoxification pathways. Detoxification pathways are the processes within certain organs that filter and breakdown toxins for excretion. The main ones are the liver, lymph, and kidneys. Congestion and dysfunction in these organ pathways, as well as a sluggish colon, can have dire, toxic consequences for the breasts.
Nutrition and Digestion
Obvious: What you eat provides building materials and food for your cells as well as the components for physiological processes. In addition to a reliable nutrient supply, hearty digestion and nutrient absorption are the keys to keeping your organ systems humming along.
Not so obvious: Poor nutrition and chronic digestive symptoms cause silent inflammation, allergic sensitivities, and toxic build up. Also, digestion starts with our senses, such as smell and taste, and most importantly hormone release.
Logical: Over time these symptoms exhaust the immune system and adrenals, overload the lymphatic system, and eventually undermine the endocrine (hormone) system, becoming hidden accomplices to breast health issues.
Psycho-Emotional Stress
We all know that stress is a killer and a thief. Well, not on our watch.
Although our bodies are made to handle and react to stress, devastating traumas and chronic distress wear down our resiliency and confound our healing capacity.
For beginners, the breasts are nestled within the heart chakra and are sacred relationship organs. They are sensitive to stress because they are highly influenced by the balance of hormones. Continually clearing our bodies of unresolved trauma energy and daily stress is powerful and necessary for deep, lasting breast health and longevity. A lovely side effect is that we become more of our true selves instead of wallowing in who we (and others) think we should be.
How we address the 6 Facets effectively
Just like the elements of good gardening practices, each facet is a world within itself and one facet affects all others. Laying a foundation that addresses all facets and then focusing on the ones that need the most attention is the sensible strategy if you want to prevent breast disease.
In a nutshell, here are the steps involved.
We lay a foundation that opens drainage pathways, rebuilds the biological terrain, and restores cellular communication. Without this step, we go nowhere slowly and any effort to alleviate bothersome symptoms will be like washing dishes in a mud puddle.
We focus on stabilizing the adrenals, supporting (if not restoring) the 3 phases of liver detox, and strengthening the small intestine and the lymphoid tissue within it. Every chronic issue circles back to the adrenals and liver, so we take care of them up front.
We address the causative factors that put monkey wrenches in the organ systems and ECM (extra cellular matrix) in the first place. You know, toxins, bugs, and emotional stress.
We work on deep cellular repair and restoration. This is the sweet spot that changes the game. (I call it deep diving)
We continue with maintenance as needed and seasonally.
While the foundational protocol in Step 1 is similar for everyone, each person’s strategy and subsequent protocols are going to be as different and individualized as their history and life stories. There is no one-protocol-fits-all in natural medicine.
Sail to the front of the line
You can get right to it and learn about your 6 Facets through a European thermography appointment. It includes a holistic breast analysis that will prioritize how to take care of your breast health and any pesky health complaints that you may have. How convenient!