On Friday October 30th, Reverse Factor, a company in India helping people reverse lifestyle diseases through the right kind of food, held a breast cancer seminar on Zoom. Founder of Reverse Factor, Karan Kakkad, along with oncologist and breast cancer surgeon, Dr. Poovamma C U, jointly held the session speaking to participants about being aware of any signs of malignancy.
Dr. Poovamma started the seminar saying it was important to detect cancers early, referring to the need for a routine mammogram once in a year or once in two years, after 40 years. “People land up reporting an abnormality late, perhaps when they don’t want to bother the family over something, they think is not important. If there is a lump in the breast, it may not always be cancer, however it needs to be examined. Doing self breast tests are important too. It’s also important that one doesn’t procrastinate addressing such concerns,” underlined Dr. Poovamma.
Dr. Poovamma also mentioned to attendees at the session when the best time for self tests are. She said the 7th day, counting the first day of one’s period as day one, should be the time to check your breasts. “One can start examining the breast from one point, using the surface of one’s fingers. What’s normal and what’s abnormal can be picked up at that time.”
The conversation thereafter moved towards discussing our lives and how they could breed disease. Dr. Poovamma spoke about obesity, lack of physical activity, an early menarche, being in a state of stress all the time, as well as “toxins from the environment” as being some causes for breast cancer. She also added that it was a complex set of circumstances that led to such cancers and it was also difficult to pin point the exact cause for their onset and growth. However, she revealed that “almost 95 % of breast cancers are curable…”
The next person to enter the conversation was Reverse Factor’s Founder Karan Kakkad. He spoke about diabetes and obesity being linked to the menace of breast cancer. However, he said the good news was that right nutrition can prevent these linked diseases. Kakkad referred specifically to fibre in one’s diet as that marvellous element in diet that could help fight cancers.
“Eat foods with fibre. Drumsticks have excellent immunity building properties. Eat green, leafy vegetables, and eat nuts and seeds such as walnuts, chia and pumpkin seeds.” Kakkad also spoke about onion and garlic as having stunning medicinal properties – they go a long way in beating lung and kidney related cancers he said.
Kakkad also added avoiding foods that give you a rush of sugar and for many are immediate go-to options when one wants to quench thirst or receive a boost of energy at the gym for example. “Avoid aerated drinks, colas, and energy drinks. They feed cancer cells.”
