Written by Dr. Sandra Miranda, BSc, ND

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in women in Canada. On average, 62 Canadian women are diagnosed and 14 Canadian women die with breast cancer every day.

Many of these cancers are estrogen positive. Estrogens are broken down in the liver. These breakdown byproducts are called metabolites. Some metabolites are healthy and protective to our health and others are not. The latter ones are stronger estrogens and can be very dangerous. They stimulate the growth of hormone dependent cancers. Too much of the wrong type of estrogen will increase your risk of not only breast cancer but also other hormone related diseases such as cervical dysplasia, and even prostate cancer in men.

There is a simple way of measuring the levels of the good and bad estrogens in the urine. The ratio between these metabolites is called Estrogen Metabolism Ratio (EMR). This ratio will indicate your risk for developing these types of cancers. If your ratio is too low, there are many natural supplements, nutritional and lifestyle changes that can help improve it.

This test is beneficial to all women but especially important if you have the history of hormone use such as infertility medication, birth control pill and hormone replacement therapy.

Which remarkable women in your life would love to find out if they are at risk for developing breast cancer. Please forward this email to each one of them.

Breast cancer is a lot easier to prevent than to treat!

For more information on the Estrogen Metabolism Ratio, call Miranda Naturopathic Clinic at 905-668-7987.