Familiarize Yourself with Your Breasts. Understanding the size, shape and texture of your breasts is important as knowing this will help you to know when there is a deficiency. You should also understand the many factors that affect changes in your breasts like pregnancy, age, genetics, your menstrual cycle, medication, and weight gain or loss.

Increase Your Vegetable Intake. Many studies have shown that women whose diets are rich in vegetable based fiber, are less likely to suffer from breast cancer.  Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts are most known to prevent cancer.  The recommended intake of vegetables is 3 daily; this recommended value can be achieved by eating either cooked or raw vegetables.

Drink Green Tea. Green tea has many anti-carcinogenic qualities and has proven to lower the rates of not only breast cancer, but various cancers.

Consider Olive Oil. Including olive oil in your diet can prove to be very beneficial. 25% of women who include it in their diets have a lower incidence of breast cancer, as compared to women who have little to no olive oil intake.

Limit Alcohol Intake.  Large consumptions of alcohol has proven to be a key factor in breast cancer rates.  While alcohol has other positive effects, intake should be limited in an effort to preserve the health of your breasts.

Limit Stress. Studies have shown that excess stress and anger may lead to both malignant and benign breast disease.  The best way to avoid this and preserve your breast health is to partake in activities that reduce stress like: meditation, a light stroll and yoga.  Doing something you love like reading, painting or watching television are also good activities to relieve stress and maintain your breast health.

Exercise Often.  Join a local gym or watch and partake in an exercise video from the comfort of your own home. The objective is to get your blood flowing. Regular exercise has been proven to reduce breast cancer rates in women.

Massage Your Breasts. Massaging your breasts improves the blood circulation to your breasts and also helps to relieve stress. A breast massage can be done by gently rubbing the breasts in a circular motion for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Do Monthly Breast Self-Examinations. Many women tend to forget the importance of breast self-examinations. Doing regular self-exams, will help you to be in tune with your body and allow you to detect any irregularities or lumps.

Schedule an Annual Mammograms. Along with conducting regular breast self-examinations, you should also schedule to see a physician for an annual mammogram. The mammogram will help to detect any deficiencies in your breasts and have been the key to saving many women’s lives, as early-detection is key to surviving the effects of breast cancer.

Know Your History. Knowing the medical history of your family is critical in maintaining and preserving the health of your breasts. If your mother, sister or another close family member has experienced breast cancer, your risk for the disease increases.

Know Additional Risk Factors. Being aware of various risk factors that increase the likelihood of breast cancer (i.e. being overweight or taking certain medications) will help you to maintain and preserve the health of your breasts.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy diet which includes eating the right foods, avoiding cigarettes, and limiting alcohol intake are all key to maintaining the health of your breasts.

Below are some risk factors that you should be mindful of:

Age

One of the biggest factors for breast cancer is age. Women over the age of forty are at higher risk for the disease, than women in their 20’s to late 30’s. This is primarily because as we age our body’s ability to repair genetic damage decreases.  Despite being a factor we have little control over, regular exercise, a limited amount of alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy diet and staying away from cigarettes will reduce the risk of breast cancer due to aging.

Genetics

A family history of breast cancer puts many women at increased risk for the disease. Your risk for breast cancer is nearly doubled if you have a mother, sister, daughter or other close relative who has been diagnosed with the disease. Research has shown that 5-10% of all breast cancer cases are inherited. Maintaining a healthy diet and getting frequent breast examinations are key ways to prevent breast cancer due to genetics. In addition to this, though extreme, having a prophylactic breast surgery to remove your healthy breasts is also an option. This is an option that many women, with the support of their doctor, choose in order to alleviate risks.

Ethnicity

The ethnicity of an individual plays a key role in risk level for breast cancer. Women who are Caucasian are more likely to develop breast cancer. African women tend to be more prone to the more aggressive forms. Women of Eastern European Jewish heritage are at greater risk for the disease. Exercising regularly, limiting alcohol intake and maintaining a healthy diet are key ways to prevent the disease.

Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D not only prevents the development of breast cancer cells but also controls overall breast cell growth. Research has shown that women with low level of Vitamin D are at a greater risk for breast cancer. To alleviate this issue, women should increase intake in foods with Vitamin D like salmon, catfish, yogurt and soymilk. Women can also choose to take a Vitamin D supplement or increase their exposure to direct sunlight.

Chemical Exposure

An array of food, water, cosmetics or cleaning products with certain chemicals can increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer. To counter this, women should eat more organic foods and utilize products made with little to no chemicals. Women should also carefully read labels and purchase a water purifying system.

Child-birth

Your risk for breast cancer can also be determined by the age in which you have your first child. Those who are over the age of thirty when they give birth for the first are at increased risk for the disease because pregnancy decreases the number of menstrual cycles you’ll have over a lifetime.

Dense Breasts

Dense breasts, which are breasts that contain more non-fatty tissue, are six times more likely to be infected with breast cancer. Dense breasts make it difficult for a mammogram to detect cancer. To reduce risks posed by dense breast, women should create a personal breast screening plan that includes breast self-exams, annual clinical breast exams, digital mammograms and in some situations an ultrasound.

Menstruation

A woman who began her menstrual cycle before the age of 12 is at increased risk for breast cancer because the longer a woman menstruates, the longer she is exposed to the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

1. Our breasts have hair. That’s right, almost all women have a small portion of hair around their nipples.  The number of the hairs is dependent upon both the hair color and skin color of your nipples. For instance, if you have dark colored hair, like brunette or black, the hairs will be a lot noticeable than if you had blonde or lightly brown colored hair or skin.

2. Nipple size varies. One nipple may very well be larger than the other. The direction in which each nipple faces may also be different depending upon the structure of your breasts.  In some women, the shape and size of each of their breast may also vary.

3. How much does your breast weigh? If many of us had to guess, we would probably guess incorrectly. More often, than not, our breasts appear to be heavier than they really are. On average an A cup breast weighs about 100 grams while a D cup can weigh up to, but no more than 450 grams.

4. Your Menstrual Cycle Affects Your Breasts. Our body undergoes weekly changes in hormones. These changes also cause a fluctuation in our breast tissues.  After our menstrual cycle has ended, the level of our hormones decreases resulting in the softening of our breast tissue.  In the midst of our menstrual cycle, typically in the middle of the process, our estrogen levels increase resulting in an increase in our nipples sensitivity.  Approximately a week before our menstrual cycle begins and within the time frame it begins, progesterone is released causing our breasts to become more tense.

5. Visit the Doctor when Your Breast Have Softened. The best time to visit a physician is when your breast have softened. This typically takes place right after your menstrual cycle has ended. At this time, your breasts are in a relaxed state allowing for ease in detecting abnormal swellings or any other deficiencies.

6. Breasts can be easily sunburned. Because the material used to create swimsuits is most often very thin, the likelihood of getting a sunburn on your breasts is very great.  To avoid this apply sunblock with UVA and UVB protection. You might also consider wearing a bra of some sort under your swimsuit.

7. The way you sleep has an effect on the shape of your breasts. Over the course of time, sleeping on your stomach may cause your breasts to change shape.  The recommended way to sleep is on your side, with a pillow placed under your bust line for support.

8. Exercising affects your breast. If you fail to wear the proper bra to support your breasts while exercising, it could lead to loss of elasticity within your breasts.    Outside of this, doing various pectoral exercises can raise your breast, strengthening them and causing them to become firmer.

9. Bra size is inherited. The size of your breasts is inherited from both your mother and father’s side of the family.

10. Breasts stop growing. The shape of your breasts is determined during puberty and they typically stop growing at the age of twenty. The only time they tend to grow beyond this age is due to weight gain or pregnancy.

11. Pregnancy Affects Nipple Color. The color of your nipple tends to change during pregnancy, often becoming darker, to make it easier for your infant child to find it’s food source. Typically, the nipples never regain their original color after this transition.

For more great information, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast