5 Ways to Protect the Environment and Your Health

This year’s Earth Day falls on a Saturday, making the upcoming weekend an extended celebration of awareness about environmental issues. Although it may not be obvious, the health of our planet connects to breast health as well. Here are five things things you can do to protect both: 

1. Avoid tobacco in all its forms, including exposure to secondhand smoke. In addition to well-known health risks, the cultivation of tobacco for human consumption poses significant challenges to the environment.

2. Reduce your consumption of saturated fat and red meat, and instead increase your consumption of local, seasonal fruits and vegetables. This help you stay lean while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and your carbon footprint.

3. Spend time in nature. Physical activity has been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer, and even light exercise by getting outside will help protect you. Without any littering of course!

4. Drink less alcohol. Though it may feel like a stretch, the consumption of alcohol is the driving force behind the industry's environmental impact. Whether it's carbon emissions through added driving, un-recycled glass or aluminum, or the energy burned to make your drink in the first place, drinking alcohol takes a toll on our planet as well as our health. 

5. Invest in clean beauty. Research suggests that at certain exposure levels, some commonly used chemicals in cosmetics may contribute to the development of breast cancer (such as parabens and pthalates). These compounds also have a negative impact on the environment after they have been washed down the drain or released into the air. 

Learn more about ways to celebrate EarthDay.