Kenta Yokoi writes:

        There are particular problems about Mrs. Masuda's life style that I would like to address.

        First, she likes eating a lot of food, but she scarcely does any exercise. She likes eating many kinds of food, especially beef, pork, coconut oil and margarine. These foods contain a lot of fats. These facts all together explain why her body weight had increased and why she has accumulated much fat. In addition, fats are common in some diets that have been linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer. But doing exercise actually reduces fat in the body. So she should do exercise, but should take care of her plan for exercising because following a strict program is not good for her health. (For lately she hasn't done any exercise.)

        Second, her current diet plan is not suitable. She should not try to skip eating breakfast, since we have to eat regular meals to take in enough nutrition. If we miss one meal, our body will want more nutrition and we will eat extra foods at other meals like in Mrs. Masuda's case. It isn't necessary for her to think that diet is only to become slimmer or more beautiful. But she should try to diet to reduce her risk factors of breast cancer. When she thinks about her diet, she should reduce eating some fats and eat few or no desserts. The initial step she needs to take is to reduce her intake of food and regulate her diet.

        Mrs. Masuda's third problem is that she doesn't like vegetables. Low-fat, high-fiber diets are linked with lower levels of female hormones and a lower risk for breast cancer. And vitamins in vegetables and fruits indirectly help us to protect our body from cancer. If she doesn't like vegetables but likes something sweet, at least she should begin to eat some fruits. And she should try to eat vegetables little by little.

        Alcohol is the best established dietary risk factor, which appears to increase risk for breast cancer even among moderate drinkers. Now she is a moderate drinker, so probably it is easy to stop drinking. If it is not easy, nevertheless she should reduce the amount of alcohol as well.

        There is some advice I can give to Mrs. Masuda. But it is important that if she doesn't notice these problems and she doesn't follow my advice, her anxiety will end in vain.

        1. She doesn't like exercise. So, first, she should try walking around her house or somewhere she wants to go. It is important that she shouldn't think about walking "as an exercise" but "as a pastime." If she could do this, she would be established spiritually and she would not eat extra foods. I think her eating habits come from her stress.
        2. When she wants to eat something sweet, she should eat some fruits. Confectioneries contain many fats. If she could only reduce eating them, she would decrease fat from her body. And vitamins in fruits will help her to keep her health.
        3. She should decide which days when she drinks, like once every three days or once a week. If she could get used to that, she could widen the intervals.

        Now I only can suggest these three points because a big change in her diet will injure her. So at least she should follow this advice, and I would suggest she think about some exercise that matches her new healthier diet.

         

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