SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016
9 A
J OEL F UHRMAN , MD
The old adage “An ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of
cure” best describes what our
focus should be regarding
breast cancer, which is the most
common form of cancer that
affects women, and is the sec-
ond leading cause of death for
women after heart disease.
While a great deal of money
and attention is focused on
breast cancer awareness, it
would make more sense to con-
centrate on preventing the dis-
ease from occurring in the first
place.
There are nutritional strate-
gies that are safe, easily imple-
mented and have been proven
effective in reducing the risk of
breast cancer. Among the most
powerful anti-cancer foods are
flax and chia seeds, which are a
rich source of lignans. Lignans
have anti-estrogenic effects that
inhibit cell growth in breast
tumors.
Let’s take an in-depth look at
lignans and why they are so
effective in combating breast
cancer: Plant lignans are one of
the four classes of phytoestro-
gens (isoflavones, lignans, stil-
benes, coumestans).
Phytoestrogens are a group
of chemicals found in plants
that can act like the hormone
estrogen. In particular, lignans
are structurally similar to the
main mammalian estrogen,
estradiol.
Plant lignans are modified by
bacteria in the human digestive
tract into enteroligans.
Enterolignans are structural-
ly similar to estrogen and can
bind to estrogen receptors. This
capability allows lignans to
either have weak estrogenic
activity or block the actions of
estrogen in the body. For this
reason, plant lignans are classi-
fied as phytoestrogens, and
there has been much interest in
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the potential contribution of
lignan-rich foods to reduced
risk of hormone-related can-
cers.
It is important to recognize
the role of healthy bacteria in
this process, because antibi-
otics can destroy beneficial
bacteria in the gut, resulting in
long-term reduction in enteroli-
gans. Eating commercial meats
expose us to antibiotics, as does
the overuse and inappropriate
prescribing of these drugs by
physicians.
Flaxseeds are the richest
source of plant lignans, having
about three times the lignan
content of chia seeds, and eight
times the lignan content of
sesame seeds. It is important to
note that flaxseed oil does not
contain lignans, because they
bind to the fiber.
The other plant foods on the
list have about one-tenth or less
the amount of lignans as
sesame seeds per serving.
Flaxseeds (85.5 mg/ounce)
Chia seeds (32 mg/ounce)
Sesame seeds (11.2
mg/ounce)
Kale (curly; 1.6 mg/cup)
Broccoli (1.2 mg/cup)
Enterolignans inhibits aro-
matase and estradiol produc-
tion in general, lowering serum
estrogen levels. Plant lignans
also increase concentration of
sex hormone binding globulin,
which blunts the effects of
estrogens. These benefits were
documented when 48 post-
menopausal women consumed
7.5 g/day of ground flax seeds
for 6 weeks, then 15 g for 6
weeks — and significant
decreases in estradiol, estrone,
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I f n o b o d y k n o w s w h a t ’ s g o i n g o n ,
n o b o d y c a n d o a n y t h i n g a b o u t i t .
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and testosterone were noted,
with a bigger decrease in over-
weight and obese women.
In a mouse model, a flaxseed
diet (5 percent, 10 percent)
shows dose-dependent inhibi-
tion of breast tumor growth.
Human trials also confirmed
similar beneficial effects. A
double-blinded, randomized
controlled trial of dietary
flaxseed demonstrated dramat-
ic protection.
Women ate either a control
muffin with no flax seeds
imbedded, or a 25 g flax-con-
taining muffin, starting at time
of diagnosis of breast cancer
for just 32-39 days until sur-
gery.
Tumor tissue analyzed at
diagnosis and then at the time
of surgery demonstrated sur-
prising benefits even in this
short time frame. There was a
significant apoptosis (tumor
cell death) and reduced cell
proliferation in the flaxseed
group in just the one month.
Likewise, women eating
more flaxseeds with a docu-
mented higher serum enterolac-
tone were found to have a 42
percent reduced risk of death
from postmenopausal breast
cancer and a dramatic 40 per-
cent reduction in all causes of
death.
Flaxseeds are clearly super
foods; even with a mediocre
diet they offer powerful protec-
tion against breast cancer.
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