By Marcey Klein BS, NC
Breast Cancer is a multifaceted disease, there are many areas to look at in preventative care. We want to keep our environment and our bodies free of toxins. Pesticides which are sprayed on our conventional foods, our yards, and leach into our water can get stored in our bodies and cause hormone, cell, and gut disruption. Phthalates from conventional beauty supplies like nail polish, perfumes, and in plastics to make them more pliable, can cause hormone disruption and toxicity as well. All of these can exert an estrogenic effect in the body and can cause endocrine disruption because these hormones are stronger than our own estrogen, latching on to receptor sites meant for our own hormones. Breast cancer risk is increased with a higher level of estrogen, especially with these more aggressive synthetic versions.
We can try to limit them from getting into our bodies in the first place by avoiding foods with pesticides sprayed on them as much as possible by eating organic; and certainly by eating organic when dealing with foods that absorb pesticides more than others or have multiple pesticides sprayed on them. Here’s a list of some foods to try to only buy organic: Peaches, apples, strawberries, grapes, cherries, nectarines, pears, raspberries, bell peppers, celery, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic. You also want to have organic milk, meat, and butter and fats since the pesticides will be concentrated in them along with any antibiotics and hormones that were given to the animal.
We want to have proper gut health, meaning beneficial bacteria and prebiotics (aka soluble fiber). Having a healthy gut will help our bodies eliminate and not recirculate harmful estrogens. Refined sugars, grains, alcohol, and processed foods damage our good bacteria and raise our insulin levels and our cancer risk. Ground flax seeds, which are the richest source of plant lignans, help move out estrogens as they are a rich source of soluble fiber and antioxidants. Flax seed consumption is also correlated with reduced cancer risk in studies. I put a tablespoon of ground flax in my morning smoothie, but if one has hormonal issues or has high cancer risk, then two tablespoons would be the therapeutic dose.
Another factor that contributes to breast cancer is cellular damage due to heavy metals, oxidative damage, and lack of cofactors and nutrients to repair this damage. I’m big on antioxidants, good nutrition, hydration, and detoxification. Getting phytonutrients from eating the rainbow is important, and taking a good multivitamin to fill in the gaps is essential. Vitamin D plays an important role in cancer prevention, as does vitamin C with bioflavonoids, folate which is essential in healthy cell replication, vitamin A to regulate cell death, all the minerals as they help with so many enzyme activities, and omega 3 oils for cell membrane repair.
Now, let’s get into the foods we can eat to optimize our health to avoid breast cancer and other cancers. Cruciferous vegetables are at the top of my list. Especially in the sprouted form, they can be 100 times more potent than their counterparts. Sprouted broccoli is a great example. Some other cruciferous vegetables include cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, and bok choy. These vegetables contain sulfur, a very important nutrient needed for detoxification of estrogen, and helping to slow the development and spread of cancerous cells while stimulating the release of enzymes that help fight against cancer. We want to include colorful foods like carrots, squash, yams, and mangos to give us a dose of antioxidant rich beta carotene. Legumes, organic soy, and beans help to lower levels of circulating estrogens and block cancer enzymes. Citrus fruits and bioflavonoids help increase anti-tumor enzymes and increase our level of vitamin C to protect and repair our cells. Garlic, eggs, and onions are high in detoxifying sulfurs. Shitake, maitake, and reishi mushrooms help to stimulate T cell growth, green tea helps with cancer cell death, sea vegetables contain iodine, a nutrient concentrated in the breast and thyroid tissue important for regulating cellular health and replication. Berries provide us with important antioxidants for cellular repair, pineapple and papaya
are high in important enzymes, turmeric is a must since this helps fight cancer and tumors on so many different levels and is also good for our liver.
Include variety in your diet, and lower your intake of sugar, dairy (unless raw), alcohol (since this has an estrogenic effect on your body and interferes with liver detoxification), conventional meats and dairy because of the added hormones, diet sodas (the sweetener aspartame has been shown to increase tumor growth, and get rid of overly refined carbohydrates, and cigarette smoking.
Take care, be well, and come into Wild Roots for any further questions you might have.
