Part 2 – Phytoestrogens to Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer

Synthetic hormone replacement therapy is known to increase the risk of breast cancer and interestingly the heights of breast cancer have declined slightly since a lot of women stopped using it. Also the hormones in the oral contraceptive peel increase the risk of breast cancer. According to the World Health Organization oral contraceptives are a class 1 carcinogen meaning they are a known cancer causer. This is in the same list of chemicals such as formaldehyde and benzene that are known to cause cancer.

Also the hormones made in your own body can either help reduce the risk of breast cancer or make you more likely to develop it. Progesterone deficiency is known to greatly increase the risk of breast cancer; if you are deficient in progesterone you are 5 times more likely to developed premenopausal breast cancer than women who are not progesterone deficient. The two main female sex hormones are oestrogen and progesterone; oestrogen is mainly produced in the first half of the menstrual cycle and progesterone is mainly produced in the second half. Some possible symptoms of progesterone deficiency include things like heavy painful periods, fibroids, endometriosis, and mood swings before a period.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome; all women with polycystic ovarian syndrome do not have enough progesterone in their body and they have too much oestrogen in their body which is a big risk factor for breast cancer. So it is vitally important that your work on balancing your hormones and make sure that you do have enough progesterone to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

You can also reduce the risk of breast cancer by making sure you have plenty of phytoestrogens in your diet. Phytoestrogens are plant oestrogens that are found in foods such as nuts, seeds, legumes, and lentils. The plants oestrogens actually have the ability to bind to the oestrogen receptors in the breast cells but they have a gentle effect to help protect your breast cells from more powerful and potentially harmful oestrogen, either oestrogen made in your own body or the oestrogen like chemicals found in the environment.

Flaxseeds are an excellent source of phytoestrogens, but in order to absorb the phytoestrogens from flaxseeds you will need to have them ground. So simply eating whole flaxseed either in bread or muesli bars will not give you the benefit, you need to grind the flaxseeds preferably at home in a coffee grinder. Grind small amounts at a time and consume them quickly. You can add them to a smoothie, a cereal, or over chopped fruit. It is also important to make sure that you are not over weight and that you do not have high blood sugar. Many people do not associate being overweight with an increased risk of cancer, but it does increase your risk of all types of cancer including breast cancer.

Some of the reasons are if you are overweight some of your fat cell are going to be making oestrogen which will increase you level of oestrogen which may increase your risk of cancer. Also overweight people, particularly if they have excessive weight around their abdominal area tend to have higher insulin than slim people and insulin can fuel the growth of tumors. Whenever we eat sugar or high carbohydrate foods such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, or breakfast cereals all those food make your pancreas release insulin and your liver release insulin like growth factor one. If you eat a lot of those foods regularly you are going to have high levels of those two hormones. If there are any cancerous cells in your body insulin and insulin like growth factor one act like fertilizers which help promote the growth of tumors.

Part 2 – Phytoestrogens to Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer