Flaxseeds can help cut the risk of dying from breast cancer by 40%
A study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, has found that phytoestrogens can kill off cancer cells and prevent secondary tumours by stopping the growth of new blood vessels. Lignans are an important type of phytoestrogen, contained in seeds, particularly flaxseeds, as well as in wheat and vegetables. In the bowel, lignans are turned into enterolactone. The study looked at 1,140 postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Women with the highest blood levels of enterolactone had an approximately 40% lower mortality risk and a lower risk for disease progression. It was found that enterolactone protects against cancer growth, irrespective of oestroegen, by promoting cell death and inhibiting sprouting of new blood vessels. We are losing the cancer war. The number of new cancer cases has increased by 20% in under a decade and now stands at 12 million a year, according to new figures from the World Cancer Research Fund. Conventional treatments are actually not that effective. A comprehensive meta-analysis of trials on chemotherapy concludes: “The contribution of chemotherapy to five-year survival in adults was 2.3% in Australia and 2.1% in the USA.” The scientists conducting this meta-analysis emphasized that these figures are an optimistic estimate. The ‘holy grail’ for targeting cancer is some kind of treatment that kills cancer cells, but not healthy cells. My three favourite alternatives to conventional chemotherapy are photodynamic therapy, mega-dose vitamin C and salvestrols. I explore these and other ways to make yourself cancer-proof in my book Say No to Cancer. Taken from Patrick Holford’s Nutrition News Round- up 28/09/11
