Advanced breast cancer prevention....

Today's post: Tuesday, 11-4-2008

Yesterday we posted on vigorous exercise and eating right in a way that promotes fat loss or keeping off excess fat and several other actions can help prevent breast cancer.

So it was delightful to get today’s email from Total Health Breakthroughs. It had two articles on advanced breast cancer protection.

The information in these 2 article helps explain why vigorous exercise and eating right in a way that promotes fat loss or keeping off excess fat is effective in preventing breast cancer. And, it confirms some of our other methods besides.

But, of more importance, it shows how to get tested to see what your current risk level is; how to improve bad readings on these tests; AND gives some important supplement ideas that clearly can help prevent breast cancer. Many of those supplement ideas were NOT in my post yesterday.

I’ll add some supplements that do what these 2 articles suggest is protective to those in their 2 articles in my comments after the 2 articles.

"This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise's Total Health Breakthroughs, offering alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com"

“Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Breast Cancer -- Real Prevention

By James LaValle, R.Ph, ND, CCN

October was Breast Cancer Prevention month, and as always, fund raising and education initiatives were everywhere. There are many advances in our understanding of how breast cancer develops, yet out of all the articles I saw in the mainstream media, none of them explained the most important factors influencing breast health.

Most breast cancer is the type that is called hormone sensitive. That means it is cancer that forms in response to estrogen. It is usually implied that it is solely a matter of having too much estrogen (and/or other compounds that have estrogen-like structure) in the body. However if you dig deeper, you learn that it is not so much the estrogen itself, but how it is being metabolized in the body and whether it is balanced by adequate progesterone that are the primary problems.1-2

Estrogen/Progesterone Balance
The balance between estrogen and progesterone is very important for breast health and is almost never mentioned in popular literature on hormone sensitive breast cancer. There is a big misunderstanding among some people in the medical community that progesterone increases breast cancer risk. This was due to studies that found that synthetic progestins formerly used in women on hormone replacement therapy did increase breast cancer risk. However, further study has clarified that natural progesterones do not.3

Natural (bio-identical) progesterone actually reduces the production of certain growth factors, and increases a process called apoptosis (cell death) in proliferating breast cells. Several studies have shown that women with progesterone deficiency have anywhere from 4 to 6 times the risk of developing breast cancer.4

Estrogen Metabolism
As estrogen breaks down in the body from the primary estrogen in the body, estradiol, it can convert to a form called 2OH estrone, the good metabolite, or to 16OH and 4OH estrones, forms that cause tissue proliferation. 16OH contributes to endometriosis for instance, the over-proliferation of uterine lining tissue that causes painful menstrual cramps and can reduce a woman's ability to conceive. These metabolites also increase the risk of breast cancer. On the other hand, women with a higher 2OH to 16OH ratio have a 40% less chance of developing breast cancer.

There is a second step in the breakdown of estrogen called methylation. This step takes 4OH and makes it less active in tissues and actually makes a form of estrone (called 2-methoxyestrone) which inhibits breast cancer. So if your methylation pathways are purring along wonderfully you can break estrogen down into beneficial metabolites. Key nutrients to support methylation are the B vitamins, folate, B6 and B12, and dietary sulfur (found in onions, garlic, cabbage family vegetables and in foods like whey and eggs).

The final step for estrogen breakdown is glucuronidation, a metabolic process in which the different estrogens bind with glucuronic acid in the liver and from there get excreted in the GI tract. At least that's what should happen. Magnesium is needed for glucuronic acid to bind with estrogen. If you aren't taking in enough, the estrogen will not be bound and will just continue circulating in the body.

Gut flora also influences glucuronidation. Pathogenic (harmful) bacteria in the intestines can cause estrogen to get uncoupled from the glucuronic acid. So instead of being carried out of the body, the estrogen re-enters circulation, and the woman will accumulate too much in her system. This pathogenic bacteria called beta-glucuronidase is associated with increased cancer risk.

Diets high in fiber and beneficial flora reduce beta-glucuronidase levels, and so promote good estrogen metabolism. A form of calcium called D-glucarate inhibits beta-glucuronidase and so is also a very helpful nutrient.

There are a couple of substances in foods that help healthy estrogen metabolism and have significant and strong evidence of being cancer protective. (See Laura's article for more information on that.) This is where most of the articles in popular women's magazines focus -- eating a diet that is high in these cancer protective substances; and while it is important to eat this way, unless you measure your estrogen metabolites with urine or saliva testing, you have no way of knowing if your diet is directing your metabolism to more of the healthy and fewer of the bad estrogen metabolites. (My new e-book explains estrogen testing in detail. Look for The Keys to Healthy Aging: Making Hormone Replacement Work for You, available from Total Health Breakthroughs in a few weeks.)

Other Influences: Thyroid and Insulin
The other two influences on breast cancer you rarely read anything about are thyroid health and high insulin levels. Laura's article discusses the diet and insulin connection to breast health, but medicine has known for some time that women with breast cancer have a higher than average degree of thyroid problems, including autoimmune thyroid disease and hypothyroidism.

We know now that any disease of autoimmunity raises cancer risk.5 Since it is known that people with autoimmunity have a suppression of natural killer cells, the cells that can fight and overcome cancer cells, this shouldn't be surprising. You may think that autoimmune thyroiditis and hypothyroidism are not that common, but they in fact are second only to diabetes as the most common endocrine disorders -- and they occur in anywhere from 10 to 30% of the population.6-7

To really get proactive against breast cancer, all women can and should get tested for the following:

Estradiol, estrone, progesterone, and estrogen metabolites.
Low thyroid and thyroid antibodies if you have any reason to suspect your thyroid is under-active.

Post-prandial glucose and insulin levels to ensure you are not developing insulin resistance.

Once you have an accurate reading on these vital hormone levels, an appropriate supplementation and dietary plan can be applied as needed.

References

1 Kabat GC, et al. Epidemiology. 2006;17(1):80-8.
2 Adly L, et al. Int J Cancer. 2006;119(10):2402-7.
3 Campagnoll D, et al. J of Steroid Biochem and Mol Biol. 97(5): 441-450.
4 Oldenburg H, et al. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 200763(2);125-149.
5 Landgren O. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Sep 20;98(18):1321-30; and Eur J Gastroenterol
Hepatol. 2000:12: 645-48.
6 Maruchi N, et al. Mayo Clin Proc. 1976;51: 263-5.
7 E-medicine from webMD. Hashimoto Thyroiditis, May 30, 2006.

[Ed. Note: James LaValle is the founding Director of the LaValle Metabolic Institute, one of the largest integrative medicine practices in the country. Dr. LaValle is the author of the bestselling book Cracking the Metabolic Code: 9 Keys to Optimal Health and is the Executive Editor of THB's The Healing Prescription…..]”

"This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise's Total Health Breakthroughs, offering alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com"

“Healthy Nutrition:

Eating a Breast Cancer Preventive Diet

By Laura LaValle, RD, LD

If you have read any breast cancer prevention articles over the last month, you probably saw several articles on making sure your diet includes plenty of omega-3 fats as well as high antioxidant-containing foods like berries, colorful vegetables, beans/legumes, and green tea -- all to help your body keep damage from free radicals to a minimum. This is all good advice, but it does not adequately address the other side of the equation -- avoiding foods that promote inflammation in the body.

Prevent Insulin Resistance

Not controlling your intake of refined sugars, white breads, pastas, soft drinks and fast foods can lead to insulin resistance, which is a known contributor of inflammation and oxidative stress in the body1. Inflammation caused by poor dietary habits not only greatly increases risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, but also increases risk of cancer, including breast cancer.2

Several large human studies have found that diet plays a large role in increasing inflammation and the risk of type 2 diabetes -- and that leads to an increased risk of cancer. The worst diets appear to be those high in fructose-sweetened soft drinks, refined grains, diet soft drinks, and processed meat and low in red wine, coffee, cruciferous vegetables, and colored vegetables.

One study found that insulin resistance even without the women being diabetic significantly increased breast cancer risk -- and this effect was even independent of body weight or body fat distribution.3 Another study of 60,000 women followed over 20 years found that being insulin resistant not only increased breast cancer risk, but increased the risk of being diagnosed with more advanced stages of cancer.4

So clearly, controlling insulin resistance is one of the most powerful ways we can reduce our breast cancer risk. For most people, this will mean eating diets that limit high glycemic index and high glycemic load foods.

Increase Levels of Protective Estrogen
As my husband Jim wrote, cabbage family vegetables which are high in sulfur compounds improve methylation in the body that helps prevent the buildup of unhealthy estrogen metabolites called 16OH. In addition to that, broccoli in particular, contains two substances, diindolyl methane (DIM) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that help the liver make enzymes that neutralize 16OH production.5-6

However, to achieve levels that significantly impact 16OH production, it's necessary to take it in a concentrated supplement form. Several clinical trials have demonstrated the ability of a DIM supplement to significantly increase the ratio of good to bad estrogen metabolites in as little as four weeks.7-8

Decrease Levels of Harmful Estrogen
Phytoestrogens are substances in plants that in effect, block bad estrogen metabolites from being able to exert their harmful effects. Phytoestrogens are found in many plant foods; soybeans, peas, beans, and pomegranates are foods that are particularly high in beneficial phytoestrogens. (Soybeans are a two-edged sword however, because with excessive intake they can inhibit thyroid hormone synthesis.)

Plant lignans are a type of dietary fiber found in high amounts in flaxseeds. Lignans increase something called sex hormone binding globulin, which can bind to estrogens and carry them out of the body. They also reduce levels of beta-glucuronidase, the pathogenic intestinal bacteria that prevents harmful estrogen metabolites from being eliminated. Regular inclusion of lignan-containing ground flaxseeds or flaxseed oils may help prevent breast cancer by aiding the body's elimination of excessive estrogen.

And finally, reducing your exposure to environmental estrogens (xenoestrogens) is important because they may trigger tissue proliferation much like excessive natural estrogens.9 Many pesticides are xenoestrogens, and this is the reason we recommend eating organically raised foods as much as possible. Phthalates in plastics are also xenoestrogenic, so avoid eating or drinking out of plastic containers or microwaving with plastic wraps.

References

1 Sies H, Stahl W, Sevanian A. J Nutr. 2005;135(5):969-72.
2 Schulze MB, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82(3):675-84; quiz 714-5.
3 Bruning P et al. International J of Cancer 52 (4): 511-16.
4 Cust A, et al. J Breast Cancer Res and Treatment, July 2008.
5 Bradlow HL et al. Ann NY Acad Sci. 1996;768:180-200.
6 Bell MC, et al. Gynecol Oncol. 2000;78(2):123-129.
7 Dalessandri KM, et al. Journal of Nutrition and Cancer. 2004;50(2):161-7.
8 Wang Z, et al. Mol Cancer Ther. 2008 Feb;7(2):341-9.
9 Watson C, et al. Steroids. Feb. 2007; 72(2):124-134.

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute (formerly part of Living Longer Institute). She offers personal nutritional counseling at LMI for clients who need help with their diet in relation to illness or disease. Laura also provides educational services in the areas of health promotion, wellness, and disease prevention…..]”

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One of the aspects of their information and the information I posted on yesterday I find exciting is that following a health protective lifestyle protects your health in many other ways AND helps to prevent breast cancer as well.

1. Foods and supplements that support methylation are also known to slow aging, protect your heart and brain, and lower excess levels of homocysteine. These supplements include; NAC, n-acetyl cysteine, which also contains sulfur; DMG and TMG, di- and trimethly glycine; and the methyl version of B12, methylcobalamin, sold as "Brain B12." Also the supplement MSM, Methylsulfonylmethane, that is in many joint and arthritis pain supplements contains sulfur, as can be seen from its name and looks to be a methyl donor as well from the methyl in its name.

2. These 2 articles may also partly explain WHY taking 2,000 to 3,000 iu a day of vitamin D3 prevents cancer and breast cancer. Adequate vitamin D in your body tends to optimize your immune system responses and has been found to largely prevent autoimmune disorders. Since these articles say immune diseases suppress the production of your natural killer cells which kill off cancer cells, this means that taking vitamin D3 is critically important. Oddly, they don’t mention taking vitamin D3 in the article.

3. Vigorous exercise and eating lots of vegetables AND eating an adequate supply of lean protein every day and very rarely eating much of anything else and NEVER eating junk food or drinking soft drinks also tends to prevent breast cancer --as we posted about yesterday. And, since insulin resistance and high blood levels of insulin apparently help cause breast cancer; and these two actions specifically prevent or help reverse insulin resistance and reduce high insulin levels, that largely explains why these two actions help prevent breast cancer.

Taking the supplements alpha lipoic acid, chromium polynicotinate, and either eating cinnamon in your food daily or taking cinnamon supplements also tend to help your body manage insulin and blood sugars in a desirable way and may well also help.

It may also be worthwhile to eat foods that are spiced with red pepper or other hot peppers once a day. These spices have been found to reduce insulin increase after you eat.

4. Their research apparently confirms that taking the supplement DIM in addition to eating the cruciferous vegetables that contain it helps to prevent breast cancer.

5. Taking magnesium supplements or eating foods high in it so that you get at least 400 mg a day of magnesium; and taking probiotic supplements or eating yogurt with no sugar or artificial sweeteners added that contain live cultures of probiotic bacteria -- to compete with or eliminate harmful bacteria; all apparently help in allowing the healthy breakdown of estrogen which helps prevent breast cancer.

Adding the information in yesterday’s post and in today’s post, there are a LOT of things you can do that help prevent breast cancer. Many of them will also prevent other cancers or help protect your heart, brain, and overall health in other ways as well.