It’s all about food… and it happens to be one of my favourite subjects. 

Let’s face it, there is no other activity that we do more frequently in our life than eating. I don’t think that anyone has any doubts that we become what we eat. 

According to the World Health Organization and many other sources, 70% of all diseases are directly related to nutrition and diet.  If you want to prevent disease, and in particular breast cancer, I suggest the following simple way:

Eating low saturated fat with high fiber has been shown to be beneficial for breast health. 

As you know, I’m a big proponent of the Anti-Estrogenic diet, which simply means that you avoid estrogen-promoting foods. 

How to do this? Start eating foods lower on the food chain, foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, roots, nuts, seeds, and eggs. Choose wild fish or fresh dairy, both are permissible.  (you can learn more about this in my book Breast Cancer is a Preventable Disease, Chapter 2 – Nutrition)

Now, what’s not permissible? Stay away from processed grains. In fact, stay away from processed foods, period. Processed grains, sugar, overfed farm animals, refined, processed or chemically-loaded foods, these are foods that you need to stay away from. Try to eat organic whenever possible. Further, home cooking is much preferred to eating out for obvious reasons. The energy that goes into food preparation is very important and it is just impossible to attain that with commercially prepared foods. 

Unfortunately, lately because of conflicting information our relationship with food has changed, where food has become the enemy. It is the exact opposite; food is the most powerful medicine you have at your disposal. Keep this in mind as you’re making your food choices. 

Lastly, consider this: the foods that that you eat are important but what’s even more important are the thoughts that you have while eating! Stay tuned for more on this tomorrow!

Meanwhile, take charge of your health today, be proactive and help others to Prevent Breast Cancer NOW!

So, how do we reduce the levels of estrogen?  It is not so easy since we are inundated with estrogen promoting commercial products, industrial pollutants, Xeno-Estrogents, along with processed foods loaded with estrogen mimicking chemicals.  Many women successfully use products like I3C, DIM, Calcium-D-Glucorate, etc., to help reduce their levels of estrogen, yet nothing can be as effective as the dietary measures that you practice. 

In my own clinical practice I’ve come across many women that have been appropriately prescribed bio-identical progesterone or testosterone yet they consume coffee and alcohol, which aromatizes (converts) these hormones to estradiol. For instance, just 2 cups of coffee per day will rob you of 60% of your testosterone and convert it to estradiol. In addition, coffee will promote dehydration, loss of calcium and raise the level of acidity. The same goes for wine consumption: it also converts testosterone to estradiol, which is a cancer promoting estrogen. 

A note of caution to women using bio-identical hormone therapy – if you’re consuming caffeine or alcohol, even in small amounts, you may not be getting the benefits of your bio-identical hormone therapy and, worse, you may be creating a big problem for yourself in the future and increasing your risk of breast cancer.

Now, how does one reduce estradiol in your body naturally? The most simple and effective way is through your diet.  Women that consume more animal based foods have higher levels of estradiol compared to the vegetarian population. 

There are several reasons for this: First, animal foods for the most part contain fat that retains toxic elements along with estrogenic hormones fed to animals. Same hormones are then transferred to humans via food consumption. Second, vegetarians consume way more fiber that prevents reabsorption of estrogen through the intestinal tract. Fiber binds to estrogen in the intestinal tract and helps with elimination, whereas low fiber diets cannot accomplish that.

This explains why there is lower incidence of breast cancer among vegetarians.  Plant based foods along with non-processed grains contain higher fiber content compared to animal based foods that are extremely low in fiber. In short, the more fiber you have in your diet, the lower your levels of estradiol, and the lower your risk of breast cancer. 

Next time you are making a choice of what ends up on your dinner plate, please keep in mind that there are many delicious foods that will support reducing estradiol and protect you from breast cancer.