Recent research suggests that adding these foods to your diet
could significantly lower your risk of breast cancer.
1. Yellow orange vegetables — Eating foods high in beta-
carotene has been linked in many studies to lower rates of
breast cancer. Tip: The beta-carotene in baby carrots is more
absorbable then that in regular carrots and the beta-carotene in
cooked carrots is 500% more absorbable than that in raw carrots.
2. Cruciferous vegetables– radish, broccoli, cauliflower,
rutabaga, cabbage, turnips, turnip greens, contain indole -3-
carbinol, which lowers women’s levels of a type of estrogen that
may promote breast cancer.(16-hydroxy- estradiol and 16-hydroxy-
estrone). Tip: Look for BroccoSprouts, a brand of broccoli
sprouts with megalevels of SGS, a compound that fights mammary
tumors in mice.
3. Warm a mug of 1%-2% organic hormone free milk (Alta Dena) ,
add 1 tbs. ground almonds, pumpkin seed or walnuts or 1/4 tbs.
natural almond extract, and enjoy it at bedtime. Why not fat-
free milk? Because there’s an intriguing compound in milk fat
(including butter)– conjugated linoleic acid — that fights
breast cancer cells in test tubes and animals.
4. Eat tomatoes, including cooked, dried, soups, juice and
sauces, even Catsup to fill up on a compound called lycopene.
Diets high in lycopene are linked to lower rates of breast and
prostate cancer.
5. Give up the red wine and eat grapes instead. More than one
alcoholic beverage a day increases your risk of breast cancer.
But concord grapes have cancer-fighting antioxidant power.
6. Eat cold water fish (salmon ,tuna*, anchovies, swordfish,
polluck, crab, sardines) and omega-3 rich nuts and seeds
(walnut, pumpkin, flax).Research suggests that women with higher
tissue levels of omega-3s have lower rates of breast cancer.
<*not light tuna.>
7. Women whose diets are higher in vitamin D have less breast
cancer. To ensure that you get the recommended level, add
Vitamin D to a healthy diet, advise many experts, especially in
climates or lifestyles without year round sun (20 minutes a
day).
8. Eat a small bowl of dark cherries. Cherries are a top source
of a compound that may inhibit mammary cancer in rats.
9. Compounds called limonoids, found in the peel and white
membrane of oranges, inhibit breast cancer in test tubes. Eat
whole fruit oranges and tangerines. Look for herbal teas made w/
orange lemon peel. Use real orange and lemon oils in cooking and
health drinks.
10. Avoid refined grains and choose whole grains instead. At
least one study has shown that women who ate the most refined
grains had more breast cancer. Another study showed women who
ate one serving a day of a cereal high in wheat bran lowered
their level of breast cancer -promoting estrogen.
11. Use butter rather than margarine. Butter contains CLA’s
mentioned in #3. One study suggests that a diet higher in trans
fats may increase the risk of breast cancer. Margarine, most
french fries, both frozen and fast-food, and many processed and
fried foods made with hydrogenated fats are a top trans fat
source. If you prefer margarine, use a trans-fat free brand.
12. Drink green tea, hot or cold. Green tea is rich in EGCG, a
compound that inhibits breast cancer cells in mice. Caffienated
brands have twice as much potency as uncaffienated. And most
bottled brands have little. Mix with herbal teas and lemon peel
for taste, or naturally sweeten with a little Concord grape
juice or super low glycemic Agave.
13. Instead of commercial “olive oil” dressings – usually made
with a mixture of oils — make your own easy dressing with half
olive oil, half balsamic vinegar. Mediterranean women who eat
lots of olive oil have low rates of breast cancer, studies show.
14. Garlic kills breast cancer cells in the test tube and maybe
in you. But if you’re going to cook garlic, always peel and
chop, then let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before you heat.
Heating right away doesn’t allow time for the cancer-fighting
compounds to develop.
15. Women in one study who ate a serving of spinach at least
twice a week had half the rate of breast cancer of women who
avoided it.
16. Flavorful veggie burgers and sausage won’t form the same
compounds that meat does when it’s being cooked and those
compounds may explain why women who eat lots of red meat and
lots of very well done meat seem to get more breast cancer.
17. Why flaxseed? Because it has 75 times more lignin
precursors, compounds that inhibit mammary tumors in animals.
18. Add soy. Soy’s isoflavinoids work as weak estrogens,
blocking the more powerful estrogens from stimulating estrogen
sensitive cancer cells.
19. Phyto herbs, like don quai, fennel, black cohosh are also
weak estrogens that compete with stronger estrogens for estrogen
receptor sites. These are found in many “Change of life
formulas.
The 20th step is to just do it!
Dr. John Maher, A.B.A.A..H.P.,
www.RxforWellness.com
