Soy Foods, Pumpkin Seeds and Sunflower Seeds Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

A new study links the consumption of soy foods, pumpkins seeds, and sunflower seeds with a decreased risk of breast cancer.

SOY FOODS, PUMPKIN SEEDS AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS REDUCE BREAST CANCER RISK

As I discuss in my bestselling book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, phytoestrogens are substances found in plant-based foods that have weak estrogen-like effects in the body. As estrogen is a known risk factor for breast cancer, there has been understandable concern that phytoestrogens, if consumed regularly, may lead to an increased risk of breast cancer over time. While the data supporting this hypothesis has been both weak and contradictory thus far, some of the strongest available data regarding phytoestrogen intake and breast cancer risk has, counterintuitively, linked certain phytoestrogen-rich foods, and especially soy foods like tofu, with a decreased lifetime risk of breast cancer, particularly when consumed before and during the onset of puberty, as I discuss in my book.

Now, a newly published German study further suggests that the regular consumption of at least some phytoestrogen-rich foods may significantly decrease breast cancer risk, particularly later in life, after menopause. In this public health study, 2,884 postmenopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,509 age-matched “controls” without breast cancer underwent detailed assessments of their dietary habits. In addition to using a scientifically validated food-frequency questionnaire, additional specific questions regarding the consumption of phytoestrogen-rich foods were asked of all of the 8,393 women who participated in this case-control clinical study. Importantly, the volunteers’ individual risk factors for breast cancer were assessed and accounted for when the study’s researchers analyzed their data. This public health study appears in the current issue of the journal Nutrition and Cancer.

Among all foods known to contain phytoestrogens, three foods were found to be significantly associated with a lower risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women. Specifically, the regular consumption of soy foods was linked to a 17 percent reduction in breast cancer risk, while the routine intake of sunflower and pumpkin seeds was associated with a 34 percent reduction in breast cancer risk. At the same time, the consumption of flaxseed, which contains very high levels of phytoestrogens, did not appear to be linked with a decrease in breast cancer risk in this study.

The results of this study add further evidence that at least some forms of phytoestrogens may actually decrease the risk of breast cancer, even though they are able to weakly stimulate the same hormonal receptors that estrogen normally stimulates. While this finding may at first seem contradictory, recent research has shown that these plant-derived nutritional substances actually have rather complex effects on estrogen receptors within breast cells and other hormone-sensitive cells. In fact, in many cases, phytoestrogens may actually block the effects of estrogen on estrogen receptors within breast cells, thus acting more like medications that are regularly used to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence in patients with estrogen-sensitive tumors, including tamoxifen and raloxifene.

I will end my review of this new public health study by reminding readers that studies such as this one rely upon relatively weak research methods, and the findings of these types of public health studies are less compelling, in general, than “gold standard” prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical research studies. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of cancer prevention research data published to date has been derived from relatively less powerful public health studies like this particular study. However, given the enormous expense and resources necessary to perform large prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical studies, and the extended period of time that is required to arrive at meaningful observations within such studies, we are left primarily with questionnaire-based public health studies such as this one in an effort to better understand potential links between diet and cancer risk. For a much more detailed evidence-based discussion of the impact of diet and other lifestyle factors on cancer risk, purchase your copy of A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race from your favorite bookstore (available in both print and e-book formats).

At this time, more than 8 percent of Americans are unemployed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, the unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty between September 2001 and December 2011 is now more than 12 percent. A new website, Veterans in Healthcare, seeks to connect veterans with potential employers. If you are a veteran who works in the healthcare field, or if you are an employer who is looking for physicians, advanced practice professionals, nurses, corpsmen/medics, or other healthcare professionals, then please take a look at Veterans in Healthcare. As a retired veteran of the U.S. Army, I would also like to personally urge you to hire a veteran whenever possible.

For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my bestselling book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

Within one week of publication, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com “Top 100 Bestseller’s List” for Kindle e-books. Within three months of publication, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com “Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer” list.

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people from around the world who visit this premier global health information website every month. (More than 1.3 million pages of high-quality medical research findings were served to the worldwide audience of health-conscious people who visited Weekly Health Update in 2011!) As always, we enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

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Tags: Breast Cancer, Cancer Prevention, cancer risk, diet, Flaxseed, Phytoestrogens, Pumpkin Seeds, Soy Foods, Sunflower Seeds

Obesity, Diet, Exercise, Estrogen, Testosterone and Breast Cancer Risk

July 1, 2012 by Robert Wascher
Filed under A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, Breast Cancer, breast cancer prevention, breast cancer risk, Cancer, Cancer Prevention, cancer risk, diet, estrogen, fat, lifestyle, Menopause, obesity, Overweight, risk, sex hormones, testosterone, Weekly Health Update

Green Tea Reduces Cholesterol, Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels

New research finds that green tea may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

GREEN TEA REDUCES CHOLESTEROL, BLOOD SUGAR AND INSULIN LEVELS

As I discuss in my bestselling book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, the evidence for green tea as a cancer prevention agent is quite mixed, with most (but not all) studies showing little impact on cancer risk or cancer-associated death rates. Some research studies, however, have suggested that green tea may affect levels of the female sex hormone estrogen in ways that could potentially reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. However, most of the research in this area has not been in the form of prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded clinical research, which is considered the “gold standard” method of conducting clinical research.

A newly published prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluated 103 postmenopausal women, and their response to green tea supplements. This study appears in the current issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

In this study, the women volunteers were randomly divided into three groups. One group received 400 milligrams (mg) of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) per day, for two months. (EGCG is considered the most active ingredient in green tea.) The second group of women received 800 mg of EGCG per day, also for two months. The third group, which served as this study’s control group, received placebo (sugar) capsules that appeared identical to the EGCG capsules. Neither the female volunteers nor the study nurses who dispensed the capsules to these study volunteers knew which group each woman had been randomized into.

Repeated measurements of urine levels of EGCG were performed, and blood levels of estrogen, testosterone (the primary male sex hormone), cholesterol, glucose (blood sugar), insulin, and growth factors were tested on all of the 103 study volunteers throughout the course of this study.

The results of this innovative study revealed that green tea supplements had no apparent effect on the levels of estrogen and testosterone in the blood of these postmenopausal research volunteers, which suggests that any potential breast cancer prevention effects associated with EGCG are probably unrelated to sex hormone levels. However, while EGCG had no apparent impact on sex hormone levels, LDL-cholesterol (the “bad cholesterol”) levels significantly decreased among the women who were secretly randomized to receive EGCG supplements. Additionally, blood levels of glucose and insulin, which are linked to diabetes risk, also significantly declined in the two groups of women who received EGCG supplements. (Diabetes, itself, is a powerful risk factor for developing cancer.)

While green tea supplementation had no discernible effect on the levels of male and female sex hormones in the blood of the postmenopausal women participating in this study, EGCG supplementation was observed to significantly reduce LDL-cholesterol, glucose, and insulin levels in these women. Therefore, while the impact of green tea on breast cancer risk remains unclear at this time, the results of this clinical research study suggest a potential clinical role for green tea in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which are, like cancer, two of the great killers of modern humans.

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

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Tags: Cancer Prevention, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, diabetes, Epigallocatechin Gallate, Glucose, green tea, Insulin, LDL

Clonidine and the Antidepressant Effexor Both Reduce Hot Flashes

October 9, 2011 by Robert Wascher
Filed under Antidepressant, Breast Cancer, breast cancer prevention, breast cancer risk, Cancer, Cancer Prevention, Clonidine, Effexor, estrogen, Hormonal Therapy, Hot Flashes, Menopausal Symptoms, Menopause, sex hormones, SNRI, SSRI, tamoxifen, Venlafaxine, Weekly Health Update

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

The blood pressure medication clonidine and the antidepressant venlafaxine (Effexor) both reduce hot flashes caused by breast cancer treatment and by menopause.

CLONIDINE AND THE ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFEXOR BOTH REDUCE HOT FLASHES

The modern management of breast cancer often includes “hormonal therapy,” in which medications that block the effects of estrogen, or decrease the amount of estrogen manufactured by the body, are used to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Despite significantly lowering the risk of breast cancer recurrence in patients with estrogen-sensitive breast tumors, recent clinical research studies have shown that fewer than one-half of all breast cancer patients actually go on to complete the recommended 5-year course of hormonal therapy. (This very poor level of compliance with a medical therapy proven to lower recurrence and death rates associated with breast cancer is particularly an issue among younger women.)

While there are several reasons why more than half of all breast cancer patients do not complete their recommended course of hormonal therapy, one of the major causes, and especially among younger patients, is that these medications are commonly associated with significant side effects, including the same hot flashes that frequently accompany menopause.

Numerous treatment interventions have been tried in an effort prevent hot flashes associated with breast cancer therapy (as well as hot flashes in postmenopausal women without breast cancer), but very few of these therapies have been shown to have any clinically significant benefit. However, several previous clinical studies have suggested that certain types of antidepressant medications, as well as the blood pressure medication clonidine, may reduce the severity and frequency of hot flashes. Unfortunately, much of the research in this area has been of rather low quality, and so the findings of these lower level studies have not radically changed the way that most physicians have managed their patients’ hot flashes. Now, a newly published prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded clinical research study, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, strongly suggests that venlafaxine (also known by its trade name, Effexor®), a medication that is part of the new “serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors” (SNRIs) class of antidepressants, and clonidine may both be effective in decreasing the severity and frequency of hot flashes in women with a history of breast cancer.

In this study, 102 women with a history of both breast cancer and severe hot flashes were secretly and randomly assigned to take either venlafaxine (75 mg per day), clonidine (0.1 mg per day), or an identical-appearing placebo (sugar) pill. Following 12 weeks of observation, 80 patients remained in this clinical study. At the end of this 12-week clinical study, both clonidine and venlafaxine were found to significantly decrease the severity and frequency of hot flashes, when compared to placebo pills. Although both medications were clinically effective in reducing hot flashes, and although venlafaxine resulted in a more rapid reduction in hot flashes than clonidine, clonidine was associated with a greater overall improvement in hot flashes, when compared to venlafaxine, after 12 weeks of treatment. (Venlafaxine was also associated with a greater incidence of nausea, constipation, and appetite loss, compared to clonidine.)

The findings of this study add to those of prior studies that have shown a 15 to 25% reduction in the severity and frequency of hot flashes with antidepressants such as venlafaxine, and with clonidine. Moreover, prior studies have shown that these two medications reduce the severity and frequency of hot flashes in women with a history of breast cancer as well as in postmenopausal women without a prior history of breast cancer.

One important limitation of this study is its small size, and its high patient drop-out rate, which resulted in small numbers of patient volunteers in each of the three “arms” of this prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study. However, the findings of this small clinical research study, nonetheless, are still consistent with those of previously published studies; and taken together, these studies suggest that venlafaxine (and other modern antidepressant medications) and clonidine may be effective in reducing the severity and frequency of hot flashes in both breast cancer patients who are undergoing hormonal therapy for their cancer and in postmenopausal women with menopause-associated hot flashes.

For a comprehensive guide to living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle, order your copy of my new book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race. For the price of a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, you can purchase this landmark new book, in both paperback and e-book formats, and begin living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle today!

For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my new book, “A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race,” from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million,Vroman’s Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!

On Thanksgiving Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com “Top 100 Bestseller’s List” for Kindle e-books! On Christmas Day, 2010, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com “Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer” list!

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:

Texas Blues Jam

I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people, from around the world, who visit this premier global health information website every month. (More than 1.2 million health-conscious people visited Weekly Health Update in 2010!) As always, we enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.

Bookmark It

Tags: Antidepressant, Breast Cancer, Cancer Prevention, Clonidine, Effexor, Hot Flashes, Menopause, SNRI, SSRI, Venlafaxine

Obesity, Alcohol, Smoking and Breast Cancer Risk

July 25, 2011 by Robert Wascher
Filed under alcohol, Breast Cancer, breast cancer prevention, breast cancer risk, Cancer, Cancer Prevention, diet, estrogen, exercise, health, Nutrition, obesity, sex hormones, smoking, testosterone, tobacco, Weekly Health Update, Weight Loss

Welcome to Weekly Health Update

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers”

OBESITY, ALCOHOL, SMOKING AND BREAST CANCER RISK

As I discuss in detail in my recent book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, there are several important lifestyle and dietary factors that have been linked to cancer risk by numerous high-level research studies. Moreover, breast cancer risk, as well as the risk of several other hormone-responsive cancers in particular, appears to be especially associated with potentially modifiable lifestyle and dietary factors, including obesity, alcohol intake, smoking, lack of physical activity, high-fat diets (and diets rich in animal-based foods, specifically), as well as other modifiable risk factors.

While certain lifestyle and dietary risk factors linked to breast cancer risk have been confirmed by numerous research studies, the underlying mechanisms whereby these risk factors increase breast cancer risk has not been entirely clear. Now, a comprehensive new review of 13 prospective breast cancer public health studies sheds important light on the important topic of breast cancer prevention, and provides much-needed insight into how our own personal habits may directly increase our risk of developing breast cancer. The findings of this new cancer prevention study are scheduled to appear in the next issue of theBritish Journal of Cancer.

Of the 13 prospective clinical research studies that were analyzed in this report, 7 were performed in the United States, 1 was performed as part of a multinational European study, and 1 each was performed in Australia, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Altogether, 6,291 women were evaluated in these 13 prospective public health studies.

As has been shown in many previous studies, this report confirmed that women with high levels of the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone in their blood are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop breast cancer when compared with women who have low circulating levels of these hormones.

Among postmenopausal women, who make up the great majority of all new breast cancer cases, the single most significant risk factor for having elevated levels of estrogen in the blood was obesity, in this study. Although obesity has long been known to be a risk factor both for developing breast cancer and for experiencing a recurrence of a prior breast cancer, it has not been entirely clear how excess body weight actually causes breast cancer risk to increase. (Aromatase, an enzyme that is manufactured by fat cells, is known to increase the production of estrogen in overweight and obese women and men, and has long been suspected to contribute to breast cancer risk in obese women.) Perhaps the most important finding of this new report, therefore, is to confirm the long-suspected linkage between excess weight and elevated levels of estrogen in the blood. Increased estrogen levels, in turn, are known to increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.

The findings of this report also indicate that, second only to obesity, regular alcohol intake and smoking were the next most significant lifestyle-related factors associated with an increased circulating level of estrogen and other sex hormones. (Both alcohol and smoking have previously, and consistently, been linked to breast cancer risk. Indeed, as I discuss in A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, women who consume 2 or more alcoholic beverages per day have been shown, by multiple studies, to experience a significant increase in breast cancer risk, as well as an increased risk of several other cancers.)

While some breast cancer risk factors (such as gender, age, and family history) cannot be changed, this new report, and the research studies which it analyzes, confirms that women can significantly reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by making evidence-based changes in their lifestyle and diet. When it comes to cancer, an ounce of cancer prevention really is worth a ton of cancer treatment or cancer cure.

Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity

Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author

For a different perspective on Dr. Wascher, please click on the following YouTube link:

Texas Blues Jam