By Jack Challem
Copyright 2000 by Jack Challem, The Nutrition Reporter™
All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in Let's Live magazine.
Dorothy Reece knows how to beat breast cancer.
Reece, who now lives in Victoria, Canada, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1975, when she was 49 years old and going through an emotionally draining divorce. Doctors performed a lumpectomy, gave her radiation therapy, and pronounced her treated and cured.
But conventional medicine didn't cure Reece. Her cancer eventually reappeared in one of her breasts and also spread to her lungs. For the past few years, however, Reece has been healthy and free of cancer. She credits her long-term survival to "quality" vitamin supplements, a good diet, and a great attitude toward life.
With guidance from Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., also of Victoria, Reece has been taking a high-powered assortment of nutritional supplements, including vitamins A, C, D, and E, beta-carotene, selenium, and vitamin-like coenzyme Q10. "I do feel I need these extra supplements," Reece says. "I think anyone in this situation would need them."
While not "fanatical" about diet, Reece avoids eating meat and emphasizes fresh fish, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and a lot of vegetables. She soothes her soul-and reduces stress-with music, meditation, visualization, long walks, and a positive mental attitude.
Free Radical Damage
Reece, now 73, considers herself a survivor of the disease most women fear. An estimated 184,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Nearly all will be treated with surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. More than 44,000 women will die from breast cancer.
Conventional medicine has made few breakthroughs in preventing breast cancer. In 1994 and 1995, researchers identified two "breast cancer genes" that increased susceptibility to the disease. But the early promise of finding a genetic cause of breast cancer-and perhaps a treatment-has given way to disappointment. According to a recent report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, only 4-6 percent of breast cancer patients have one of these genes.
So what then causes the majority of breast cancers? Most likely, it's the same thing that leads to other types of cancer: mutations that randomly scramble deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the biological instructions that tell cells how to grow and function. When these instructions become damaged, cells age rapidly, behave abnormally, and can become cancerous.
Researchers believe that many of these mutations are caused by free radicals, hazardous molecules produced in the body and found in pollutants (such as smog and cigarette smoke). As the years go by, cells accumulate free radical damage, increasing the risk of breast cancer with age.
According to Francis L. Martin, Ph.D., a scientist at the Institute of Cancer Research, Haddow Laboratory, England, breast cells may be particularly susceptible to free radical damage. That's because breasts consist of 70-90 percent fats, which are especially prone to free radical damage. Experiments by Martin have found that breast cells contain a "reservoir" of DNA-damaging-and potentially cancer-causing-compounds.
Facing the Risk Factors
If genetics doesn't account for much of a woman's risk of breast cancer, what does? There are a number of common risk factors, some of which can be modified by changes in diet and lifestyle. Among these risk factors are estrogen levels, alcohol consumption, weight, use of tobacco products, and stress.
Estrogen. This hormone, while necessary for health and reproduction, also promotes the growth of breast cancers. A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, reported that women with high natural levels of estrogen are four times more likely to develop breast cancer, compared with women who have lower levels of the hormone. Estrogen-replacement therapy, commonly prescribed for menopausal and postmenopausal women, substantially increases the risk of breast cancer. , In addition, estrogen-mimicking compounds, found in pesticides and soft plastics, are associated with increases in breast cancer risk.
Alcohol. Alcoholic beverages raise estrogen levels and, as a consequence, may increase the risk of breast cancer. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that alcoholic drinks boosted blood estrogen levels by three times among women undergoing estrogen-replacement therapy.
Weight Gain. Women who gain weight after age 18 significantly increase their risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers at Harvard University found that women who gained 45 or more pounds were twice as likely to develop cancer, compared with women who gained less than five pounds. The reason may again be related to estrogen. After menopause, most estrogen comes from body fat; the more fat a woman has, the more estrogen she produces.
Smoking. It's not just lung cancer smokers have to worry about. Women who smoke two or more packs of cigarettes daily are 75 percent more likely to die from breast cancer, according to research by Eugenia E. Calle, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society, Atlanta.
Stress. A study in the British Medical Journal found that severe psychological stress can increase the risk of breast cancer by 50 percent. Stress alters hormone production that, according to researchers, may lead to cancer-promoting gene behavior.
Nutrients that Modify Breast Cancer Risk
Scientific research strongly suggests that it's possible to reduce the risk of breast cancer by emphasizing foods and dietary supplements that contain protective antioxidants and natural estrogen blockers.
Fruits and Vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are rich in protective nutrients, such as antioxidants, which neutralize cancer-causing free radicals. A recent study by Shumin Zhang, M.D., Sc.D., of Harvard University, found that women consuming five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables had a 23 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer before menopause. An earlier study, by Jo L. Freudenheim, Ph.D., of the State University of New York, Buffalo, found that diets high in vegetables reduced the risk of breast cancer by 56 percent.
Fiber and Phytonutrients. Fruits and vegetables are also rich in dietary fiber, which also is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. Fiber may help by reducing estrogen levels in the body, according to cancer researcher Basil A. Stoll, Ph.D., of St. Thomas' Hospital, London. Meanwhile, a group of compounds called indoles, found in broccoli and cauliflower, has been shown to break down estrogen into noncarcinogenic forms of the hormone.
Carotenoids. Vegetables are particularly abundant in antioxidant carotenoids, several of which are associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. Aisha O. Jumaan, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, recently reported that the long-term consumption of diets rich in beta-carotene (found in carrots and other vegetables) reduce the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. In an animal study, Boon P. Chew, Ph.D., of Washington State University, Pullman, found that supplemental lutein (found in broccoli and kale) protect against breast cancer. Lutein supplementation also resulted in smaller tumors, compared with those in untreated mice. In another animal study, Japanese researchers described how supplemental lycopene (found in tomatoes) suppressed the growth of breast cancers.
Vitamin E. As the body's principal fat-soluble antioxidant, vitamin E can block free radical damage in fatty breast cells. A study by Japanese researchers found that a lack of catalase, an antioxidant enzyme produced by the body, can increase the risk of breast cancer. In an animal study, Kunihiko Ishii, M.D., of Okayama University Medical School found that supplemental vitamin E can compensate for the lack of catalase and significantly reduce the likelihood of developing breast cancer. According to Ishii, low levels of catalase are relatively common in people, and vitamin E may be useful in preventing breast cancer.
Cell-culture studies have found that the natural vitamin E "succinate" form of the nutrient has the greatest anticancer properties. It appears to work, at least in part, by blocking a compound that promotes the growth of cancer cells. According to Maria C. Birchenall-Roberts, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, vitamin E also induces "apoptosis"-that is, the destruction breast cancer cells.
Good Fats. The role of fats in breast cancer is hotly debated by the experts; some studies show that high-fat diets increase the risk of breast cancer, but other studies do not. The real answer may lie in the specific type of fats consumed. A number of studies have found that omega-6 fatty acids (found in corn, soy, and safflower oils) promote the growth of breast cancer. In contrast, omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish and flaxseed) are protective. Taking fish oil capsules can greatly increase the amount of protective omega-3 fatty acids in breast tissue, according to a study of breast cancer patients by John A. Glaspy, M.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Olive oil, rich in monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acids, also appears to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Dimitrios Trichopoulos, M.D., of Harvard University has reported that women consuming diets rich in olive oil had a 25 percent lower risk of breast cancer, compared with women who ate little of the oil. Another study, by Alicja Wolk, Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, found that woman who ate about one-third of an ounce of monounsatured fat daily had a 55 percent lower risk of breast cancer.
Silymarin. Rajesh Agarwal, Ph.D., of the AMC Center Research Center, Denver, has shown there's more than folklore to back up the benefits of silymarin, the antioxidant extract of the herb milk thistle. In the journal Cancer Research, Agarwal explained that silymarin inhibits the replication of cancer cells by blocking their DNA synthesis.
Soy Isoflavones. Asian woman eating high-soy diets have a relatively low risk of developing breast cancer, compared with American women who eat relatively little soy. Researchers believe that two antioxidant flavonoids in soy, genistein and daidzein, may be protective. The reason, research indicates, is that these isoflavones are weak estrogens that attach to cells and block the cell-proliferating effect of the actual, more powerful hormone.
According to animal studies by Coral A. Lamartiniere, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, consuming genistein early in life may reduce the long-term likelihood of developing breast cancer. Cell-culture research has found that genistein can inhibit the growth of breast cancers, promote the destruction of breast cancer cells, and counter the growth of tumors.
Coenzyme Q10. There's tantalizing evidence that coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a vitamin-like nutrient, can reduce the risk and recurrence of breast cancer. French researchers recently reported that women with breast cancer and noncancerous breast lesions had consistently lower blood levels of CoQ10, compared with healthy women. Knud Lockwood, M.D., a breast-cancer surgeon in Copenhagen, Denmark, has described how high doses of CoQ10 (390 mg daily) can prevent the recurrence of breast cancer in women.
In sum, women do not have to fear breast cancer. Everyone can has an opportunity to reduce their risk factors. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants and and taking some dietary supplements can slow the rate of cell damage-and likely reduce the long-term risk of breast cancer.
The information provided by Jack Challem and The Nutrition Reporter™ newsletter is strictly educational and not intended as medical advice. For diagnosis and treatment, consult your physician.