Breast Cancer

In this issue we'll be looking at one of the most important and challenging health issues that confront women today - breast cancer. Breast Cancer isn't something you "catch", like a cold. It is a series of happenings, repeated over and over again, weakening your immune system and culminating in that dreaded diagnosis, "Cancer".

So, we need to examine all aspects of ourselves and our lifestyles; the physical, emotional, psychological as well as our environment, genetic history and the way we nourish ourselves.

In so doing, we can discover the things we do that increase our chances of getting cancer - and the things we can do to decrease our chances. If we have it already, we can learn what we can do to stop its progression or re-occurrence.

The "War on Cancer" started officially around 1970. But despite billions and billions of dollars of research, this foe refuses to be vanquished, and our chances of getting it keep increasing! Perhaps one reason is that the focus of Western medicine has been concerned with killing cancer, rather than looking at it's causes and prevention. Western medicine is, by it's very nature, symptomatic. It only reacts when something goes wrong. Cancer, more than any other disease, has forced us to look for causes.

As we're beginning to understand it's causes we see that with cancer, it's multi-faceted. Fundamentally these causes come together as an indictment of our modern way of life.

In this, and subsequent issues we'll be examining those aspects of ourselves and lifestyles that have been linked to the development of breast cancer: Stress, Our Immune System, Hormones, Diet, Emotions, Exercise, Environment, Genetics, Lifestyle, and Relationships.

We'll start with one aspect that is wide spread, controversial, and in my experience, poorly understood by women.

The Pesticide Breast Cancer Connection

The National Cancer Institute has determined that the dramatic rise in breast cancer is a result, in part, of the toxic environmental changes that have occurred in the past 50 years. Dr. Susan Love, breast cancer specialist and co-founder of the National Breast Cancer Coalition believes that one of the major causes is pesticides. The link between pesticides and breast cancer may not be the inherent "toxicity" of these chemicals, but the effect they have on our hormones. Dr. Mary Wolff, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, reports in the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" that certain pesticides stimulate estrogen production. What does this mean ? These pesticides are called estrogenic, because as they break down in our bodies, they act like estrogen, thus altering the bodies delicate estrogen balance, causing alterations in hormone production. A study of women with breast cancer or breast cysts showed a very high level of estrogen producing pesticides in their tissues. How high? Nearly one thousand times higher than the amount the FDA considers to be safe in the foods we eat! Most oncologists agree that the most prevalent type of breast cancer is caused by "altered estrogen metabolism." PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and a group of pesticides called organochlorines, as well as DDT are all pesticides that act like estrogen in our bodies.

Although DDT has been outlawed since 1993, residues which still exist in the soil will continue to find their way into the foods grown in that soil. Known to be a carcinogen (cancer producing), DDT is not broken down very well in our bodies. Instead, it stores itself in our fat tissues. (People in Louisiana have been found to have the highest rate of pesticide residue in their fat tissues of anyone in America) More than 220 million pounds of hormone altering chemicals are currently used on 68 different crops and in the feed of meat and dairy producing animals.

While breast cancer rates continue to rise all over the industrialized world the breast cancer rates actually have dropped in Israel. This decline is not magic - but chemical. Up until 1978 milk and dairy products in Israel had high levels of the carcinogenic pesticides mentioned above. A public outcry in the spring of 1978 resulted in the ban of these estrogen mimicking compounds used in dairy farming. Result: a dramatic drop in breast cancer rates.

According to research groups in Washington these are particularly heavily sprayed on crops of lettuce, tomatoes and grapes, although many other crops are also treated with these chemicals. Heavy concentrations of organochlorines are found in the meat and dairy products of our animals.

What can you do? Here are some steps you can take to reduce your exposure:

Reduce your fat consumption 20% or more of calories from fat equals a greater risk of breast cancer. Remember these estrogen mimicking compounds are stored in fat! Bad Fats: Saturated fats in meat and dairy products. Hydrogenated fats and polyunsaturated fats found in fast foods, and processed foods like crackers, cookies, cereals etc. Good Fats: Olive oil, Flaxseed oil, Canola oil, Fish oil
Increase in your dietary fiber: A high fiber diet is consistently associated with a lowered risk of breast cancer. Where is this fiber found? Whole grains, like Oatmeal and Brown Rice and vegetables and fruits. These fibers bind to those excess estrogen compounds and eliminate them from the body.
Eat less animal products and dairy products which are the most deadly link to breast cancer. Start with 1 or 2 days per week when your protein comes from vegetable sources like whole grains and beans. Soybeans, for example contain cancer preventing compounds called protease inhibitors and isoflavonoids. Dr. Joan Kennedy of Harvard Medical School was the first to discover these cancer preventing plant compounds, called phyto - chemicals. One, the protease inhibitors prevents a normal cell from converting to cancer cell. The other, isoflavinoids, compete with those estrogen mimicking compounds we take in and block their cancer promoting effects. All beans have these wonderful photo - chemicals in them, but soybeans are particularly rich. So lets not just have red beans and rice on Mondays eh cher?
Load up on anti-oxidants. (See supplement of the month column, this issue)
Try to purchase organically grown produce whenever possible. If you can't, at least wash your fruits and vegetables in the following solution to help neutralize those pesticides: Fill up the sink or a container with water. For every gallon of water you use, add 1/2 teaspoon of "Food Grade" Hydrogen Peroxide, (available at any drug store). Dunk and rinse produce for 15 seconds. Drain and enjoy.

Besides mitigating the effects of our exposure, what can we do to get these hormone altering pesticides out of our foods? The Delaney Clause, a bill passed by Congress in 1958 prohibited all carcinogens on or in foods. The law was not well enforced and recently Carol Browner, administrator of the EPA asked Congress to update the law. But instead of outlawing these chemicals the new bill was written that allows cancer causing pesticides to be used! Perhaps like in Israel, its time for a public outcry not only for ourselves, but for the future of our children. If you'd like some information on what options you have, contact the Northwest Coalition for Alternative at Pesticides, PO Box 1393, Eugene, OR 97440

Next issue: Strengthening your immune system against Breast Cancer *

The Immune System

The immune system represents a vast array of defenders, ready to protect the body against outside invaders and enemies within. Here's how it works.

Everyone of the body's many billions of cells is equipped with "proof of identity" - a special arrangement of protein molecules on the exterior surface of the cell membrane. These molecules arrange themselves in a

specific order, unique to your body, and constitute the cells' "identity papers", protecting it against the body's own police force, the immune system. A cell whose identification is faulty is immediately destroyed by the armed force that is always on patrol.

Such a cell may be a bacterium or virus which has penetrated the body, or an ordinary cell whose identification papers have been altered in some way.

The human body's police force, the immune system, is programmed to distinguish between bona fide healthy residents and illegal aliens, an ability fundamental to the body's powers of self defense.

In the course of an ordinary day, our bodies are subjected to thousands of bacteria, viruses, free radicals, chemicals, and pesticides. An unprepared, or poorly functioning immune system, can become overwhelmed - and, unable to mount a successful defense, - we fall ill.

Breast Cancer And Your Immune System

Immune System Enemies

With regards to breast cancer development, what weakens the immune system?

The most significant factor, emerging in study after study is the way we nourish ourselves. The typical American diet contains all the constituents necessary to assure a weakened immune system:

Processed Foods - where nutrients, vitamins, minerals and natural antioxidants are refined away, and chemicals and free radicals are added in.
Simple Sugars - which profoundly weaken immune system cells and brain cells.
Fat - 20% or more of calories from fat equals greater risk for breast cancer. Most importantly, the kind of fat you eat is crucial. The bad fats include: saturated fats in meat and dairy products, hydrogenated, transfats and polyunsaturated fats which are found in margarines and processed foods.
Animal Protein Consumption - The Cornell-Oxford study, the largest study every done on human nutrition, proved conclusively that a diet high in animal protein increased significantly a woman's chance of developing breast cancer.
Dairy Products - contain heavy concentrations of immune weakening antibiotics, growth enhancers, and hormone altering compounds.
A lack of "natural" antioxidants in the diet - The National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Health have linked this lack to the development of breast cancer .

Other Immune System Enemies

Pesticides which mimic estrogen in a woman's body and alter estrogen metabolism (see Vol. 1 #11, Breast Cancer and Pesticides).
Hormone Replacement Therapy: Your risk of breast cancer increases the longer you are on HRT.
Air Pollution
Eliminate cancer causing chemicals from your home environment
Water Pollution: Alters the body's "universal solvent".
Lack of Exercise: Women who are sedentary weaken their immune systems, and they are at greater risk for breast cancer.
Tobacco smoke, alcohol, radiation, household cleaning products, even some plastics can all be added to the "enemy list" of your immune system.

Every one of the causes that we know contributes to breast cancer is a direct result of altering the body's natural functioning. The immune system valiantly tries to correct these alterations. Eventually, with continued bombardment, it is overwhelmed. What can you do?

Strengthening Your Immune System

Dr. R. Chandra, Nobel Prize winner in medicine and a world famous researcher on immunity has a simple answer, "What a person eats, affects his or her ability to resist disease." When you think about it, that simple answer makes such good sense. Every single thing in your body is created from your eating. Blood, bone, hormones, muscles, brain chemicals, cells, and most importantly, your immune system all are created every day by the way you nourish your body.

What does an Immune Strengthening Cancer Prevention Diet Look Like?

Whole Grains: brown rice, oats, barley, rye, wheat berries, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, corn, triticale, amarath
Breads: sprouted grain breads and bagels (there are many varieties)
Grain Products As Snacks: popcorn, rice cakes, blue corn chips
Beans: soy beans (white or black), lentils (red and green), chickpeas (garbanzo), kidney beans, whole dried peas, pinto, lima, navy beans, great northern, aduki (sometimes called Azuki beans)
Bean products: bean spreads, dips, sauces, products made from soy beans - tofu, soy milk, soy cheeses, soy yogurt, miso, tempeh, soy grits, soy sauce, etc.
Fruits: all varieties with emphasis on the following: citrus, apple, grape, cantaloupe, apricot, pear, watermelon. Limit tropical fruits - papaya, mango, coconut, etc. Avoid fruit juices.
Vegetables: emphasize cruciferous - broccoli, bok choy, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, collards, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga, turnips and their greens. Also emphasize the following: onions, leeks, chives, garlic, red peppers, carrots, parsnip, beets, green peas, yams and all hard squashes (acorn, butternut, hubbard, spaghetti, pumpkin).
Animal Flesh: not more than 2 - 3 times a week. Fish, emphasize ocean fish, free range chicken and turkey (in moderation), fertile free range eggs (occasionally). Avoid dairy products and red meat.
Nuts and Seeds: Freshly ground, as an ingredient in foods, as a condiment in or on foods. Emphasize almonds, walnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Others in moderation. (Nut butters and nut milks occasionally).
Fats: olive, canola, flaxseed and fish oils. Avoid other oils and fats.
Avoid processed foods, artificial food and drink and artificial sweeteners.

If you eat this way, all the things you've read about as cancer protective, from antioxidants to phyto-chemicals and cancer binding fibers, plus things about whole living foods that are as of yet undiscovered, will all be provided in a form your body wants and needs.

What Else Can You Do?

Exercise - Two new studies provide the strongest evidence yet, that exercise protects women from breast cancer.

Invest in a Water Filter - Reverse osmosis is the best way to eliminate carcinogens from your drinking water. It's cheaper than bottled water and healthier, too!

Take Supplements - If you suspect that your diet is less than optimal, or want added protection, take a good multivitamin/mineral preparation (not a one-a-day).

Most important in breast cancer protection are the following:

Magnesium glycinate, 1,000 mg. daily
Vitamin C, 2,000 mg. daily
Vitamin E, 800 lUs daily
Selenium, 200 mcg. daily
B6, 50 mg. daily
Calcium, 500 mg. daily
Beta-carotene, 15 mg. or 25,000 lUs daily
Folic Acid, 800 mcg daily
B1 2, 50 mg. daily
Flaxseed oil, Tbsp. or 6 caps. daily

Please remember that you, and the choices you make, are the vital factor in eliminating or mitigating this scourge called breast cancer. Choose well.

Next issue: Stress and Breast Cancer