Nineteen Foods to Help Prevent Breast Cancer

by Dr. John H. Maher

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: Baby carrots beta-carotene is more absorbable then regular carrots and carrots beta-carotene is 500% more absorbable than in raw carrots. (MultiWellness)

#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. (Super Foods Wellness)

#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 Ketch-up 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 with out year round sun (20 minutes a day).

#8 Eat a small bowel 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 over 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 estrogen’s, blocking the more powerful estrogen’s from stimulating estrogen sensitive cancer cells. (UltraMeal)

#19 Phyto herbs, like don quai, fennel, black cohosh are also weak estrogens that compete with stronger estrogen’s for estrogen receptor sites. These are found in many "Change of life formulas. (Menopause Wellness)

The 20th step is to just do it!

Dr. John H. Maher, Editor.,"Longevity News" Your FREE Anti-Aging Prescription On-line. http://RxforWellness.com