Time for a
Breast Cancer check in for what’s new and any of the latest findings,
statistics and more!
I know some
weeks it seems like Breast Cancer is in the news daily and other times we don't hear enough! So here’s a little update of information being shared
around the world. Keep in mind although we're not mentioning Male Breast Cancer
specifically, men continue to be treated the same as women until new statistics
are found.
First let’s
talk about diet, something we actually have control of! Recent studies have
linked High-Fat Dairy products to poorer Breast Cancer Survival. When a person has been diagnosed with BreastCancer it appears their chance of dying from the disease years later is
increased when consuming a high-fat dairy diet according to a study by Kaiser
Permanente researchers. This is one of
the first studies to examine the relationship between high-fat and low-fatdairy. The primary issue relates to the
higher Estrogen levels found in the dairy products consumed because most of the
milk comes from pregnant cows.
Our suggestions in addition to selecting from a low-fat dairy
diet are to choose organic or grass fed products where the animals are not fed
diets which include added hormones. This would make for the same options when
choosing meats and poultry products as well.
While we’re on the topic of diet, new research from the
University of Guelph and David Ma, a professor and one of the study’s authors shows
a lifelong diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids have been found to inhibit growth
of breast cancer tumors by 30%. This study which was published in the Journal
of Nutritional Biochemistry may be the first to show without a doubt that
omega-3’s reduce cancer risk. In
addition, now researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Center have found that
omega-3 fatty acids could be a safe and beneficial way to boost tamoxifen
therapy to aid with the interference of estrogen. Both men and women can have estrogen dominant breast cancer. The combination of fishoil and tamoxifen were able to reduce the expression of the genes linked to
tumor growth as well as spreading.
In regards to omega-3’s (healthy building blocks of good
fats) diets rich with omega-3 is recommended which would include Flaxseed Oil
and or seeds, Salmon, Fish Oil, Chia seeds, sardines and products obtained from
animals that are grass-fed which produce higher amounts of the omega-3. Taking
a nutritional supplement of omega-3 can also help when diets are limited. Omega-3 can also aid with inflammation (another creator of cancer cells), Walnuts
stand out for their significant omega-3 content as well as winter squash such
as pumpkins, butternut, acorn and spaghetti squash. With so many tasty options,
and great ways to consume, getting more omega-3 into your diet is easy! I like to sprinkle Flax or Chia seeds onto
many of my foods, especially for breakfast! Or try a spoonful of oil in your
smoothie shake or mixed in with applesauce are just more great ways, but I’m
definitely a fan of the winter squash options!
I’ll follow up with more updates and findings so check back
soon!
Modah Ani- I Am Thankful
Editor; Vicki Singer Wolf, Co-Founder
