Cabbages and Cancer Risk

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Cabbages and Cancer Risk

_http://www.smart-publications.com/cancer/di-indolylmethane_1.php_

(http://www.smart-publications.com/cancer/di-indolylmethane_1.php)

 

We Already Know That Cabbage-Family Foods Reduce Cancer Risk ... Now,

Scientists Have Discovered the Active Ingredient - and it Works By Balancing

Your Estrogen Metabolism

 

By Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.

 

 

See also these related articles:

_Is Estrogen Carcinogenic?_

(http://www.smart-publications.com/cancer/di-indolylmethane_2.php)

_Medical Tests to Assess Sex-Hormone-Related Cancer Risk_

(http://www.smart-publications.com/cancer/di-indolylmethane_3.php)

 

 

We all know Grandma was right when she told us to eat our vegetables. With

varying degrees of enthusiasm, some of us have been doing so, especially

those of us approaching Grandma's age. Over the last decade or so,

researchers have added their findings to Grandma's advice, concluding in one

after

another study that more vegetables in our diets help reduce our risk of

heart disease, strokes, cancer and other ailments. So what's new about eating

our vegetables?

 

 

Researchers into sex-hormone-related cancers (breast, prostate, uterus,

ovaries) have discovered that natural substances found in specific vegetables

may help lower our sex- hormone-related cancer risk by predictably

altering estrogen metabolism in at least one specific way strongly associated

with

lower cancer risk. Other researchers suggest that specific hormone

supplementation may decrease the risk of breast cancer in pre-menopausal women

with a family history of this disease.

 

 

There's enough research in medical and scientific journals to make a

review worthwhile, and though absolute conclusions can't be drawn, there's

enough data to allow us and our physicians to improve our chances of preventing

sex-hormone-related cancer.

 

 

I promise to keep what follows in plain English. However, for those who

get bored with research findings and the inevitable background discussion -

and just want a bottom line, here it is:

 

-- To significantly cut our risk of prostate, breast, uterine, ovarian and

other sex-hormone-related cancers, eat more flaxseed (the seed itself, not

the oil) as well as cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and

soy.

 

-- In addition to eating the right vegetables and seeds, there are some

safe, natural supplements to use, specifically: di-indolylmethane, chrysin

(for men), and Vitex Agnes (for women). Iodine, as we will see later, is

another possibility. These supplements may cut the risk of sex-hormone-related

cancers by balancing estrogen metabolism in a very specific way described

below.

 

-- In some cases, progesterone or DHEA supplementation might be indicated.

 

-- Lycopene may also be useful for prevention of cancer, prostate and

others, but the way in which lycopene lowers cancer risk isn't known.

 

-- It's also important to know that more and more tests are becoming

available, at reasonable (and even low) prices, to help assess the risk of

sex-hormone-related cancer. (See _Medical Tests to Assess Sex-Hormone-Related

Cancer Risk_ (http://www.smart-publications

..com/cancer/di-indolylmethane_3.php) ).

 

 

Sex Hormones and Cancer

 

 

This topic has been of increasing concern since the introduction of

so-called " hormone replacement therapy " : methyl-testosterone for men in the

1940s, and horse estrogen (Premarin) for women in the 1960s, both of which have

been proven to increase cancer risk. We won't waste any ink or further

space on these ridiculous, but patentable, " treatments " , except to predict that

our descendants will put them in the same category of " historically bad

ideas " as chemotherapy and radiation to " cure " cancer and bleeding George

Washington to death.

 

 

Those of us who are " into " natural medicine have turned to the logical

alternative: Natural Hormone Replacement (NHR), using hormones identical in

every way to the ones our own bodies produce, in quantities to which our

bodies are accustomed, on schedules for which our bodies are already

" programmed " . In this way, we hope to minimize our risk of cancer from hormone

ingestion while maximizing our chances of preventing heart and blood vessel

disease, osteoporosis, and cognitive decline. [For extensive discussion of

natural hormone replacement, see the books Natural Hormone Replacement for

Women

Over 45 by myself and John Morgenthaler, and Maximize Your Vitality and

Potency for Men Over 40 by myself and Lane Lenard, Ph.D.]

 

 

Of course, sex-hormone-related cancer has been on a decades-long uptrend

among those of us who never took a molecule of hormone replacement. Young

women as well as old are developing more breast cancers than ever before, and

the rate of prostate cancer is climbing among men, most of whom haven't

taken testosterone. Our entire adult population, whether " into " natural

medicine and natural hormone replacement or not, has at least a theoretical

interest in not developing and perhaps dying of sex-hormone-related cancers.

 

 

Cutting Hormone-Related Cancer Risk: Cabbages Versus Cancer

 

 

Let's go over the most recently reported research first, especially since

there's a bit of " local Seattle pride " involved.

 

 

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have just

reported1 that three " healthy portions " of vegetables daily cut the risk of

prostate cancer by 48%. More pertinent here, they also found that three

half-cup

" servings " per week of cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or broccoli

decreases the risk of prostate cancer by 41%!

 

 

So what's so powerful about these particular vegetables? They're all

members of the Brassica family, also termed cruciferous vegetables, and all

contain (among many other things) a phytochemical called indole-3-carbinol, as

well as a much more powerful phytochemical termed di-indolylmethane, which

is actually just two indole-3-carbinol molecules attached chemically to

each other.

 

 

These Are Possibly the Most Powerful Cancer Prevention Tools We Now Have

 

 

Di-indolylmethane and indole-3-carbinol, as well as the vegetables

containing them, have all been shown to reduce risk of cancer, by balancing

your

estrogen metabolism in a very specific way. These vegetables reduce the

amount of a particularly carcinogenic estrogen (16a-hydroxyestrone), which is

normally in your body, while increasing a neutral-to-favorable estrogen

(2-hydroxyestrone). (For more details on the 2/16a-hydroxyestrone-ratio theory

of cancer, see the article called Is Estrogen Carcinogenic?).

 

 

But this is estrogen metabolism…how does that affect prostate cancer?

Well, this is where the testosterone-to-estrogen cancer hypothesis comes into

play. This theory states that once testosterone is transformed into

estradiol, whether a little or a lot, then some of that estradiol may get

converted

16a-hydroxyestrone (remember this is the " bad estrogen " ). At this point

the added 16a-hydroxyestrone will exert the same negative influence in the

prostate as it does in the breasts and other tissues in women. The worst case

result: prostate cancer.

 

 

So, if the risk of prostate cancer is reducible by 41% using three

half-cups weekly of cabbage, or broccoli, or Brussels sprouts, or

cauliflower…

imagine how much more reduction we might obtain with additional amounts of

these vegetables, or with supplemental di-indolylmethane.

 

 

Other experimenters have shown that broccoli consumption2 as well as

supplemental indole-3-carbinol3 improves the " 2/16a-hydroxyestrone " ratio.

Di-indolylmethane has been shown to be the most potent natural inducer of

2-hydroxyestrone production4 and is roughly 10 times more potent than

indole-3-carbinol.

 

 

There is as yet no direct prospective study in humans that Brassica

vegetables, indole-3-carbinol, or di-indolylmethane will reduce breast, uterine

or ovarian cancer risk. However, Bradlow3 lists the many inverse

correlations between conditions and items that raise or lower breast cancer risk

and

higher or lower 2/16a-hydroxyestrone ratios.

 

 

These inverse correlations are quite suggestive, but correlations cannot

prove a case; for example, some third factor may be responsible for both

sides of the correlation. However, until the evidence is in, I'm confident

that prospective studies of Brassica vegetables, indole-3-carbinol, or

di-indolylmethane will show the same tendency to prevent breast, uterine, and

endometrial cancers as did this Brassica vegetable and prostate cancer study.

 

 

Flaxseed Versus Cancer

 

 

In another very recently reported study, 28 postmenopausal women were

asked to add 0, 5, or 10 grams (28 grams is one ounce) of ground flaxseed to

their usual diets. According to the report8: " Flaxseed supplementation

significantly increased urinary 2-hydroxyestrone secretion (p‹0.005) and the

urinary 2/16a-hydroxyestrone ratio (p‹0.05) in a linear, dose response

fashion. " Translated: in this study, the more flaxseed, the more significant

the

improvement in the 2/16a-hydroxyestrone ratio. While this was not a direct

study of breast or other estrogen-related cancer prevention, it is another

very suggestive bit of evidence. While not specifically addressing the 2/16a-

hydroxyestrone hypothesis, previous studies of population groups have

shown that both flax and soy can help reduce cancer risk.

 

 

Soy (With Isoflavones) Versus Cancer

 

 

As noted in Natural Hormone Replacement for Women Over 45, various animal

studies have shown that genistein, a soy isoflavone, significantly retards

the growth of breast cancers. (This effect has not been proven in women).

However, in another suggestive study, researchers examined the effects of

soy with and without isoflavones9 on the 2/16a-hydroxyestrone ratio. They

reported that soy with 150 milligrams of isoflavones daily significantly

increased this ratio (p‹0.005), while the same amount of soy without

isoflavones

did not.

 

 

As noted above, previous studies have shown that both soy and flax appear

to reduce cancer risk. Whether the mechanism involves their effect on the

2/16a-hydroxyestrone ratio, some as-yet unmeasured effect on

4-hydroxyestrone and its metabolites, another unknown effect, or a combination

of factors

isn't known. However, the ability to measure the " 2/16a-ratio " gives us a

start towards assessing estrogen-related cancer risk.

 

 

Iodine (and Iodide) Versus Cancer?

 

 

Years ago, when applying Dr. John Myers very effective iodine therapy for

fibrocystic breast disease (see Nutrition and Healing for July 1995) some

of the women had 24-hour urine tests for estrone, estradiol, and estriol. To

my surprise, in the majority of these women the quantity of estriol

greatly increased, and the total quantity of estrone and estradiol (combined)

decreased following the iodine treatment.

 

 

Since estradiol and estrone can metabolize to estriol only through

16a-hydroxyestrone theoretically it appears that iodine somehow greatly

stimulated

this pathway. Also theoretically, this may mean that iodine helps to

" drain away " 16a-hydroxyestrone ( " bad estrogen " ) by helping to turn it into

estriol.

 

 

At the time, it was not possible to check this theory, but it can now

easily be done with a combination of the tests reviewed here

(see _Medical Tests to Assess Sex-Hormone-Related Cancer Risk_

(http://www.smart-publications.com/cancer/di-indolylmethane_3.php) ).

 

 

" Lugol's solution " , a combination of iodine and potassium iodide, was used

in the " Myers treatment " noted above. As large amounts of iodine or iodide

can possibly affect the thyroid adversely, it's best to work with a

physician if using this material or other relatively high-dose iodine and/or

iodide preparations.

 

 

A historical note: Max Gerson, M.D., the famous diet and cancer cure

physician of the early and mid 1900s, maintained that iodine was a major tool

in

cancer treatment.

 

 

DHEA, Progesterone, and Vitex (Chasteberry) Versus Cancer

 

 

For pre-menopausal women, it seems very possible that bringing low levels

of DHEA up to normal will cut breast cancer risk. At present,

supplementation of DHEA itself appears to be the best way to do this. For women

after

menopause, I often recommend improvement of DHEA levels by supplementation to

help in prevention of cancer in general as well as for improvement in

immune system function.

 

The herb Vitex agnus castus (chasteberry) can improve progesterone levels

for some pre-menopausal women. For others, as well as for women after the

menopause, supplementation of progesterone is needed.

 

 

For Men: Chrysin Versus Cancer?

 

 

For men, the flavonoid chrysin (isolated from a species of Passion Flower)

may also aid in cutting cancer risk. Men metabolize testosterone directly

to estradiol; chrysin inhibits this transformation. (Naringenin, another

flavonoid, also inhibits this transformation but not quite as strongly as

chrysin). If we to the testosterone-to-estrogen theory for prostate

cancer, then it seems logical that anything which slows this transformation

down would also cut cancer risk.

 

Unfortunately, there are no studies of chrysin and cancer prevention yet

available. If chrysin can be shown to favorably alter before and after

testosterone-to-estrogen-ratio tests for men, then (again theoretically) the

risk of cancer should be lessened. However, as noted above, it may also be

additionally useful to promote a favorable 2/16a-hydroxyestrone ratio (with

cabbages, broccoli, or supplemental di-indolylmethane) in whatever estrogen

remains to further lower men's prostate cancer risk.

 

 

Lycopene Versus Prostate Cancer

 

 

Lycopene is not known at present to alter sex-hormone-related metabolites,

but it's included here for sake of completeness. In a comprehensive

review10,11 Dr. E. Giannuci writes: " Among 72 studies identified, 57 reported

inverse associations between tomato intake or blood lycopene level and the

risk of cancer….35 of these inverse associations were statistically

significant

…..The evidence of benefit was strongest for cancers of the prostate,

lung, and stomach. Data were also suggestive of benefit for cancers of the

pancreas, colon and rectum, esophagus, oral cavity, breast, and cervix. "

However, he cautions that a cause-effect relationship cannot be definitively

established.

 

 

In one well-publicized recent study, men scheduled for prostate cancer

surgery were asked to use either lycopene or placebo for approximately 30

days. At surgery, the cancers of the men in the lycopene group appeared to have

regressed, while the cancers of those taking the placebo continued to

grow. As yet, no follow-up has been reported. In Summary Definitive answers in

the area of sex-hormone-related cancers, sex-hormone metabolites, testing

for sex-hormone metabolites, and alteration of sex-hormone metabolism with

diet and supplements are not yet available. However, as is often said in

clinical preventive medicine, by the time definitive answers are available,

many of us will no longer be living, so we must proceed on the best available

evidence, knowledge of individual circumstances, and clinical judgement. It

now appears that both enough evidence and enough tools are available for

us to rationally undertake further steps in the prevention of

sex-hormone-related cancers.

 

 

 

This article was adapted for reprint with permission.

Copyright ® 2000 Agora South, LLC.

For more information on Dr. Wright's newsletter, Nutrition & Healing,

call 800-851-7100 or 410-223-2611.

 

 

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