Eating seeds could 'reduce risk of dying from breast cancer by 40 per cent'

healthydailymail.com Eating flaxseeds can help cut the risk of dying from breast cancer later in life by 40 per cent, scientists claim.

Foods including seeds, wheat and vegetables contain special plant compounds called phytoestrogens, the most important of which are lignans. 

Scientists found these compounds kill off cancer cells and prevent secondary tumours by stopping the growth of new blood vessels.

Flaxseeds were found to be particularly high in lignans. They can be sprinkled on cereals or salads, added to cakes or mixed in with yoghurt.

Once in the body, these phytoestrogens attach to oestrogen, the female sex hormone, and are thought to help protect against cancer. 

German researchers analysed blood samples of over 1,000 women diagnosed with premenopausal breast cancer over a three year period. 

They analysed levels of enterolactone, which is what phytoestrogens become when they enter the bowel.

Results showed that women with the highest levels of enterolactone levels had their mortality rate reduced by two fifths compared to women with the lowest levels of the same substance. 

They also showed that having a high level of enterolactone also afforded similar levels of protection against the spread of cancer and the formation of secondary tumours.

The study authors, whose findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, claim that phytoestrogens helped curtail cancer both because of its hormonal properties, as well as by killing off cancer cells and preventing the growth of new blood vessels. 

It also gives a clue as to why Asian women are less frequently affected by breast cancer. 

Their soy-rich diet contains large amounts of another type of phytoestrogens called isoflavones.

Study author Professor Jenny Chang-Claude, from the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg said: 'We now have first clear evidence showing that lignans lower not only the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer, but also the mortality risk.

'The result was significant only for the group of tumors that have no receptor for the estrogen hormone (ER-negative tumors). 

'This gives reason to suspect that enterolactone protects from cancer not only by its hormone-like effect.

'Indeed, studies of cells and animals had already provided evidence suggesting that the substance also has an influence on cancer growth irrespective of oestrogen. 

'Thus, it promotes cell death and inhibits sprouting of new blood vessels.' 

She added that they would discourage people from taking food supplements to boost lignan levels as they do not fully understand the impact they have on hormones.

'By eating a diet that is rich in wholemeal products, seeds and vegetables, which is considered to be health-promoting anyway, everybody can take in enough lignans,' she said.