Breasts: An Owner’s Manual: Every Woman’s Guide to Reducing Cancer Risk, Making Treatment Choices and Optimising Outcomes. Kristi Funk

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СКАЧАТЬ even plants—they’re fungi, but they’re also delicious and nutritious. Who would’ve guessed that fancy mushrooms like portobello, chanterelle, and oyster have fewer flavones and isoflavones than the little ol’ white button?³³ True, the buttons carry the highest estrogen-blocking abilities of all these mushrooms and inhibit an enzyme, aromatase, which normally converts precursors of estrogen to its cancer-causing active form. A daily intake of 10 grams or more—the equivalent of half a button mushroom—dropped breast cancer rates in Chinese women by 64 percent compared with age-matched “no mushroom” eaters, and by 89 percent when they sipped a halfcup of green tea to boot.³⁴ Studies credit polysaccharides in medicinal mushrooms with stimulating immune response pathways and exhibiting direct antitumor ninja skills.³⁵

      #7: Garlic, Onions, Leeks, Shallots, Chives, Scallions

      Crush, chop, or chew them, but these immunity-boosting bulbs need to be fresh to unleash the antiproliferative and antioxidant protection of the phytochemical allicin.³⁶ A French study showed an astounding 75 percent drop in breast cancer with eleven to twelve weekly servings of the allium vegetables such as garlic and onions.³⁷ Vampires were also reported missing.

      #8: Turmeric and Spices

      Could curcumin, the most active ingredient in the pungent yellow herb turmeric be the reason breast cancer rates in India are five times less than in Westernized countries? Curcumin decreases estrogen, induces cancer cell apoptosis, suppresses inflammation (COX-2 inhibition), and inhibits free radicals.³⁸ In fact, human blood samples were exposed to free radicals in a lab one week, and when this exposure was repeated on fresh samples from the same people the following week, they sustained half the oxidative DNA damage. What changed in one week? The study subjects merely consumed one daily pinch of turmeric.³⁹ Piperine, found in black pepper, increases the bioavailability of curcumin from barely detectable to 2,000 percent higher.⁴⁰ Mixing 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder or a quarter inch fresh turmeric root with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and one tablespoon of fat like ground flaxseeds helps with absorption and avoids elimination by the liver—and makes a great topping for salad, rice, or vegetable dishes. While straight curcumin is powerful, it shows less cancer inhibition than turmeric when the two go head-to-head against breast cancer cells in a petri dish, so you may as well reap all the benefit you can from turning things ochre yellow (like I did the inside of my blender) and choose turmeric.⁴¹ Avoid turmeric if you have gallstones; it stimulates gallbladder contraction, which can lead to a painful gallbladder attack.⁴²

      Spices contribute far more than color and flavor to food; they beneficially affect inflammation, free radical formation and cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and immune function.⁴³ So while we’re feeling spicy, let me also suggest anticancer cooking with clove (second only to that gooseberry in antioxidant potency), ginger, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, and anything else inside the box below that you think adds zest and zing.⁴⁴ Incidentally, cassia cinnamon contains much more of the blood thinner, coumarin, than does Ceylon cinnamon; coumarin can also be toxic to the liver at doses of 1 teaspoon a day, so favor Ceylon if you consume cinnamon regularly.⁴⁵

       HEY, HERB, LET’S SPICE IT UP

      A pinch of this and a dash of that can transform bland and boring into “Yummy yummy, seconds, please!” Over 180 spice-derived phytonutrients have been explored for their health benefits, so the most impressive of these deserve some shelf space, please.⁴⁶ If salt and pepper is your idea of a spice rack, try incorporating these breast-friendly herbs and spices into your cooking and experience the flavorful taste of cancer fighting:

       • allspice

       • barberries

       • basil

       • bay leaves

       • black pepper

       • caraway

       • cardamom

       • chili pepper

       • chili powder

       • chives

       • cilantro

       • cinnamon (Ceylon)

       • clove

       • coriander

       • cumin

       • curry powder

       • dill

       • fennel

       • fenugreek

       • garlic

       • ginger

       • horseradish

       • kokum

       • leeks

       • lemongrass

       • marjoram

       • mint

       • mustard powder

       • onions

       • oregano

       • nutmeg

       • paprika

       • parsley

       • rosemary

       • sage

       • saffron

       • scallions

       • shallots

       • thyme

       • turmeric / turmeric

       root

      #9: Seaweed

      Seaweed reduces the estrogen burden in the body by promoting urinary excretion and altering the gut bacteria.⁴⁷ A Korean study showed that daily consumption of gim (like a sheet of nori, the sushi wrap) drops breast cancer by over 50 percent.⁴⁸ Common seaweeds include nori, wakame, arame, mekabu, kombu, dulse, Irish moss, and spirulina. Try snacking on sheets of nori instead of chips, or roll up veggies and colored rice in a nori wrap. Throw a teaspoon of powdered spirulina into a smoothie or salad dressing, or shake seaweed flakes (found online or in Asian markets) instead of salt onto any meal.

      #10: Cacao

      Packed with flavonoids and procyanidins, cacao powder (not Dutch-processed) can be added to berry smoothies to satisfy a sweet tooth.⁴⁹ Consuming 1.5 ounces (40 grams) of more than 70 percent cacao solid dark chocolate gets an anticancer thumbs up, as it delivers antioxidants more than it does cocoa fat and sugar.⁵⁰

      THERE’S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT SOY—NO, REALLY

      It’s time to set the record straight on this healing ingredient because it gets an unfair bad rap. Soy contains isoflavones, some of which act as phytoestrogens (plant-based estrogen-like compounds), and estrogen fuels most breast cancers, so I’ll СКАЧАТЬ