Higher levels of carotenoids may reduce breast cancer risk - Weekly Essentials of Health by Usana

Higher levels of carotenoids may reduce breast cancer risk 

Note from Ekayani: The health salad recipe I have shared often is packed with these nutrients and is oh so tasty keeping well for up to a week! See TheLivingConnection.blogspot.com for that recipe!

April 22, 2015

Higher levels of carotenoids may reduce breast cancer risk

At a Glance

The results of a new large study indicate that women with higher plasma carotenoid levels have a reduced risk of breast cancer, and particularly the more aggressive tumors.
Read more about this research below. 

Carotenoids are among the nutrients needed for plant photosynthesis.  They are also the pigments in fruits and vegetables that provide  the yellow, orange and red colors. Of over 600 known dietary carotenoids, a-carotene, b-carotene, b-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene are the most prevalent in the US diet, comprising 90% of circulating carotenoids.  Current evidence suggests that carotenoids may reduce breast cancer risk, but at what stage they are most influential and in what tumor subtypes is less clear. 

In a recent large study published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined the issues of timing of carotenoid exposure as well as associations by breast tumor subtypes. 

The study group included 32,826 women that participated in the Nurses’ Health study and donated blood samples in 1989-1990.  In 2000-2002, 18,743 of these women donated a second blood sample.  Women diagnosed with breast cancer between first and second blood collection, and those diagnosed with breast cancer within ten years of the second collection, were matched with control subjects.

After adjusting for several breast cancer risk factors, significant inverse associations were observed between a-carotene, b-carotene, lycopene, and total carotenoids and breast cancer risk with an overall 18–28% lower risk in the women with the highest blood levels compared to women with the lowest levels. The protective benefits of b-carotene and total carotenoids were more pronounced in leaner women (BMI < 30).  In addition, a-carotene, b-carotene, b-cryptoxanthin, and total carotenoids were associated with a 46% reduction in risk of the more aggressive types of cancer than recurred or caused death.

In this large prospective analysis with 20 y of follow up, women with the highest blood levels of carotenoids had a significant reduction in breast cancer risk, and particularly the more aggressive and lethal subtypes. 

A Heather Eliassen et al.  Plasma carotenoids and risk of breast cancer over 20 y of follow-up. Am J Clin Nutr doi: 10.3945/ajcn.114.105080

Moderate soy intake is not related to a negative breast cancer prognosis

Originally Published April 17, 2013 The Essentials of Health by Usana Health Sciences

Moderate soy intake is not related to a negative breast cancer prognosis
At a Glance
Recent epidemiologic studies report no adverse effects of soy foods on breast cancer survival or prognosis. 
Read more about this research below.
Contrary to earlier clinical studies and some popular media suggesting that soy
may promote breast tumor growth, three recent studies show that moderate
intakes of soy-containing foods are not adversely related to breast
cancer prognosis. In the most recent study researchers used data from the Women’s
Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) study to examine the effect of soy
intake on breast cancer prognosis. Soy isoflavone intake was assessed in
3,088 breast cancer survivors diagnosed between 1991 and 2000. After an
average follow-up of 7.3 years, it was found that as isoflavone intake
increased, risk of death decreased. Women whose intake was >16.3 mg
of isoflavones had a 54% reduction in the risk of death.
This is the third recent epidemiologic study to report no adverse
effects of soy foods on breast cancer prognosis. Because these studies
varied by ethnicity and the level and type of soy consumed, the
investigators stated that when taken together, these studies provide
evidence to suggest that it may not be necessary for clinicians to
advise against moderate soy consumption for women with a diagnosis of
breast cancer.
Caan BJ et al. Soy food consumption and breast cancer prognosis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011 May;20(5):854-8.
The following is a summary of a previous Essentials of Health from Jan 27, 2010. Also included are two more recent study references with similar outcomes.
“In a large prospective study of female breast cancer patients
treated surgically, moderate soy intake was associated with a
significant decrease in death and cancer recurrence during a 4 year
follow-up. Women whose intake of soy protein was among the top 25
percent of participants had a 29 percent lower risk of death during
follow-up and a 32 percent lower risk of recurrence compared to those
whose intake was in the lowest quarter.  This study suggests that
moderate soy food intake is safe and potentially beneficial for women
with breast cancer.”
Shu XO et al. Soy food intake and breast cancer survival.  JAMA 2009;302(22):2437-2443
Zhang YF, et al. Positive effects of soy isoflavone food on
survival of breast cancer patients in China.  Asian Pac J Cancer Prev.
2012;13(2):479-82.
Nechuta SJ et al. Soy food intake after diagnosis of breast cancer
and survival: an in-depth analysis of combined evidence from cohort
studies of US and Chinese women.  Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Jul;96(1):123-32.

Book Review The Iodine Crisis by Lynne Farrow Breast Health Weight Loss

Resources & Illnesses Associated with Iodine Deficiency

Please note that the diseases I mention in the video only scratch the surface! In the interest of not losing you attention I kept it short.
 It's a long list that includes:
GERD
low testosterone
migraines
uterine fibroids,
fibromylagia
lower back pain
allergies and sinus problems
 asthma
prostate issues
fibrocystic breasts
Paget's disease
brain fog
mental retardation
still births
dark thoughts, depression, anxiety
hair loss
lesions
cherry angiomas
candida
genital herpes
stunted growth

This book has knocked my socks off and I plan on reading it at least ten times before moving on to predecessor books such as: Iodine: Why You Need It Why You Can't Live Without It by Dr. David Brownstein. 
TIPS Resources on the web include Breast Cancer Choices  and Iodine Research

Breast Health

 The Short List on Self Care for Breast Health

1. Read More Books (list at end)
2. Ingest More Iodine. Find out how with "The Iodine Crisis"  by Lynne Farrow If you've got fluoride and/ or chlorine in your water supply check this out. Most cities and municipalities do. It's also in your toothpaste.
3. Take grape seed extract and vitamin C combo found in USANA's  Proflavanol C. It can  help reduce burning during radiation, boost immune system for both chemo and radiation. Reduces risks of infection. Helps your body produce healthy cells. Not to be taken with blood thinners
4. Increase intake of Omega 3 Fatty Acids has been shown to improve rate of breast cancer recovery.
5.  Soy Isoflavones Soy has been made into a bogeyman as of late but nutritional science shows that it can be beneficial to breast health. Non GMO please.
6.  Take Vitamin D
The epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency has hit 70% in North America. The long hours spent inside and the copious amounts of sun block applied has made it virtually impossible for your body to produce the critical amounts it needs to keep your immune system strong. Take USANA's  Vitamin D supplement. There is just D in it. In my counseling work I regularly encounter people who are woefully deficient.They always have a flu, a cold, feel rundown or are feeling depressed. Don't write if off. If in doubt get a blood test.
7.  Check your Teeth

If you have mercury amalgam fillings (falsely advertised as silver) go to a biological dentist and get them removed. Mercury is considered the most poisonous heavy metal and has nasty side effects.

Baby You Have Options

Breast health is a huge problem today and it deserves taking a look at from many different perspectives. Cancer just doesn't spring out of nowhere. Our lifestyle choices play an important role in our health. It's what we do today and day after day no matter our family history that is imperative. After all you can't live somebody else's life and you can influence your own. We already know that the rate of mastectomies, chemo and radiation treatments is through the roof for women here in North America and it's skyrocketing around the globe.What needs to be looked at more closely is a woman's own immune system. What may be affecting it adversely or undermining it?  Tell me how often do you hear doctors speaking about the  quality of water you are drinking, the amount of iodine you are consuming or what kind of beauty products you are applying? For me the old argument that your health has got nothing to do with what you are eating, drinking, breathing has hit critical mass. A woman's body is a living breathing reproducing organism intimately tied to that other living breathing reproducing organism Mother Earth. So how are we doing ladies? The good news is that you can choose and improve your life.

 Beauty and The Breast

The average female uses 15 products a day

 Beauty products are affecting women's health. It's just so obvious we can't even see it. The beauty industry would do well with some pressure to step up their manufacturing process by finding solutions other than toxic ones to use as preservatives in products we use day after day and year after year. And ladies that toxic effect is cumulative! Once our official obsession with looking our best at all times has begun in our teens, it can have a deadly effect on a woman's breast health. The carcinogens found in everything from our makeup, shampoos, soaps, body gels, body lotions and facial creams are applied once, twice and sometimes three times a day. And guess what? You are ingesting that. Your skin ingests everything applied on it. In fact, it is a conduit from the outside world to your internal organs, reproductive system, brain, and digestive tract. As the saying goes, If you wouldn't eat don't put it on your skin.What you put on your skin will end up inside you. The cells of your body that make up your immune system will react poorly if they don't have what they require to live a healthy life cycle. If they poisoned instead of nurtured the outcome is predictable. Anything that isn't pure and cannot be excreted successfully ends up becoming lodged inside the fatty tissue that makes up the breast. In the Journal of Applied Technology published in January 2012 from the University of Reading UK a study of breast cancer patients found that 99% of  the tissue samples had parabens in them. 60% of the women had no less than five parabens in their breasts.

Meet Ethyl, Butyl & Methyl

Surely you've heard of Ethyl, Butyl and Methyl Paraben. Just look on the label of one of your fave beauty products. While they might sound like ladies names their behavior is less than ladylike. Any word that ends with paraben is a  petroleum derived product. It's purpose is to kill bacteria and mold.Unfortunately they are also carcinogens.  In today's world where water, food and nutrient supply is so deficient, my advice is to stay away from them while upping your optimal nutrients. Keep your immune system as healthy and strong as possible. That can be achieved. I was led to use and distribute Usana's Sense skin care and body care line because it uses a self preserving technology using liquid crystals. It has cell protecting ingredients in it like green tea and grape seed extract. Sure a lot of products claim to have those ingredients but the point is even if they do their effectiveness has been destroyed due to the presence of parabens. It becomes more about window dressing than results.Products need to be pure and properly manufactured meeting all standards to make them  fit for human consumption and not just marketed as if they do.

Recommended Reading  - Get Smarter Get Wise

A friend of mine is a breast cancer sur- THRIVER. She credits that to a few qualities she possesses. She had an unrelenting thirst and curiosity to know why she got ill and was always questioning her doctors and oncologists about the treatments she was receiving and why she was receiving them. She was active in her self care all through her treatment, refused to be bullied into taking medications she felt she didn't need, took daily walks to clear her mind and spirit, and supplemented while paying careful attention to her diet. To her I owe her  a lot of the credit for the reading list you find here. Read and Educate yourself with the words of these leading edge MDs and breast cancer survivor.Most importantly trust yourself and listen to your body. Try calming yourself everyday and operate as much as possible from a place of no fear. That will empower you to heal.
Dr. Ray Strand What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You
Lynne Farrow The Iodine Crisis She's  breast cancer survivor
Dr. Myron Wentz Poison in Your Mouth 
Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz The Healthy Home  Learn how to detoxify your home room by room
Dr. Christiane Northrup OBGYN leader in Women's Health Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom 
Dr. Ladd McNamara The Power of Cellular Nutrition