Flaxmatters.com Blog » flax and cancer http://flaxmatters.com/blog All the news from Flaxmatters.com Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:34:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Why Men Should Eat Flax Seed http://flaxmatters.com/blog/2009/07/01/why-men-should-eat-flax-seed/ http://flaxmatters.com/blog/2009/07/01/why-men-should-eat-flax-seed/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:26:46 +0000 admin http://flaxmatters.com/blog/?p=173 There are various ways women can benefit from flax seed, including decreasing the occurrence of hot flashes and helping to prevent the risk of breast cancer. But is there any reason why men should add more flax seed to their diet? Indeed there is! In fact, there are several reasons men may want to eat more flax seed.

First, flax seed contains many nutrients that are beneficial to both men and women, and these are reason alone to consume flax seed. Flax includes the Omega-3 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid, and more. Flax seeds also contain fiber and antioxidants. Our bodies need all of these to be healthy, especially the Omega-3 fatty acids. Many people believe these fatty acids can only come from fish, but they actually appear in several other types of foods as well. By adding flax seed to your diet, you add another source of Omega-3 fatty acids. This is a great way for those who do not enjoy eating fish to get these essential nutrients.

However, these are benefits that both genders can enjoy. What does flax seed offer men exclusively? Well, the main reason men may want to add flax seed to their diet is that flax seed can help prevent prostate cancer and prostate tumor growth. In one study, men consumed 30 grams of flax seed every day for a month before having surgery for prostate cancer. These men were then compared to a group of men who had the same surgery but did not consume flax seed. The men who added flax seed to their diet had many fewer complications and had an easier time with the surgery overall. Researchers believe this was because the Omega-3 fatty acids in flax seed actually stopped cancer cells from clinging to other cells, while the lignans slowed the blood supply to the tumor.

Like many studies, further research is necessary to confirm these effects. However, it appears that flax seed is very beneficial to those with prostate cancer and may, in fact, help prevent prostate cancer in men.

]]> http://flaxmatters.com/blog/2009/07/01/why-men-should-eat-flax-seed/feed/ 3 Flax Helps Protect Against Breast Cancer by Influencing Estrogen Metabolism http://flaxmatters.com/blog/2009/06/18/flax-helps-protect-against-breast-cancer-by-influencing-estrogen-metabolism/ http://flaxmatters.com/blog/2009/06/18/flax-helps-protect-against-breast-cancer-by-influencing-estrogen-metabolism/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:23:07 +0000 admin http://flaxmatters.com/blog/?p=156 Breast cancer is hormone-sensitive, meaning that in the early stages, tumor growth is influenced by the sex hormones, particularly estrogen and its metabolites. The biologically active form of estrogen is estradiol, which is oxidized mainly in the liver to estrone. Estrone can be converted to two metabolites with different biologic effects- 2-hydroxyestrone has little biologic activity, while 16∝-hydroxyestrone enhances estrogen activity and promotes uncontrollable tumor cell growth or cell proliferation, as it is called. Women who produce more 16∝-hydroxyestrone may have an increased risk of breast cancer. Two clinical studies found postmenopausal women who ate a diet supplemented with 10g or 25g of milled flax for 7 weeks or 16 weeks2 increased the excretion of 2-hydroxyestrone in their urine, without increasing the excretion of 16∝-hydroxyestrone. In these studies, flax consumption shifted the balance toward production of the relatively inactive metabolite of estrogen, thus supporting a role for flax seed in breast cancer prevention.

Dr. Diane H. Morris

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