Detox your Diet: 10 Dietary Steps towards Breast Cancer Prevention

From “A Call to Women” The healthy breast program and workbook by Sat Dharam Kaur, ND

1. Eat organic foods whenever possible.
Organic foods have a higher mineral content.
Organic foods have been exposed to significantly less environmental toxins.
Check out the EWG for their list of the dirty dozen and clean fifteen.

2. Eat a primarily vegetarian diet
Research show that a vegetarian diet prevents 20-50% of all cancers.
Eating lower in the food chain also decreases ingestion of environmental chemicals.

3. Eat raw or lightly steamed food.
Enzymes in fruits and vegetables can be destroyed at high temperatures.

4. Indulge in foods from the Brassica family.
Brassica family includes: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, bok choy, kale, kohlrobi, turnips, rutabagas, radish, garden sorrel, watercress, collards.
These plants contain Indole-3-carbinol, which is a phytochemical that promotes deactivation of the “bad” C-16 estrogen, and production of the “good” C-2 estrogens.

5. Eat garlic, onions and leeks
These foods have been found to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.
They help to prevent the initiation, promotion and recurrence of many forms of cancer.

6. Eat Sea Vegetables
Nori, arame, hijiki, kelp, dulse, and kombu.
These foods are high in calcium, iron and trace minerals.
They also contain iodine, which is essential to thyroid function.
Note: Soak dried vegetables in warm water 10-20 minutes to re-hydrate them.


7. Eat your antioxidants.
Lycopene – a powerful antioxidant is a carotene that has been shown to protect against breast, cervical, mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon and rectal cancer.
Lycopene is found in tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, guava and rose hips.
Flavonoids and limonene - Found to inhibit growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells.
Found in: Tangerines, oranges, lemons and grapefruit.


8. Choose your fats
Avoid saturated fats: found in meat and animal products.
Increase intake of Omega 3 Fatty acids which weaken the effects of estrogen on breast cells.
Omega 3’s are found in highest concentration in: fish oils and flax seed.


9. Aim for 30 grams of fiber a day. A high fiber diet:
Decreases circulating estrogens, decreases incidence of obesity, decreases serum cholesterol.
Helps to stabilize blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity.
Increases elimination, and decreases toxicity.

10. Eat Phytoestrogens.
Phytoestrogens increase the production of steroid hormone binding globulin (SHBG) the transport system that caries estrogen in the blood before it attaches to an estrogen receptor, the more SHBG, the less available estrogen.
Top Five phytoestrogens: Flaxseeds, Tofu/ soymilk, Raw pumpkinseeds, clover sprouts, and mung bean sprouts.