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| |  Diet Can Reduce Risk Of Breast Cancer LONDON, ENGLAND -- October 3, 1997 – In The Lancet this week, Dr. David Ingram and colleagues from Perth, Australia, show there is a substantial reduction in breast-cancer risk among women with a high intake of phyto-estrogens -- particularly the isoflavonic phyto-estrogen equol and the lignan enterolactone. Phyto-estrogens are naturally-occurring chemicals derived from plants and form part of our diet. They are found predominantly in soya products and in the fibre present in whole grains, berries, fruit, vegetables and flax seed. The structure of phyto-estrogens are similar to the female hormone, estrogen. The researchers interviewed women with newly-diagnosed breast cancer and took urine and blood samples before any treatment started. Controls were randomly selected from the electoral role after matching for age and area of residence. One hundred and forty-four pairs were included for analysis. The urine samples were tested for the isoflavonic phyto-estrogens daidzen, genistein and equol and the lignans enterodiol, enterolactone and matairesinol. After adjustment for age at first menstrual period, parity (number of live births) and alcohol and total-fat intakes, high excretion of both equol and enterolactone was associated with a substantial reduction in breast-cancer risk. There was a reduction in risk for most other phyto-estrogens, but it did not reach significance. Difficulties with the genistein assay precluded analysis of that substance. "This finding supports previous observational studies that reported higher phyto-estrogen excretion among populations with a low frequency of breast cancer," the researchers write.
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