With respect to hormonal status, as you know, estrogen exposure can influence breast cancer risk. The longer the estrogen esposure, the higher the risk in some women. This means the earlier estrogen production begins, the longer the lifetime exposure. For some women, earlier is not better.
Around puberty, once a certain height to weight ratio is reached, "menarche" (the onset of menstruation) begins. The earlier menarche occurs, and the earlier regular periods start, the higher the risk of breast cancer. A 1996 article published in the journal, Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, associated early onset of regular periods with a fourfold greater risk of breast cancer for the early bloomers, than for women whose menarche was delayed until age 13 or longer.
Since the onset of menstruation is related to body weight, the bigger the child, the earlier the menstrual cycle can begin. Since bodyweight is affected by caloric intake and expenditure, the proper management of the food intake and physical activity of our children are important factors in decreasing their cancer risk later in life. Over the last couple of decades, unfortunately, a combination of physical and environmental conditions has provided for decreased physical activity, higher caloric intake, and thus larger children, with subsequent increased health risks.....
With respect to the impact of certain foods on breast cancer development, two reports published in the jounals Cancer Research, and The American Journal of Epidemiology, in 1975 and 1981 (respectively), conveyed that fried foods, fried potatoes, hard frying fats, dairy products (except milk), and white bread; as well as frequent consumption of beef and other red meats, pork and sweet deserts, significantly increased breast cancer risk. Unfortunately, due to convenience based lifestyles and dietary traditions, such foods are all too commonly consumed by many young African American women.
Clearly, change is needed.
In considering the significance of hormonal influences and diet on the development of breast cancer in ALL women, the fact that African American women are often confronted with more aggressive forms of the disease may be partially explained by a 1996 article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which reported that "African American women appear to have HIGHER levels of serum hormones than Caucasian women, and dietary intervention with a low fat and high fiber diet can result in the lowering of serum estrogens".....
In addition to changes in food selection, increasing the intake of specific nutrients is also crucial to reducing breast cancer risk. The 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intake reported that adult women fail to meet the RDA of calcium, vitamin E, B6, folic acid, magnsesium and zinc. These nutrients are important to the prevention of various diseases affecting women, including breast cancer. On average, African American women obtain less of those nutrients than Euro American women do.
In order to ensure the intake of protective dietary elements, nutritional supplementation is therefore important, given the underconsumption of critical nutrients due to poor food choices and/or lack of time. Further support for nutritional supplementation can be derived from the fact that losses of vulnerable nutrients from foods can occur through heating and oxidation.
For instance, many of the B vitamins and vitamin C in foods are water soluble and unstable to heat, so they can be reduced in foods by cooking. Vitamins E and C in foods can be lowered by exposure of vegetable oils and fruit juices to the air, due to the antioxidant properties of those vitamins (They chemically react with oxygen). These losses, as well as nutrient depleting factors such as stress, are some of the reasons why the American Medical Association now recommends the use of at least a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement daily, to help protect your health (1).....
Though there have been few studies on the effect of vitamin and mineral supplements on the reduction of breast cancer risk in particular, there have been some significant investigations into the effect of soy components on the reduction of hormone related disorders in women, including breast cancer. The best known phytochemical components of soy active against a number of hormone driven disorders are the isoflavones (The prefix "phyto" means plant.). Certain isoflavones, particularly genistein and daidzein, are also known as phytoestrogens, because they have estrogenic activity, and thus compete for estrogen binding sites in a woman's body. Isoflavones were shown to be effective in decreasing the negative impact of natural estrogens, while favorably influencing tissues affected by that hormone. Specifically, isoflavones have been shown to reduce hot flashes, lower LDL cholesterol, and improve insulin efficiency in postmenopausal women (2).....
Two effective, convenient supplement products that can help secure a woman's health against hormone driven disorders and diseases, are "Women's Formula Plus" and "Meno Essentials". Both are viewable through my Best Health site at www.unicitynetwork.com/best-health.
Women's Formula Plus is designed to protect a woman's health through a combination of natural nutrients and phytochemical protective factors, including calcium, calcium D-glucarate, flax seed, soy, lutein, red clover and antioxidant bioflavanoids. For the less familiar components, note: (A) In an article published in a 1993 issue of Gynecological Investigations, flax seed ingestion was shown to modulate the menstrual cycle, thus helping to reduce the impact of natural estrogens on breast cancer risk. (B) Evidence of red clover's usefulness is given in the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, in which the herb is described as having phytoestrogens similar to soy, but also includes other isoflavones, such as biochanin A, a substance that has anitcancer activity. (C) Lutein is a carotenoid often referred to in the media. If can help protect cells from harmful oxidation. (D) D-glucarate is a phytochemical component of fruits and vegetables that can participate in the detoxification of estrogen and tumor promotors in the body. D-glucarate is currently held under patent number 4,845,123, exclusively for the purpose described above (3).....
Meno Essentials includes calcium and soy isoflavones, as well as the herbs black cohosh and passionflower. Black cohosh is described in the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database as being effective when taken orally for managing the symptoms of premenstrual stress, as well as symptoms associated with menopause. Passionflower is also described in the Natural Medicines Database as being mildly effective when taken orally for the relief of nervous restlessness, anxiety and mild insomnia (The aforementioned Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database is a supplement reference guide for health care professionals.).
The components in Women's Formula Plus and Meno Essentials are the active ingredients in fruits, vegetables and herbs that are protective against diet related disorders and diseases. Unfortunately, modern lifestyle demands prevents most Americans from regularly obtaining fresh foods, and properly preparing meals that provide protective elements from vegetables, fruits and other plant sources. In answering current lifestyle demands, technology has given us foods that are quick and convenient, but are designed and marketed to emphasize taste appeal much more so than health maintenance. Some of those food's ingredients actually contributes to the development of disease. We are thus currently confronted with a variety of diet related diseases, that are intimately associated with what we eat.
For African American women, lifestyle demands, dietary traditions and unique physical characteristics all combine to make certain diet related diseases, such as breast cancer, even more of a threat to health and life. The best treatment for such disorders is PREVENTION.
Fortunately, science has given us supplements that can compensate for dietary shortages, by providing some of the essential components of fruits, vegetables and herbs that bestow a protective effect against diet related diseases and disorders of health. Women's Formula Plus and Meno Essentials consists of the nutrients and phytochemicals that God and nature designed and provided to help secure a woman's health against diseases that affect her especially.
Go to www.unicitynetwork.com/best-health. Women's Formula Plus and Meno Essentials can be reviewed in full by clicking on the "Shop Online" button at the Best Health site. To maximize the product's protective effects, take them with your evening meals. If your physical development and lifestyle reflects any of the above risk factors, you should especially consider dietary manipulations, nutritional supplements and exercise to secure your health against disease.....
The "Shop Online" button at the Best Health site will also take you right to the new Breast Self Examination Pad. The Breast Self Examination Pad is designed to facilitate breast self examinations by decreasing the friction associated with rubbing, while heightening your sense of touch. It is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as a Class II medical device, and consists of soft, ultra thin latex free polyurethane, with a special lubricant sealed inside. It can be reused after washing with soap and lukewarm water. Visit www.unicitynetwork.com/best-health to learn more about the product and the importance of breast self exams (The Best Health site also offers a series of educational health quizzes and a free newsletter, "Health and Wealth").....
Even if your physical development does not reflect factors associated with increased breast cancer risk, African American women should still be mindful of their nutritional status and other health related lifestyle factors. Additional disorders and diseases, such as high blood pressure and colon cancer, are also influenced by diet, and often affect African American women more severely.....
An additional factor influencing disease development in African Americans is an alarming practice of substandard medical treatment by health care providers. This state of affairs was recently described in a report entitled, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care (4). Related to this concern is the fact that many African Americans are faced with inadequate health insurance coverage, or no health insurance coverage at all! The realities of inadequate medical care for African Americans makes attention to the PREVENTION of diet related diseases all the more important!
About the products: The company which manufactures Women's Formula Plus and Meno Essentials, Unicity, is the daughter company of Royal Numico. Numico has been involved in human nutrition and the application of dietary elements to support human health for over 100 years! Numico currently owns both GNC and MetRx, but through Unicity, produces products that are specifically designed to prevent diet related diseases, and manage certain diet related disorders of health. Unicity's products are validated by extensive clinical research and scientific investigations. They are unique, proprietary products, and many consist of patented ingredients (See references below).
About Me: I am a professional Biologist with over 25 years of personal and professional experience in nutritional biochemistry. I am also an African American who has seen friends and relatives suffer form diet related diseases. I'd like to help reverse this trend. Any questions concerning diet, nutritional supplements or exercise, contact me through my Best Health site (See the link below).
Note: Address serious or potentially serious medical conditions to competent, dedicated health care providers, who can apply an array of diagnostic techniques to find out exactly what's going on, and determine exactly what's needed to manage or alleviate a condition before it worsens.
References:
1) Click on the first link below (www.unicitynetwork.com/best-health); then click on "Member Login" and scroll down the Info Center to read "JAMA Recommends Multivitamin", to read about the American Medical Association's recommendation for protective supplement use.
2) To read about how soy isoflavones can help alleviate health disorders associated with menopause, while at the Best Health site's Info Center, scroll down to find "Supplements May Lower Risk of Heart Disease".
3) You can go to the Patent and Trademark Office webstie at www.uspto.gov, to read about some of the exclusive, patented components of Unicity's products. Click on "Pat Num", then enter 4,945,123 for info on the anticancer effects of D-glucarate in Women's Formula Plus. Number 6,264,994 is a dietary element that can help to prevent and manage Alzheimer's disease, and is a component of Unicty's "Cogno Blend". Patent number 4,883,788 is a specialized dietary fiber supplement that may be more effective than oat bran at lowering LDL cholesterol. Combined with a special blend of vitamins and minerals in a product called Bios Life 2, the fiber was tested at the Cleveland Clinic last year, and shown to significantly reduce LDL cholesterol and blood homocysteine. The vitamins, minerals and specialized fibers may also help to reduce weight, and protect against cancers of the colon and breast.
4) The Institute of Medicine published a report on racial disparities in health care. Go to www.iom.edu; click on "Recent Reports", then "Reports Released in 2002" to access "Guidelines for National Healthcare Disparities Report (Sept 27 2002).
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