Lignans in Flax and Chia Seeds Lower the Risk of Breast Cancer

The old adage “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” best describes what our focus should be regarding breast cancer, which is the most common form of cancer that affects women, and is the second leading cause of death for women after heart disease. While a great deal of money and attention is focused on breast cancer awareness, it would make more sense to concentrate on preventing the disease from occurring in the first place.

There are nutritional strategies that are safe, easily implemented and have been proven effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer.

A Great Breast Cancer Fighter: Lignans in ­a High-Nutrient Diet

Among the most powerful anti-cancer foods are flax and chia seeds, which are a rich source of lignans. Lignans have anti-estrogenic effects that inhibit cell growth in breast tumors.

Let’s take an in-depth look at lignans and why they are so effective in combating breast cancer:

Plant lignans are one of the four classes of phytoestrogens (isoflavones, lignans, stilbenes, coumestans). Phytoestrogens are a group of chemicals found in plants that can act like the hormone estrogen.  In particular, lignans are structurally similar to the main mammalian estrogen, estradiol.¹ Plant lignans are modified by bacteria in the human digestive tract into enteroligans.

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