Sandhya Raghavan
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Written By: Sandhya Raghavan | Published : October 13, 2017 7:00 PM IST
More than half of your plate should contain fresh vegetables. This is a perfect way to ensure your body gets its dose of essential nutrients.
Oestrogen, the female hormone produced by the ovaries does a whole lot of good to our bodies. It is responsible for our sexual development, regulating the menstrual cycle and keeping us safe from inflammation. Oestrogen is also the number one reason why women don't end up with that many heart diseases as men. But as the old belief goes, too much of a good thing can be bad. Excessive oestrogen is linked to an increased breast cancer risk. Some culprits that should be held responsible for spike in oestrogen levels include pesticides in food and hormone disruptors in cosmetics. These phytoestrogens mimic the real hormones in the body, causing a health crisis as far as the female body is concerned.
But luckily, the buildup of excessive oestrogen and phytoestrogens can be cleansed out of the body with the proper diet. With a few inclusions, you can send excessive hormones packing out of your system. A diet rich in cruciferous vegetables is one way to accomplish this.
Cruciferous vegetables refer to a group comprising broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, bok choy and arugula. In the recent years, the health world has been focusing attention on these veggies, mainly for its amazing health benefits. Rich in sulphur-based compounds called glucosinolates, cruciferous vegetables has been used for its detoxifying properties that have a direct impact on reducing certain cancer risks.
(Read: Diet tips for breast cancer)
In addition to this, cruciferous vegetables are one of the best things you could include in your diet to reduce cancer-causing high oestrogen levels in the body. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower are full of protective components such as isothiocyanates and indole 3 carbinol, which have been shown to inhibit carcinogens.
Cruciferous vegetables and breast cancer link
Several studies conducted in the US, Sweden and China has found that the intake of cruciferous vegetables in women who were diagnosed with breast cancer was significantly lower than the cancer-free women.1 In fact, recent studies have also shown that the intake of cruciferous vegetables was inversely proportional to the risk of breast cancer. This means, the more cruciferous veggies you eat, the lesser your breast cancer risk.2
Make it a point to include cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli daily in your diet. It is always better to insist on organically grown cruciferous vegetables, since pesticides are phytoestrogens that could disrupt your hormone balance. In case organic veggies are difficult to procure, cleanse the vegetables thoroughly before preparing them.
References:
1.Higdon, J. V., Delage, B., Williams, D. E., & Dashwood, R. H. (2007). Cruciferous Vegetables and Human Cancer Risk: Epidemiologic Evidence and Mechanistic Basis. Pharmacological Research : The Official Journal of the Italian Pharmacological Society, 55(3), 224 236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2007.01.009
2. Liu, X., & Lv, K. (2013). Cruciferous vegetables intake is inversely associated with risk of breast cancer: a meta-analysis. The Breast, 22(3), 309-313.
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