Preventing Breast Cancer

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Scientific discoveries, while unbeknownst to many in the medical profession and certainly in the media, have reduced the likelihood of women getting breast cancer. And done so with FOODS.

One of the striking discoveries involves substances found in citrus fruits called monoterpenes. Findings have appeared in such scholarly journals as; Journal of Biochemistry, Critical Rev. Oncology, Carcinogenesis, Cancer Res. Envir. Health Perspectives, etc., all seemingly invisible to the popular media and even to regular "health" newsletters.

We focus here on a study from Nutrition & Cancer* which reported of monoterpenes, "These compounds have been shown to exert chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic activities in mammary tumor 'cells] and represent a new class of breast cancer therapeutic agents."

Drs. Bardon, Picard and Martel noted that "Monoterpenes do not cause systemic toxicity at the doses required to induce regression of mammary carcinomas. On the basis of these data, monoterpenes are currently being tested in phase 1 clinical trials on advanced cancer patients in the United Kingdom and the United States."

The compounds include limonene, perillyl alcohol (not the drink) and their product, perillic acid. The scientists tested the substances against human breast cancer cells and found that they inhibit their growth.

DETAILS: If and when these chemicals are presented in pill form, we would suggest avoiding them, as there is some question of possible toxicity at high doses. They are found naturally in oranges and tangerines--primarily in the pulp. So having two to three servings of them a day would seem to be a conservative way to reduce the risk of breast cancer. A bonus is that they have also been found experimentally to be effective against skin, lung, pancreas and colon cancer cells.

Preventing Breast Cancer Bibliography

*Vol. 32, l998, at the Laboratoire de Nutrition et Securite Alimentaire, Jouy-en-Josas. France, and the Laboratoire de Biochemie, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Biologie Appliquee a la Nutrition et a l' Alimentation, 21000 Dijon, France.