This week, on A Different Perspective, Dr. Flynn talks about breast cancer and the roles of genes and estrogens. You are not genetically programmed for disease! You can create bad cells from dietary and lifestyle habits. You can also lower your risk for breast cancer with healthy lifestyle choices and natural aromatase inhibitors.
Introduction
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Dr. Flynn begins by sharing a bit of humor… 😊 Then he gives a few ways to connect with TWW online, including YouTube, and Facebook, and now getting some traction on Twitter. We are getting our message out!
You can see Doc in person at one of his upcoming speaking engagements in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, North Dakota, Missouri, Tennessee, and Michigan. He’ll keep going until June 10th, and that will be his last Hormone Connection seminar – in Pensacola, Florida.
He continues by acknowledging some of the team at The Wellness Way and expresses his excitement about the newsletter we put out at TWW. You can sign up at www.thewellnessway.com.
Question on Breast Cancer
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Dr. Flynn then brings up an email he received asking about Stage 4 Breast Cancer. The email question was simply,
“Have stage 4 ERPR+ Her2- breast cancer. Looking to learn more about hormones.”
He then announces that he and a couple of the other Wellness Way Green Bay Clinic docs will be doing a Breast Cancer Series on ADP. This series will give you A Different Perspective on breast cancer while using peer-reviewed published research.
Every year, statistics show that there is an increase in breast cancer, which should be concerning, considering the amount of technology and research we have put toward it, the money we spend on it, and the number of treatments we have.
The upcoming series will give you some insight and direction for talking to your doctor about how breast cancer develops and what can be done about it… when looking at it from a different perspective.
Doc mentions some statistics from one of the most sought-after websites when it comes to cancer: the American Cancer Society. This gets a huge number of hits today because of how prevalent breast cancer is today.
The American Cancer Society on Breast Cancer
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Let’s see what The American Cancer Society has to say about breast cancer:
Going back to the email, she had asked about ER versus PR positive cancers. What those stand for are “Estrogen Receptor” and “Progesterone Receptor.”
Let’s go to guys… and prostate cancer. They really demonize testosterone and even give testosterone blockers to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. They blame testosterone or DHT (dihydrotestosterone) for prostate cancer.
They talk about high levels of testosterone and high levels of DHT. But let’s think about this: When is testosterone the highest in men? Between the ages of 18 and about 30. Well, if it’s all about testosterone and DHT causing prostate cancer, then why aren’t the majority of men who get prostate cancer between the ages of 18 and 30?
Just a question…
Now, if you look at breast cancer, they’re specifically looking at estrogen and progesterone, which are also highest in women’s childbearing years. The average age of breast cancer diagnosis is 62… “A very small number of women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 45.”
They are so focused on these hormone levels. Now, if estrogens and testosterone are the main causes behind these cancers, then why don’t we get these cancers in our teens and twenties? Why do women get breast cancer in their sixties?
These are questions we need to ask.
They demonize hormones, which we need daily to function. If we get rid of these hormones, we may lessen our risk of cancer, but develop deficiencies in other parts of the body.
What is Cancer?
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So, what is cancer? “Cancer starts when cells begin to grow out of control.”
“Out of control.” There must be a message for cells to split. Cells divide for a reason. It just doesn’t happen by chance. There are always causes. A cell doesn’t divide, and DNA doesn’t divide, transcribe, or produce mRNA without a message.
If it’s out of control, then you’re out of control, and that means you have no control, and nothing can be done about cancer.
“Cancer affects 1 in 3 people in the United States.” If you look at the top two killers, 1 out of 2 people in the United States die from heart disease, and then 1 in 3 people in the United States develop cancer. So, most people you know will die of some form of heart disease or some form of cancer.
Those two dominate, and it continues to get worse, year after year. It’s a little surprising that most people will just follow what they’re told despite the fact that the statistics are not on their side.
The American Cancer Society talks about the fact that cells grow and divide. Yes! That’s true. You produce billions of cells per day. What happens is that if there’s an abnormal cell, your body triggers apoptosis (programmed cell death).
Your genes do not just split by themselves without a signal.
What Causes Cancer?
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“Cancer cells develop because of multiple changes in their genes.” There you go! There had to be some trigger. The gene responds to what happens to it.
In the functional medicine world, there’s a lot of emphasis on methylation these days. Everyone gets their methylation tested, and they don’t methylate. Does your body not methylate, or do you not have enough methyl groups for your genes to methylate properly?
If we eat methyl groups, certain cells and receptors of the body get those methyl groups to the cell, and then the gene responds. Then if you run a test, it will show that you methylate well.
If you don’t have this fuel for the cell, it doesn’t trigger the gene to react that way, so it shows that there is an abnormal methylation process.
“Cancer cells develop because of multiple changes in their genes.” YES.
“These changes can have many possible causes. Lifestyle habits, genes you get from your parents, and being exposed to cancer-causing agents in the environment can all play a role. Many times, there is no obvious cause.”
Statistically, members of a family have very similar genes. You get your genes from your parents. If you have a family history of breast cancer, then why didn’t you get that cancer in utero or as a baby?
When people say a condition is genetic, it takes away their hope of personal responsibility.
What Causes Breast Cancer?
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“Some breast cancers run in families, but many of the gene mutations (changes) that cause these breast cancers are not yet known. Research is being done to identify these gene changes.”
When people say, “Well, Doc, my grandmother had breast cancer and my mother had breast cancer, so I’m going to cut off both my breasts.”
Dr. Flynn has heard that thousands of times, and it’s so sad. People think they are genetically programmed, so they are destined to get that cancer.
That’s not true.
Here’s A Different Perspective on that: Maybe it’s the lifestyle habits, physical activity, and weight tendencies that your grandma, mom, and now you have, trigger the gene mutations that can lead to breast cancer.
See? Now, that gives you control back. It gives you personal responsibility for making a positive impact on your health.
“Several studies are focusing on the best use of genetic testing for inherited breast cancer gene mutations.”
“Scientists are exploring how common gene variants (small changes in genes that are not as significant as mutations) may affect breast cancer risk. Gene variants typically have only a modest effect on risk by themselves, but when combined they could possibly have a large impact.”
“Possible environmental causes of breast cancer have also received more attention in recent years. While much of the science on this topic is still in its earliest stages, this is an area of active research.”
There are changes in that gene process: changes in mitochondrial function in the cells, including the breast cells, which can lead to gene mutations. Then, when there’s gene signaling, it produces a cell that doesn’t work with the rest of the cells.
That, by definition, is cancer.
Breast Cancer Prevention
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“Studies continue to look at whether certain levels of physical activity, losing weight, or eating certain foods, groups of foods, or types of diets might help lower breast cancer risk.”
When was the last time that the news talked about cancer risk and told you what lifestyle changes you could make?
Women receiving treatment for breast cancer are often on medication to block an enzyme called aromatase.
Did you know you can stimulate an aromatase enzyme by the consumption of a specific food? You can. Do you know what it is? Sugar.
The hospitals and treatment centers, provide their patients with sodas, donuts, and other sugary foods — even here in Green Bay.
Medical research and medical practice just don’t match up.
Doctors are giving aromatase inhibitors for breast cancer, yet they are encouraging foods that stimulate an enzyme/message that encourages cancer cells to grow.
“Studies are looking at certain vaccines that might help prevent certain types of breast cancer.”
That’s their perspective. They are not going to tell people to avoid cancer-promoting foods. They would rather give them some form of treatment.
Most of the treatments done for cancer today are some form of hormone medication, hormone manipulation, or hormone inhibition. That’s what aromatase inhibitors, like Tamoxifen, do.
Testing For Breast Cancer
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Back to The American Cancer Society: “New tests to personalize your treatment.”
Are they talking about personalizing causal factors, or just how to manage different types of cancer?
They are just determining the treatment decisions. Not causes. Not what’s going to happen after the treatment… if you survive cancer. They are just looking at how to treat.
When you look at what they promote for breast cancer, they base everything on 5-year outcomes. If you die five years and one day after treatment, you’re still a 5-year survivor. The breast cancer treatment statistics are very manipulated… like most statistics in the medical field.
Here’s the key: estrogen receptors. Breast cancer tissue is routinely tested for the estrogen receptors ER, PR, and HER2 to help make decisions. This is where women get confused…
Women think that if they are estrogen-receptor (ER-) positive they can never have estrogen or if it’s progesterone- (PR-) positive they can never have progesterone. That doesn’t make any sense.
They are so scared of those hormones and what they could do to their breasts. But these hormones are essential to life. If you were to wipe out all your estrogen and progesterone, you would die.
Estrogen Receptors: Is Estrogen Evil?
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Doc then addresses the question of ER-positive cancers. Let’s pull up some PubMed research on this:
Study #1 Overview of Estrogen Receptors
Here’s a study Doc loved! (Great title) The Estrogen Receptors: An Overview from Different Perspectives – PubMed (nih.gov)
Different Perspectives! These guys are talking his language. Here’s the abstract:
Abstract
The estrogen receptors, ERα, ERβ, and GPER, mediate the effects of estrogenic compounds on their target tissues. Estrogen receptors are located in the tissues of the female reproductive tract and breast as one would expect, but also in tissues as diverse as bone, brain, liver, colon, skin, and salivary gland. The purpose of this discussion of the estrogen receptors is to provide a brief overview of the estrogen receptors and estrogen action from perspectives such as the historical, physiological, pharmacological, pathological, structural, and ligand perspectives.
Let’s look at this study from “A Different Perspective.” You have to look at the body like a Swiss Watch. If you do not, they can manipulate statistics or convince you that a “side effect” is okay.
If those other organs mentioned (bone, brain liver, colon, skin, salivary gland) do not have estrogen, can they properly function? No. Depleting estrogen leads to deficiencies in these organs. That’s why their treatments cause a worsening of function in these organs.
They are just looking at the breast and not at the whole body. They call the impact on other organs “side effects.” They aren’t side effects. They are direct effects of them only focusing on one organ and not seeing the body as a Swiss Watch.
That’s why you see so much devastation from breast cancer treatment; from depression to osteoporosis to liver problems, colon problems, skin…
If the same receptor is present in both the breast and the brain, why didn’t you get brain cancer? If those receptors are on all these other organs, why didn’t they all develop cancer? If you’re ER-positive in the breasts, you’re ER-positive in all these other organs.
Why is this in the research but then not applied clinically? Good question! It’s time to think differently.
You Are Not Genetically Programmed for Disease
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Doc brings up another study:
Study #2 Estrogen Receptor Signaling
Estrogen receptor signaling mechanisms
Abstract
The primary female sex hormones, estrogens, are responsible for the control of functions of the female reproductive system, as well as the development of secondary sexual characteristics that appear during puberty and sexual maturity. Estrogens exert their actions by binding to specific receptors, the estrogen receptors (ERs), which in turn activate transcriptional processes and/or signaling events that result in the control of gene expression. These actions can be mediated by direct binding of estrogen receptor complexes to specific sequences in gene promoters (genomic effects), or by mechanisms that do not involve direct binding to DNA (non-genomic effects). Whether acting via direct nuclear effects, indirect non-nuclear actions, or a combination of both, the effects of estrogens on gene expression are controlled by highly regulated complex mechanisms. In this chapter, we summarize the knowledge gained in the past 60years since the discovery of the estrogen receptors on the mechanisms governing estrogen-mediated gene expression. We provide an overview of estrogen biosynthesis, and we describe the main mechanisms by which the female sex hormone controls gene transcription in different tissues and cell types. Specifically, we address the molecular events governing regulation of gene expression via the nuclear estrogen receptors (ERα, and ERβ) and the membrane estrogen receptor (GPER1). We also describe mechanisms of cross-talk between signaling cascades activated by both nuclear and membrane estrogen receptors. Finally, we discuss natural compounds that are able to target specific estrogen receptors and their implications for human health and medical therapeutics.
Doc points out that all the research mentions estrogens, not estrogen. Estrogens are a group of hormones; not just one hormone. You need to test them all. There are estrogens that protect your genes, and there are others that when at an elevated level, will cause DNA damage and growths that you don’t want.
To demonize and lower all of them doesn’t make sense. You’re taking away a protective mechanism because you’re trying to take away something that could cause gene mutations.
Their testing tools are limited. They only test “estrogen.”
Receptors do all kinds of things. They never say that receptors are all about cancer. You are not genetically programmed for disease. You can damage a cell and that gene can mutate or change through environmental and lifestyle factors.
The genes you get from your mother are perfectly fine. But if your mom had some bad dietary and lifestyle habits that caused cancer, and now you do the same things, you could end up in the same place she is.
Prevention Comes from Diet and Lifestyle, Not Mastectomies
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You should not be doing mastectomies for family histories of breast cancer. Your genes respond to the diet and lifestyle choices you make.
Yes, the receptors on the nucleus or cell membrane are important for getting estrogens into cells. Then there’s transcription, which means it’s making more DNA. It’s also making more mRNA, which goes into the cytoplasm and causes cell division and growth.
If that DNA was damaged by something and now a certain form of estrogen comes in, you can mutate and create bad cells. That’s why they’re always looking for whether ER+ is there. That combination could cause cancer. But that’s not the main function of estrogen receptors.
Estrogen receptors are everywhere throughout the body, and if you don’t have estrogens going into cells, you can’t produce good cells. You can’t produce good cells without estrogen receptors. They’ve taken normal body functions and have gotten women to think that they are bad.
Did you catch that at the end? Natural compounds. Hmm… Scientists are always trying to manipulate and inhibit certain processes in the body. But the drugs are copied from nature.
Dr. Nathan Bryan, interviewed in last week’s ADP, discovered some natural compounds when he was trying to create a drug. Most drugs come from natural compounds. It’s just that natural things can’t be patented for billions of dollars.
They watch normal mechanisms and then try to create drug manipulations for this process. That’s why your standard forms of treatments don’t involve any natural compounds; they’re all medical therapeutics.
Study #3 Estrogen Receptors and Disease
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Look at what they do in this next study: Estrogen receptors and human disease
Abstract
Estrogens influence many physiological processes in mammals, including but not limited to reproduction, cardiovascular health, bone integrity, cognition, and behavior. Given this widespread role for estrogen in human physiology, it is not surprising that estrogen is also implicated in the development or progression of numerous diseases, which include but are not limited to various types of cancer (breast, ovarian, colorectal, prostate, endometrial), osteoporosis, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, lupus erythematosus, endometriosis, and obesity. In many of these diseases, estrogen mediates its effects through the estrogen receptor (ER), which serves as the basis for many therapeutic interventions. This Review will describe diseases in which estrogen, through the ER, plays a role in the development or severity of disease.
“Estrogens influence many physiological processes in mammals, including but not limited to reproduction, cardiovascular health, bone integrity, cognition, and behavior.”
They admit that you need those receptors and that you need estrogen to get into the cells to create new healthy cells. Every cell, including the brain, breaks down and rebuilds. Some take a longer time than others.
“Estrogen mediates its effects through the estrogen receptor (ER).” It’s not the cause of disease!
THROUGH. What goes through the receptor? Estrogen. ER, PR, and HER2 are not causal factors. They are TREATMENT factors.
When they scare women about ER and PR and HER receptors, they are leading these women down a wrong path.
They just want to know which receptor to manipulate.
If you look at Tamoxifen, it’s a manipulation of a receptor. If you look at aromatase, it’s a manipulation of an enzyme. When you have HER, they use a monoclonal antibody to manipulate a receptor.
We need to think about these things because they will determine what should be done.
They give a 5-year window when they talk about breast cancer stats. If a person dies within two or three years (from deficiencies due to Tamoxifen and other medications that cause organ damage) but the breast cancer stays the same, they won’t correlate the death with breast cancer treatment.
They only focus on one gear and forget about the others and how they are interconnected.
That’s why the Fireman vs. the Carpenter illustration is so important. They want to keep hosing things down. At The Wellness Way, we look at what raw materials are needed for repair.
So, what goes THROUGH the estrogen receptor? Each estrogen has a different mechanism. At abnormal levels, certain estrogens can cause DNA damage and mutations, which may lead to cancer.
They may block estrogen at the receptor, but estrogen positively affects other organs and may be needed at certain levels. Now, it’s creating a deficiency that will lead to other issues.
High levels of certain abnormal estrogens can lead to DNA damage and cancer. It also causes an excess of splitting because that message is always there telling it what to do.
What if you knew that these abnormal levels of estrogen can be dealt with so that you can reduce your DNA damage?
How Estrogens Can Damage DNA and Cause Cancer
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So, are there certain factors that cause DNA damage that can lead to mutations? Yes. As high as 80% of all breast cancers of an estrogen component to them. So, it’s a good place to begin our focus.
It doesn’t mean there aren’t other factors, but there are some ER, PR, or HER aspect, which is why they are so well known.
If Doc sees an ER-positive breast cancer, he’s going in a totally different direction. What they want to do is inhibit any estrogen’s effect on that tissue. But if you stop the medication, the breasts are going to get just as bad as before. Women who stop the medication get that breast cancer back.
Did you get breast cancer because you lacked Tamoxifen, monoclonal antibodies, or those other drugs? No.
What are the estrogens that can damage DNA, leading to cancer?
Study #4 Estrogen Metabolites and Cancer
Here’s another study:
Abstract
Studies in hamsters, mice and rats have demonstrated that estradiol (E2), its interconvertible metabolite estrone (E1) and their catechol metabolites, in particular 4-hydroxy E2/E1, are carcinogenic in the kidney, uterus and mammary gland. Observational studies and clinical trials consistently show that sustained exposure to E2/E1 is associated with the development of sporadic breast cancer. The weight of evidence supports the contribution of two complementary pathways in the initiation, promotion and progression of breast cancer. One pathway involves activation of nuclear and cytoplasmic signaling pathways through the binding of estrogen to nuclear and membrane-bound estrogen receptors leading to increased cell proliferation. The other pathway involves the oxidative metabolism of E2/E1 to catechols and then reactive quinones that can contribute to oxidative DNA damage and form specific, mutagenic depurinating adducts with adenine and guanine which then in turn can serve as biomarkers for the occurrence of these processes.
So, if E2 and E1 get out of control, they can be carcinogenic. Well, their role is self-proliferation. They create lots of tissue, like breast tissue, that’s what they are supposed to do. But certain estrogens give out metabolites.
Metabolizing is converting. It converts estradiol and estrones into metabolites in other forms. A hormone is a fat-soluble molecule. If you can’t metabolize hormones into their proper forms, you can’t metabolize adipose (fat) tissue.
Women who deal with obesity have major hormone problems. They can produce hormones, but they can’t metabolize them. So, they can end up with cancers and a whole lot of other diseases because:
- Their hormones can’t metabolize into the forms that are protective, and
- Can instead convert into those that are damaging.
Then estradiol gets up, and it’s a bad day.
That’s why Doc is so passionate about people getting off sugar. Sugar affects how hormones convert. But that adipose (fat) tissue not breaking down shows that you can’t convert one form into another – and that mostly happens in the liver.
If you have any excess weight, both men and women, you usually have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which can interfere with your conversions.
When we talk about breast cancers, there’s also a conversion for 4-hydroxy E1 and E2. If you want to know one of the biggest contributors to DNA damage, it’s elevated levels of 4-hydroxy E1 and E2.
The authors of this study conclude:
“The weight of evidence from human and experimental studies suggests that the E2/E1 oxidative metabolism pathway presents a chemoprotective target for reducing breast cancer risk.”
What did they just say? They said you need normal functioning of all the pathways to convert your hormones to one form or the other.
Guess what? There’s no drug, chemotherapy, or surgery that does that. Your genes a programmed for normal pathway function.
This Is Why They Demonize All Estrogens!!!
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Let’s look at why they demonize estrogens. Take a look at this chart:
Forget diseases. Estrogens are produced in certain tissues. The job of estrogens is to use the receptor, go in, complete transcription, and alter the gene… causing it to grow and causes it to split. There are other factors… including in the mitochondria. Then it increases proliferation.
If you just take out the bottom part about cancer, it’s all a completely normal aspect of estrogen. It naturally causes cell proliferation. That’s why you have an endometrial lining and breast tissue changes week to week.
Estrogens are anabolic hormones – they build stuff up. The metabolites also do good things, but if they get too high, they can cause oxidative damage.
High levels of estrogens + high levels of specific metabolites = a bad day for cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
So, is breast cancer caused by having normal levels of estrogens and having receptors? Or is it caused by those things not being taken care of properly?
When estrogens aren’t being taken care of properly, it leads to an overproduction of certain forms because your pathways aren’t normal. They will say, “oh, your estradiol is elevated – you’re producing too much.” Well, that really only happens when there’s a tumor that’s producing hormones.
Hormones get to abnormal levels because the pathways are abnormal and then they get plugged. It’s like a bathtub with 10 drains and 10 plugs. If you keep adding water (estrogens and hormones) and don’t open the plug, it’s going to overflow. If one of them opens up, everything goes flooding down that path.
Doc then briefly goes over a lab result of a woman who had breast cancer and explains what’s going on with her pathways.
Aromatase converts some of the other anabolic hormones into estrogens, but in her body, that 4-hydroxy is super elevated, causing DNA damage. Then if her estrogen levels are elevated, it’s a really bad day, because there’s DNA damage and her estrogens are doing what they are genetically programmed to do, which is to proliferate cells. Guess what happens? Cancer spreads.
So, then they want to stop the whole thing and get rid of estrogen. That would be fine if estrogens only affected the breast. They don’t. It seems so simple! But that’s because we’re looking at it from A Different Perspective.
Estrogens in Menopause
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A lot of women are confused when they go to their doctors. They say, “Doc, I’m ER+ receptors, but then my estradiol was normal” or “my estrone was normal.”
Statistically, the majority of women in menopause are hormone-deficient in estrone, which is their dominant hormone in menopause.
How many of you in menopause have had your 4-hydroxy estrone tested? That’s just one of the estrogen metabolites. You need to get them all evaluated – and get them done early.
Make sure you get your daughter’s levels tested. You want to make sure these levels are normal their whole lives. If you want some predictors of where your breast health is going to be your whole life? Take a look at these labs. And they are all medical labs!
When women are cyclic, they’re more likely to give you Tamoxifen or other estrogen receptor blockers. However, when women are menopausal, they want to knock down all sources of estrogen (including the adrenals and fat tissue) the whole thing with aromatase inhibitors.
Aromatase Inhibitors for Lowering Breast Cancer Risk
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Back to the American Cancer Society. They talk about aromatase inhibiting medications to decrease the conversion of steroid hormones to estrogens. They want to inhibit that enzyme.
“Women with a higher-than-average risk of breast cancer…” How do they determine which women have a higher risk of breast cancer? Family history? We know where that gets us. Genes? We can test their genes to see if they are being damaged.
“Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) lower estrogen levels by stopping an enzyme in fat tissue… from changing other hormones into estrogen.”
Here’s A Different Perspective on this: Let’s go into a lifestyle factor. What can post-menopausal eat a lot of that to create more fat tissue? Sugar and junk.
The aromatase inhibiting medication doesn’t work on organs. It works on fat tissue. It will stop the conversion.
Now, why would you want to put a woman on medication to lower estrogens coming from her fat tissue when you could advise her to do things that help her lower her fat in general?
This is why obese women have a higher risk of breast cancer – because they are going to convert those hormones easily compared to a person who doesn’t have that extra fat tissue.
Why are we giving these women a medication that only works on fat tissue when we could be giving them good advice?
It’s all about perspective.
Aromatase-Inhibiting Foods
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In the research, there are natural compounds that work as natural aromatase inhibitors…
Abstract
Estrogen receptor (ER) is a nuclear hormone receptor and plays an important role in mediating the cellular effects of estrogen. ER can be classified into two receptors: estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ), and the former is expressed in 50~80% of breast tumors and has been extensively investigated in breast cancer for decades. Excessive exposure to estrogen can obviously stimulate the growth of breast cancers primarily mediated by ERα, and thus anti-estrogen therapies by small molecules are of concern to clinicians and pharmaceutical industry in the treatment of ERα-positive breast cancers. Although a series of estrogen receptor modulators have been developed, these drugs can lead to resistance and side effects. Therefore, the development of small molecule inhibitors with high target specificity has been intensified. In this pursuit, an integrated computer-aided virtual screening technique, including molecular docking and pharmacophore model screening, was used to screen traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) databases. The compounds with high docking scores and fit values were subjected to ADME (adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) and toxicity prediction, and ten hits were identified as potential inhibitors targeting ERα. Molecular docking was used to investigate the binding modes between ERα and three most potent hits, and molecular dynamic simulations were chosen to explore the stability of these complexes. The rank of the predicted binding free energies evaluated by MM/GBSA is consistent with the docking score. These novel scaffolds discovered in the present study can be used as critical starting point in the drug discovery process for treating ERα-positive breast cancer. Graphical abstract.
It’s excessive exposure to estrogen that is the problem. That’s the key. It’s also excessive levels of a certain estrogen. Estradiol and other ones cause proliferation, but excessive levels of 4-hydroxy E1 and E2 can damage DNA sequencing and create bad cells.
Are there foods that can target those receptors? YES!
- Cacao (Chocolate!)
- Arugula
- Beef Liver
- Olive oil
- White Button Mushrooms
- Lemon Peel
- Coffee
- Grapefruit
It’s lemon peel, not just lemon. There’s one thing Doc encourages women and men to do on a regular basis. (Men don’t want their testosterone converting into estrogens, so they also love aromatase inhibitors):
Doc’s Lemon Peel Refresher:
- 1 full lemon
- Some sparkling water (Doc loves Mountain Valley)
Put it into a blender and blend it up!
Aromatase-Inhibiting Herbs and Spices
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Some herbs inhibit aromatase. Here’s a study on it:
Abstract
Aromatase is responsible for the rate-determining reaction in estrogen synthesis and is a prime target for treating estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer. Previous in vitro study has demonstrated that apigenin (APG), naringenin (NGN) and hesperetin (HSP) are three of the most potent natural aromatase inhibitors. Because the enzyme inhibition could potentially block breast cancer development, we employed an established postmenopausal breast cancer model to examine the chemopreventive effect of these flavonoids in vivo. Athymic mice were ovariectomized and transplanted with aromatase-overexpressing MCF-7 cells. Dietary administration of HSP at 1000 ppm and 5000 ppm significantly deterred the xenograft growth, while a null effect was observed in mice treated with APG or NGN. Further study illustrated that plasma estrogen in HSP-treated mice was reduced. Messenger RNA expression of the estrogen-responsive gene pS2 was also decreased in the tumors of mice treated with 1000 and 5000 ppm HSP. On the other hand, western analysis indicated that cyclin D1, CDK4 and Bcl-x(L) were reduced in the tumors. This study suggested that HSP could be a potential chemopreventive agent against breast carcinogenesis through aromatase inhibition.
Those ingredients they mentioned – apigenin (APG), naringenin (NGN) and hesperetin (HSP) – don’t come from drugs. They come from herbs. Here are a couple of Doc’s favorite aromatase-inhibiting herbs:
Passionflower
Here’s the research to back it: Modulation of aromatase activity by diet polyphenolic compounds
Abstract
Estrogens are involved in physiological actions related to reproduction, body fat distribution, and maintenance of bone mass and are also related to the pathogenesis of estrogen-dependent cancers. The aim of this work was to study the effect of polyphenols on estrogen synthesis. The effect of polyphenols and polyphenolic-rich beverages on aromatase activity was tested in JAR cells (a choriocarcinoma cell line) through the tritiated water release assay. Some of the tested polyphenols inhibited estrogen production, chrysin being the most potent. Additionally, we observed that red wine, alcohol-free red wine, green tea, and black tea (200 microL/mL) significantly decreased aromatase activity. No effect on aromatase expression, as assessed by western blotting and RT-PCR, has been detected after 24 h of treatment with any of the flavonoids under study. In conclusion, polyphenols are able to modulate aromatase activity and, consequently, estrogen synthesis. The knowledge of such interference may help to clarify some of the biological properties attributed to polyphenols and may be useful in prevention/treatment of estrogen-dependent disorders.
Passionflower is incredible for people as an aromatase inhibitor.
DISCLAIMER: These things should be done as a part of your normal daily lifestyle. Dr. Flynn is not giving you any medical advice. Do what you want to do – He is a liberty and freedom person. He’s not telling you to replace any of your current treatments. He’s just giving you A Different Perspective on what can be done. He’s saying that if these things are done on regular basis, you’re more likely to maintain normal hormone levels. This is not a replacement for any medication. He is a carpenter doctor, not a fireman. If you want medical advice, then get it from your fireman doctor.
Turmeric
There are other factors when it comes to aromatase-inhibiting which Doc loves turmeric for.
Turmeric not only inhibits aromatase but also affects other pathways that could lead to DNA-damaging metabolites. Turmeric has many different positive effects on the body.
This applies not only to breast tissue but to multiple tissues in the body. If you think about it, what you’re learning regarding creating healthy breast tissue applies to the other organs that have ER- PR-, and HER- receptors.
You’re learning strategies for protecting DNA and promoting a healthy body in general.
It’s All About Having A Different Perspective
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It’s all about perspective. That’s why we are who we are, here at The Wellness Way. We are:
A network of health restoration clinics that think and act differently to solve the health challenges that others can’t.
All the research Doc shares is easily searchable. But because the perspective doesn’t match up with our current medical system and the clinical outcomes they want to get, you won’t see it.
But here, on A Different Perspective, we’re always going to bring you the greatest information we can so that you can have a great life.
Get those pathways normal. Look at the body from A Different Perspective. Don’t just have a good day. Make it a great day.
