Fem-Flax® and Lung Cancer
A new deterrent in the fight against lung cancer has been discovered. Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer related deaths among men and women living in the United States. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, consuming foods rich in phytoestrogens appears to significantly lower the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers and non-smokers (but not previous smokers).
The study, the largest of its kind to examine dietary intake of phytoestrogens and lung cancer risk in the United States, involved over 3,500 people. The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for lung cancer in the United States are for 2010:
* About 222,520 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed (116,750 among men and 105,770 among women).
* There will be an estimated 157,300 deaths from lung cancer (86,220 among men and 71,080 among women), accounting for about 28% of all cancer deaths.
Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.
Lung cancer mainly occurs in older people. About 2 out of 3 people diagnosed with lung cancer are older than 65; fewer than 3% of all cases are found in people younger than 45. The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 71.
Overall, the chance that a man will develop lung cancer in his lifetime is about 1 in 13; for a woman, the risk is about 1 in 16. These numbers include both smokers and non-smokers. For smokers the risk is much higher, while for non-smokers the risk is lower.
Black men are about 40% more likely to develop lung cancer than white men. The rate is about the same in black women and in white women. Both black and white women have lower rates than men, but the gap is closing. The rate of lung cancer has been dropping among men for many years and is fairly stable among women.
How Phytoestrogens Work
During the test, certain whole foods were introduced into the diet of test subjects to determine the potential antigen effect of phytoestrogens from plant lignans and flavonoids on lung cancer cell growth and proliferation. Those foods producing a higher ratio of phytonutrients were deemed to be the most effective. A surprising 72% lowered risk of developing lung cancer was achieved by individual test subjects consuming whole foods containing the highest concentration of phytonutrients.
"What we have found is intriguing and supports a small but growing body of evidence that suggests estrogenic-like compounds in food may help protect against development of lung and other cancers," says Matthew Schabath, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Epidemiology and the study's lead author.
While phytoestrogen-rich whole foods are certainly a boon to those concerned about cancer risks, they do not represent the most potent source of phytoestrogens. Concentrated flax hull lignans can offer ten-times the phytoestrogenic potency of whole grain flaxseed and are potentially hundreds of times more potent than other whole foods containing phytonutrients.Once metabolized, flax hull lignans are converted to the enterolignans enerodiol and enterolactone.
“The enterolignans, enterodiol and enterolactone, are formed by the action of intestinal bacteria on lignan precursors found in (flax) plants. Because enterodiol and enterolactone can mimic… the effects of estrogens, their plant-derived precursors are classified as phytoestrogens.” December 2005, Jane Higdon, Ph.D., Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University.
The study indicated that a “high intake of the lignans enterolactone and enterodiol… were associated with a (significant) reduction in risk of lung cancer.” Phytoestrogens and Risk of Lung Cancer - Peter C. H. Hollman, Ivon E. J. Milder, Ilja C. W. Arts, Edith J. M. Feskens, H. Bas Bueno de Mesquita, Daan Kromhout, JAMA. 2006;295(7):755.doi:10.1001/jama.295.7.755-a
Encapsulated Fem-Flax® offers the highest concentration of lignin-rich phytoestrogens on the market today (700mg, 99% pure flax hull lignans per capsule with 60 to 70mg of SDG lignan - Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside). Fem-Flax offers the full-spectrum of 27 lignan bioavailability.
If cancer risk is a concern, please consider adding Fem-Flax to your daily health regimen. For more information on the cancer-fighting properties of the phytonutrients contained in Fem-Flax, please consult our website at: www.femflax.com.