Breast Cancer Resources Center

If you get to know better the health benefits of flax seed, you may come across the fact that its nourishing properties are attributive of its omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fibers, and high-lignan content. Given these medicinal constituents, then it won't be difficult to think of flax seed as a powerful agent against breast cancer. Millions of women from around the world-particularly those in the postmenopausal stage, are inflicted with breast cancer and while a fully determined cure is still unavailable, flax seed supplementation is what medical researchers are hoping to be an effective prevention against this deadly disease.

The grain's anti-cancerous property is mostly attributed to its high-lignan content, where flax seed is regarded as the chief source of lignans among various plant species. Pertinent research confirms that the antioxidant lignan helps reduce the proliferation of cancerous cells. Experiments also reveal that a reduction in tumor size among breast cancer patients was evident following a period of supplementation with flax lignan capsules under a controlled diet. But the most successful results materialized when diets were supplemented with ground flax seed and the lignan capsules. Though the potential of flax seed as an anti-breast cancer agent is not yet fully recognized by the scientific community, the grain's observed ability to regulate the excess production of estrogen hormones during the post menopausal stage likely becomes the springboard to prevention. Moreover, flax seed retains its stature as a promising remedy that medical authorities have been using to treat certain cases of cancer.

The medicinal benefit of flax seed is however not limited to the control of cancer and tumor cell regeneration. In fact, it is imbibed with nutritional values that promote an overall healthy body. Besides the antioxidant activity of lignans, flax seed is also enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fibers-both soluble and insoluble.

Omega-3 is an essential factor to cellular mechanisms, and this unsaturated fatty acid lowers bad cholesterol (low density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol) levels. Dietary fibers on the other hand enhance digestion as well as the absorption of essential nutrients in the body, which is an important factor in boosting immune system functions. Maintaining good blood circulation and strong immune defenses are indispensable factors to the upkeep of health, particularly in surviving the after effects of cancers. What makes chemotherapeutic treatments (that are probably thought of as the only effective means to fight cancer cells) dangerous is that these procedures compromise immune system conditions. The side effects of chemotherapy such as diarrhea, hair loss, and blood cell diseases among others convey compromising repercussions to a patient's overall health.

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. So for women crossing over to the post menopausal stage, it wouldn't cost so much to sustain a daily supplementation of milled flax seed and flax lignan capsules to help regulate estrogen levels in the body. In the end, flax seed becomes your mighty protector against breast cancer!