Polyphenols and Breast Cancer

If you are a breast cancer thriver, you will want to learn more about the benefits of polyphenols.

Look at this picture and then read on!

So often when I work with patients and students in my breast cancer survivorship program they tell me what things they have taken out of their diet. "I'm gluten-free." "I'm low carb". "I don't eat animal products."
Instead of focusing on what is being avoided in the diet, what about focusing on what is being consumed? You have probably heard the saying, "Food Is Medicine." These amazing phytochemicals called polyphenols are chemicals that help fight disease. Look at that picture again, they are nature's answer for health. "Phyto" means from plants, so the secret is eating more plants.

• If you want to improve the health of your immune system
• Reduce inflammation
• Prevent cardiovascular disease (common in breast cancer survivors)
• Reduce the risk of many cancers
• Suppress cancer growth and reduce the risk of metastasis 

Thankfully, there is more and more research in this area. There is even an ongoing study looking at polyphenol intake and health outcomes amongst breast cancer survivors. We know we need to do more than offer just traditional medicine. 

For now, focus on making sure you are getting plenty of plants in your diet. Polyphenols are found in vegetables, fruit, nuts, tea, coffee, and wine (the risk of alcohol is more than the benefit of the polyphenols for breast cancer survivors, so I would not personally recommend wine). Try and get a wide variety of these when you look at your weekly diet and focus on eating all the colors of the rainbow. I recommend shopping local when possible because fresh food loses some of its nutrient content over time. Frozen is also okay if that is more convenient or economical for you to limit food waste. 

I also want to encourage you to try new foods or ones that you might not have liked in the past. This is coming from someone who was very veggie and fruit averse from childhood into my early 20s. Now there are so many that I truly love! Experiment with new recipes or ways to prepare them and see if you can find some new family favorites. There are endless sources of free recipes online to give you some inspiration.

There are some specific foods you may want to consume on a regular basis because they have polyphenols that have been shown to inhibit cancer growth in the lab. Sulforaphane has been shown to inhibit breast cancer stem cells. The best source of sulforaphane in the diet is broccoli sprouts. Catechins in green tea have been studied to prevent breast cancer recurrence.  If you want to learn more about polyphenols and foods to include in your diet, check out my free "Breast Cancer-Fighting Foods booklet, click here.