A strong immune system helps to prevent or fight diseases, virus or bacteria. There are various ways to boost your immune system such as vitamins, supplements, diet, etc.

One of the most exciting area of flax research focuses on it's affects on hormonally-related cancers such as breast and prostate. Flax is very high in the lignans secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). Flaxseed nutrients are found in the lignans which are located in the hull of the flaxseed. Lignans are one way to naturally boost your immune system.You can get lignans from a variety of food sources; Fruits, vegetables, and grains, etc., however, flaxseed has the highest concentration of lignans of all sources (see chart).

Lignan Content of Select Foods Chart

Consuming flax lignans has positive effects on different types of cancer, especially hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate. Flax lignans has been shown to significantly decrease the rate of prostate cancer in men and breast or reduced hormone-related cancers in women.

Flax Lignans Effect on Breast Cancer

Current evidence suggests that flax may be associated with decreased risk of breast cancer. Flax demonstrates antiproliferative effects in breast tissue of women at risk of breast cancer and may protect against primary breast cancer. Mortality risk may also be reduced among those living with breast cancer.

Endogenous sex hormones, such as estrogens, play a role in breast cancer development. Lignans are the type of phytoestrogens and can change estrogen metabolism. In postmenopausal women, lignans can cause the body to produce less active forms of estrogen. This is believed to potentially reduce breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers. Currently, the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%. This means there is a 1 in 8 chance she will develop breast cancer.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

• New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).
• Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
• Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
• Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
• Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.
• Flax Lignans Effect on Prostate Cancer

Consuming Flax lignans has been shown to significantly decrease the rate of prostate cancer in men.

Enterolactone and enterodiol, mammalian lignans derived from dietary sources such as flaxseed may impede tumor proliferation by inhibiting activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Flax hull lignans have also shown significant promise in lowering DHT levels in the prostate. DHT is formed when testosterone is synthesized by the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. Regularly consuming lignans prevents testosterone from being converted to DHT by reducing the levels of 5-alpha-reductase in the body.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, except for skin cancer. This year, an estimated 191,930 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Around 60% of cases are diagnosed in men over 65. The average age of diagnosis is 66 years.

The Five Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer

• A painful or burning sensation during urination or ejaculation.
• Frequent urination, particularly at night.
• Difficulty stopping or starting urination.
• Sudden erectile dysfunction.
• Blood in urine or semen.

Dose

The original Flax Hull Lignans are extracted from the hulls of flaxseed. Flax Hulls are 70x more powerful than the seed so that’s 370,000 X 70 = (25,900,000) Million SECO per 100 gram

• 1 tbsp of the Hull is =Equal in Lignan Nutritional Value to Consuming 2 GALLONS or an average of 140lb of fruits and vegetables.

References

Breast

Di Y, De Silva F, Krol ES, Alcorn

Flaxseed Lignans Enhance the Cytotoxicity of Chemotherapeutic Agents against Breast Cancer Cell Lines MDA-MB-231 and SKBR3. J. Nutr Cancer. 2018 Feb-Mar;70(2):306-315.

Flower G, Fritz H, Balneaves LG, Verma S, Skidmore B, Fernandes R, Kennedy D, Cooley K, Wong R, Sagar S, Fergusson D, Seely D.

Flax and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review. Integr Cancer Ther. 2014 May;13(3):181-92.

Lowcock EC, Cotterchio M, Boucher BA.

Consumption of flaxseed, a rich source of lignans, is associated with reduced breast cancer risk.

Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Apr;24(4):813-6.

Bowers LW, Lineberger CG, Ford NA, Rossi EL, Punjala A, Camp KK, Kimler BK, Fabian CJ,

The flaxseed lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside decreases local inflammation, suppresses NFκB signaling, and inhibits mammary tumor growth. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2019 Feb;173(3):545-557.

Prostate

Maria Azrad 1 , Robin T Vollmer, John Madden, Mark Dewhirst, Thomas J Polascik, Denise C Snyder, Mack T Ruffin, Judd W Moul, Dean E Brenner, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried

Flaxseed-derived Enterolactone Is Inversely Associated With Tumor Cell Proliferation in Men With Localized Prostate Cancer J Med Food. 2013 Apr;16(4):357-60.

Mali AV, Padhye SB, Anant S, Hegde MV, Kadam SS

Anticancer and antimetastatic potential of enterolactone: Clinical, preclinical and mechanistic perspectives. Eur J Pharmacol. 2019 Jun 5;852:107-124.