There may be good news in the war against breast cancer.

It comes from Dr. Jenny Chang-Claude at the German Cancer Research Center. She’s just completed a nine-year study that shows that a natural plant compound may help reduce your risk of breast cancer…by 40 percent.

“We now have clear evidence showing that (these compounds) lower the risk of breast cancer,” says Dr. Chang-Claude.

She’s developed a new way to track how the compound works…and her research shows it’s effective and safe.

She recently published her findings…and now credible experts are supporting them.

One such expert is Dr. Louisa Velentzis. She’s a King’s College of London graduate…and led cancer research for Imperial College of London. She currently heads up research for the UK Cancer Council NSW.

“Studies suggest that…these compounds reduce breast cancer risk,” says Dr. Velentzis.

So just what is this compound? We’ll tell you what it is…how it works…and the best ways to get it into your diet.

Compound Combats Cancer

Dr. Chang-Claude began studying this compound over a decade ago. There was some research suggesting it could fight breast cancer in premenopausal women. So she came up with a specific way to test it.

Dr. Chang-Claude knew that after you eat this compound…it turns into enterolactone in your bowels. She realized that the enterolactone could be a biomarker for the compound. Blood samples would show how much enterolactone women had in their bodies. And that means she could accurately track how much of this compound they ate.

She could then chart cancer growth in each woman…and compare it to their enterolactone levels.

So…she decided to launch a massive study to do just that.

From 2002 to 2005 she took the blood samples of 1,140 women. Each woman had postmenopausal breast cancer. She then followed their progress for six years. She watched the cancer growth in each woman…and regularly took blood tests.

And after 10 years she found two significant results.

• Women with the highest enterolactone levels had a 40 percent lower mortality risk.
• Women with the highest enterolactone levels developed fewer new tumors.

That left her with one more question. How does the plant compound work?

She realized the answer revolved around enterolactone. Emerging research was showing that enterolactone kills cancer cells. It also inhibits the growth of new blood vessels…which starves the cancer cells.

So the plant compound helps fight breast cancer because it converts to enterolactone. And enterolactone kills cancer growth.

Further Support for the Compound

There’s plenty of further research to back this up.

Dr. Velentzis didn’t just look at Dr. Chang-Claude’s study. She also looked at 23 other studies to see if the compound really works.

And she found that time and again higher dietary intake resulted in reduced breast cancer risk.

She concluded that this compound is “associated with a reduction in post-menopausal breast cancer risk.”

And there are other experts who have found the same thing.

Dr. Marina Touillaud led a study for the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research.

“We examined associations between the risk of breast cancer and dietary intakes of (this compound),” she says.

She looked at 58,000 postmenopausal French women. And had them fill out dietary questionnaires. She followed their health progress for about seven years…and noted how many women developed breast cancer.

Dr. Touillaud found that the women eating the highest amounts of the compound had a 17 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who ate the least amounts.

“High dietary intakes of (it) were associated with reduced risks of postmenopausal breast cancer,” says Dr. Touillaud.

So…just what is this plant compound? It’s a plant hormone called phytoestrogen.

“Studies (show) that breast cancer is lower in countries where the intake of phytoestrogens is high…implying that these compounds may reduce breast cancer risk,” says Dr. Velentzis. “Isoflavones and lignans are the most common phytoestrogens in the diet.”

Dr. Velentzis says your best way to fight breast cancer is to increase your lignan intake. But…what are lignans?

How You Can Get Lignans into Your Diet

Lignans are found in many foods. And researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) offer some guidance on the best places to get them.

They say the best source is often found in seeds. You can find it in rich quantities in pumpkin, poppy, flaxseed and sunflower seeds.

The next best source is found in vegetables including broccoli, kale, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Or…if you prefer fruit…you can also get rich quantities in strawberries and apricots.

OSU researchers say that “lignans in foods are not known to have any adverse effects.”