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Estrogens In Food (List)

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*Estrogens in Food - There are estrogens in foods which should be considered in formulating the ultimate diet, especially for women and those suffering from epilepsy, pain, and other excitotoxin-related disorders. We know that estrogens are naturally inflammatory and immunosuppressive and sensitive neurons to the action of glutamate (e.g. catamenial seizures, PMS). I will be expanding this section as time allows. Please also see the Appetizers section for more on this and other issues in women's health.
 
It is important for everyone to read about phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are basically those estrogens found in our diet from plant and animal sources. There are two main groups of phytoestrogens - isoflavones and lignans (with coumestans being a third). It is very interesting to make note of the differences in action and metabolism between the two main groups as well as their sources. Think naturally!!! (e.g. Lignans, found in healthy fruits and veggies, versus the isoflavones, found mainly in the milk of another animal and a legume buried under the ground and originally found in only one remote place on earth. Hint, hint.)
 
During breast cancer awareness month, I was giving out the term xenoestrogen to everyone who walked into my exam room, men and women alike. It is crucial for everyone to familiarize themselves with this term and the sources from which we derive these potentially harmful estrogenic compounds.

Estrogens in Food
 
 
Now, here is a chart from a Website showing foods high in estrogens and those that block estrogen. Keep in mind the difference between isoflavones and lignans, with isoflavones being plant estrogens that stimulate estrogens receptors yielding an estrogenic effect and lignans being weak estrogens that attach to estrogen receptors and block the action of the estrogens trying to stimulate them.
 
Therefore, the use of high lignan foods - especially those rich in glutamate (e.g. flax) - should be carefully thought out when formulating the ultimate diet for the epileptic or the patient who is suffering from an excitotoxin-related disorders as we know that estrogens are inflammatory and sensitize neurons to the action of glutamate (e.g. catamenial seizures, PMS).
 
The logical choice of estrogen-blocking lignans for those suffering from an excitotoxin-related disorder (e.g. epilepsy) would be the fruits and vegetables listed below rather than the glutamate-rich grains, such as flax and millet. If the control of an estrogen-related disorder (breast cancer, PCOS, endometriosis) is the primary objective and the excitotoxins (glutamate and aspartate) are not a concern, then flax is a good choice. 
 
I posted the chart below mainly to help people see that the main "trouble foods" - gluten grains (wheat, barley), dairy products, and soy - are all in the estrogen-rich list, with soy and dairy products being the principal sources of isoflavones.
 
Here are two articles that discuss the isoflavone content of foods:
 
 
 
 
As you read more about what researchers are finding concerning the difference between lignans and isoflavones, you will see the war that is going on in our bodies between good and bad estrogens, paralleling the one raging between good and bad lectins.

Here's the site:

http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/hrt/hrt_food_and_estrogen.htm


Here's the chart:

Foods Containing Natural Estrogens

Note: Those rich in isoflavones are underlined while those foods rich in glutamate are in bold.

Alfalfa
Animal flesh
Anise seed
Apples
Baker's yeast
Barley
Beets
Carrots
Cherries
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Clover
Cowpeas (black- eyed peas)
Cucumbers
Dairy Foods***
Dates
Eggs
Eggplant
Fennel
Flaxseeds
Garlic
Hops
Licorice
Oats
Olive oil
Olives
Papaya
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Plums
Pomegranates
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Red beans
Red clover
Rhubarb
Rice (relatively highin glutamate)
Sage
Sesame seeds
Soybean sprouts
Soybeans***
Sunflower seeds
Tomatoes
Wheat
Yams


Estrogen-Inhibiting Foods

If you are suffering from breast cancer, PMS, fibroids, ovarian cysts, and other situations that estrogen might exacerbate, the following estrogen-inhibiting foods (lignans) might be of interest to you.

Berries
Broccoli
Buckwheat
Cabbage
Citrus Foods
Corn (BUT...should be avoided for other reasons!) 
Figs
Fruits (except apples, cherries, dates, pomegranates)
Grapes
Green beans
Melons
Millet
Onions
Pears
Pineapples
Squashes
Tapioca
White rice (relatively high in glutamate)
White flour   Now, this is really cool! Why would wheat be on the list of estrogen-rich foods while white flour is on the list of estrogen-blocking foods? Doesn't make sense right? Actually, it DOES and illustrates a VERY important point. What do you get when you add water to white flour? Glue/ paste, right? What have I been saying about gluten again...it is "glue" and it does coat and stick to the villi of the duodenum. In this case, it coats the villi and blocks the absorption of the ESTROGENS in the food. Now, how cool is that?

When I saw this site a couple of years ago, I had another "revelation". Even the bad things have a purpose. In this case, the "glues" in the bad foods (gluten grains, dairy, and soy) don't just block the absorption of essential nutrients (and drugs). They also help block the bad things in these trouble foods, like the estrogens and goitrogens....antinutrients, like those found in soy. (Errrrrh.)
Whodathunkit? Yin and yang even applies to food.

So...you can see from the chart that, once again, the healthiest foods to eat are fruits and vegetables. There is simply no down side to their consumption. Most other things are a compromise, making a "balanced diet" a very important thing, especially when we start suffering from certain conditions in which the other ingredients of foods (excitotoxins, estrogens) become a factor.
 
Again, I hope this helps,
John
 
 Dogtor J.
©2004 DogtorJ.com

I hope you enjoyed your time here and got something important from your stay. It is my goal to help all of mankind navigate through the jungle of medical information now available on the Internet and find the truth about the origins of what we call "disease" as well as discover the natural solutions for these conditions.
 
We do have our health's destiny in our own hands more than we've ever imagined, certainly more than most have ever been told. Think naturally and the answer will come.
 
Dogtor J
 
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