There's a medical term 'Benign Breast Disease'
(BBD) which includes a host of breast problems for women. This category
includes any type of abnormal breast tissue other than malignant. One
condition includes breast tumors which are benign yet have from the
normal breast tissue consistency.
There are a number of cystic conditions 'lumped'
under the heading of fibrocystic breast disease. Symptoms may include
pain known as mastalgia, heat, swelling and obvious tenderness. Pain
and changes in breast tissue can be cyclical within the menstrual
cycle, often triggered by low progesterone and high estrogens.
Recently there's been more attention given to BBD
being a risk factor for developing Breast Cancer (BC) and rightly so.
Several causes of BBD are the same causes or risk factors for BC.
In several upcoming articles I'll review the
medical research from around the world. I spent almost 2 years writing
two books, one on the optimization of thyroid hormones and the other on
the autoimmune condition Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, and was amazed to
find hundreds of articles on this subject of risk factors.
Here is an example of just one of them. The Lancet
published an epidemiological study in 1975 which exposed a lower
incidence of Breast Cancer in Japanese women compared with women from
other parts of the world. The only variable the researchers could find
was their higher intake of seafood and sea vegetables rich in iodine.
There was a lot of speculation why this might be but it's really only
been over the last 35 years that we have a clearer understanding as to
why.
I hesitate to start with the subject of iodine
because it is one thing to take a food rich in iodine and quite another
to take an iodine supplement. There is danger in this.
So I'll wait a little and mention two other
studies which I believe are very important. They are both similar and
prove much the same point. One was out of Pisa, Italy, in 2008. They
took 103 women with biopsied ductal cell breast carcinoma and before
any intervention or treatment the women were checked for thyroid
problems. They were evaluated through thyroid lab tests, physical exams
and a thyroid ultrasound.
It turned out that 48% of them had various types
of thyroid problems. The most prevalent was an enlarged thyroid gland
termed a goiter. The most common cause of a goiter is an iodine
deficiency or insufficiency. The less common cause is excess estrogen
which blocks absorption of iodide into thyroid cells.
The second thyroid condition found was Hashimoto's
which is inflammation of the thyroid gland. There are a few theories
about the cause of Hashimoto's but the one which is most outstanding is
the inflammation of thyroid cells being caused by an increased
production of hydrogen peroxide inside the cells. This increased
production is due to the hormone TSH or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
which, among other things, stimulates thyroid cells to make more
hydrogen peroxide, a process required to convert iodide to iodine. This
is necessary for the thyroid to make its hormones.
Normally once thyroid hormones are produced and
enter the blood stream then TSH production will subside and so will the
production of hydrogen peroxide inside the thyroid cells. But if
there's an iodide deficiency and the thyroid can't make its hormones
then TSH will remain elevated and continue to stimulate the cells to
make more and more hydrogen peroxide.
These elevated levels of hydrogen peroxide lasting
for years and decades eventually leads to irritation, inflammation and
finally some degree of destruction. And as soon as the thyroid cells
break apart and release hydrogen peroxide, enzymes and proteins you've
got the makings for a thyroid autoimmune disease.
So what's all this got to do with breast cancer
and benign breast tumors?
Obviously the lack of iodide leads to various
thyroid conditions including hypothyroidism since obviously the thyroid
requires specific nutrients including iodide to make its hormones. No
iodide no thyroid hormone production.
And so often where there's a lack of iodide
there's a lack of iodine. Iodine has been proven to protect breast
tissue from estrogens, estrogen mimicking chemicals, what are called
Endocrine Distrupting Chemical and heavy metals.
Optimal thyroid hormones help to improve sex
hormone binding globulin which lowers free estrogens, improves levels
of progesterone (low progesterone is a risk factor) and helps to
optimize the body's metabolic rate. A lower metabolic rate causes
easier weight gain and the primary source of non-glandular estrogen is
fat. Even this form of estrogen stimulates estrogen receptors on breast
tissue.
More on these subjects in future articles.
So until then, this is Dr. Alexander Haskell
AdvancingBreastCare.com
Article Source:
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