Well, during my juice feast I could tell that my body was trying to educate me on some internal changes. I have done juice feasting several times and although I felt great, my body was trying to tell me what my ego wasn’t willing to hear. Ego aside, I listened to my body and went to see a nutritional counselor. The counselor brought to my attention that taking flaxseed may increase my estrogen level. What… I don’t need that! I’ve been focusing on getting my Yin/Yang balanced. My body is good for telling me when to stop and start certain foods as well as supplements. I stopped adding flaxseed to my juice about six months ago but I started adding them again this past month because I love how it keeps my digestive system in check. So what are flaxseeds?
They are the richest dietary source of lignans, a type of phytoestrogen, which is a plant nutrient that is somewhat similar to the female hormone estrogen. Due to this similarity, lignans may have estrogenic and/or anti-estrogenic effects in the body. Now on the flip side of research, lignans can cause the body to produce less active forms of estrogen in postmenopausal women. This is believed to potentially reduce breast cancer risk. There is evidence that adding ground flaxseeds into the diet decreases cell growth in breast tissue as well.
Hmmm…It seems like there’s still a lot of research that needs to be done on this subject. I’m going to listen to the research within my body! That’s how I conclude what’s best for me. God gave us the gift of intuition..We just don’t follow it! Knowledge is power…Health is wealth;-)
What are your thoughts on flaxseed and estrogen?
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