Wednesday, October 10, 2007

What do green leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables have to do with women’s health?

Estrogen and its implication in women's health has been an issue of concern because of the detrimental implications that scientific studies have shown in a group of women who were given estrogen replacement therapy. The question is how can a hormone that our body produces and that we need for vital functioning cause such havoc?

The term “estrogen” is used collectively for a group of female hormones constructed on a cholesterol molecule base. In the non-pregnant female these are mainly Estrone (E1) and Estradiol (E-2). During pregnancy the placenta makes Estriol (E-3). They each have a specific role to play in our bodies.

Hormones are chemical messengers that cause profound changes within their target cells. These chemical messengers are broadcast by the endocrine system to all of the cells in the body. Only the cells with the specific receptors get the message. The receptor is where the hormone docks and once docked it gives the cell orders to be followed.

Excess circulating hormone is cleared from the body via transformation into a disposable form and then excretion in the bile or urine. There are three sites in the estrogen molecule where these changes can occur. Changes in the 2-H site are associated with less cancer than changes in the other two sites.

What determines how the estrogen molecule is metabolized is not well known. We do know that our genes have some control and studies have shown that eating a diet rich in green leafy vegetables can help with giving excess estrogen safe passage out of the body. How does this happen?

Cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli, kale, & Brussel sprouts) contain the nutrients that facilitate the change at the 2-H site. Other phytochemicals found in green leafy vegetables also take part in the facilitation of the estrogen being transformed into a metabolite that is harmless to the body. When a woman’s intake of these vegetables is decreased or non-existent, then the option of the molecular change at the 2-H site disappears and the molecule goes on to the two other options that are more biologically active. These options have been associated with increased cancer of the female reproductive organs.

We may not be able to change our genes, but we do have a choice in what we eat. Knowing one way that green vegetables can prevent cancers enables us to make better choices when we are in the supermarket shopping for food or when we are at the restaurant.