Kelp could reduce hormone related to breast cancer risk- study

03/02/05 A type of vegetation that can often be found washed ashore on beaches may soon emerge as a new player in the field of cancer-fighting foods. A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that a diet containing kelp seaweed lowered levels of the potent sex hormone estradiol in rats, and raised hopes that it might decrease the risk of estrogen-dependent diseases such as breast cancer in humans.

These new results, published Feb. 2 in the Journal of Nutrition, shine a new light onto the Japanese diet. Prior studies have shown that Japanese women have longer menstrual cycles and lower serum estradiol levels than their Western counterparts, which researchers say may contribute to their lower rates of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers. Scientists have been searching Asian diets for clues to the lower rates of cancer, with the lion's share of attention being given to soy.

The researchers say that the type of kelp used in this study, bladderwrack seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus), is closely related to wakame and kombu, the brown seaweeds that are most commonly consumed in Japan. Bladderwrack seaweed is the primary form of kelp sold in the United States. They say these study results support the need for more research on wakame and kombu.

The study was supported by the National Foundation for Cancer Research and the National Institutes of Health.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/02/02_kelp.shtml