The Western-type diet, high in fat and protein and low in complex carbohydrate and fibre,
has been associated with many diseases, including coronary heart disease, colon cancer …

It is obvious that further studies are necessary before the possible biological role in man of
the lignans and isoflavonic phyto-oestrogens may be defined. However, the evidence …

Recently two groups of compounds with diphenolic structure, the lignans and the isoflavonic
phytoestrogens, were detected and identified in human urine and other biological fluids …

Because many diseases of the Western Hemisphere are hormone-dependent cancers, we
have postulated that the Western diet, compared to a vegetarian or semivegetarian diet, may …

The strength of the epidemiological evidence indicating a protective effect of vegetable and
fruit intake against cancer at most sites [l] has stimulated interest in secondary plant …

A brief account of our present knowledge on the enterohepatic metabolism of estrogens and
on the origin, metabolism and biological effects of mammalian lignans and phytoestrogens …

Our diet and environment have changed rapidly since the start of industrialization. Our
partially genetically determined behavior leads, in the affluent society, to the consumption of …

Lignans are present in a wide range of foods consumed daily in the Western world such as
flaxseed and other seeds, as well as vegetables, fruits and beverages such as coffee, tea …

It was recently observed that the urinary excretion of animal lignans is low in
postmenopausal breast cancer patients compared to normal omnivorous and vegetarian …

Breast cancer, prostate cancer, coronary heart disease and colon cancer belong to the so-
called Western diseases and a general opinion is that diet is a significant or even the main …