Estrogen alone is not the issue when it comes to increasing the risk of breast cancer. The real issue is how is your estrogen being metabolized.
Two components in cruciferous vegetables are indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and diindolylmethane (DIM). Studies have found that these compounds can inhibit the formation of the "bad" 16-alpha-hydroxy estrone estrogen metabolite. One study found that DIM had the ability to decrease its production by 50 percent while increasing production of the "good" 2-hydroxy estrone metabolite by 75 percent.
