soya again

bexybexy

Have previously posted about this before. I don't think soya protein or milk is a problem and has never been proved. However keep reading about Soya Protein Isolate. It is a kind of very modified and processed soya. Nearly every day or at least every 2 days I have been having these chicken style pieces (fake chicken) and just looked at the ingredients and yes that is in it! Have been having these for the past year or so. I know I shouldn't beat myself up like this or even blame this food as it may be nothing to do with it! I am sure if these claims were medically proven this ingredient would be taken out of products or there would be lots more publicity about it.

Think it is the stress of the diagnosis doing this. After all what's to stop someone that drinks a few glasses of wine a day or is a regular smoker or very overweight, blaming themselves as all these things have been claimed to be linked to cancer. Does anyone else do what I do or is it just me?!

DivineMrsM

Please don't beat yourself up that you are somehow "to blame" for bc.  Yes, that thought crossed my mind after I was first diagnosed.  And then I came to learn how widespread bc is, that all kinds of women, and to a lesser extent men, get this disease.  Young, old, those who've taken good care of themselves and those who haven't; rich, poor, thin, fat, those who've born children and those who haven't, no matter where we live in the world and no matter the color of our skin.

ej01

I agree with TheDevineMrsM - you can not beat yourself up.   Although I have spent some time trying to figure out why i got BC too.   Could it be too much milk, or hormones in Chicken, or re-heating things in plastic, or too many desserts?  There are even some that think having a well fitted underwire bra can increase BC risk.  When I compare my lifestyle/diet/etc to that of my friends for 'risk factors' it does not seem like I would have been the likely one to get it.  So, I cant beat myself up, but learn from it instead, and make the changes to reduce my risk.  

check out the 'early stage natural girls' thread on the alternative medicine forum, it has a lot of thoughts/info for people wanting to reduce the risk factors in the food they eat. 

CLC

There is no benefit in looking back and saying "what if?"  Even if there was a point, we will never know which things were what made a difference.  And even if we could know which things made the difference, a whole bunch of them might have been out of our control.

But...there is a benefit in looking forward.  There are things that may increase risk, that are worth controlling.  There are things that may increase risk, but aren't worth controlling (they may just make you sane and have just a tiny impact on risk).  There are things that may not have any impact on risk of bc, but changing them help you by putting your body in such a good place that it is easier to deal with the treatments.

You just do the best you can...there are no right answers in life...no answer key.  You just do the best you can.  And let go of the rest...:)

That's my way of coping with it all, anyway.  I agree with the ladies here...no sense in beating yourself up...life is so much more pleasant when you don't.:)

bexybexy

Thanks ladies! I think deep down I know this but am really just struggling to deal with it. When I look at my friends you are right - I know people who drink a bottle of wine like it's a glass of water and who smoke and don't eat properly.

One thing I was gonna say is - a lot of people in comforting me say at least you are treating it early etc it's all ok it could be worse...which I know is true. But it doesn't stop the internal feelings of anger and the why me? I am so frustrated I feel like I am putting my life on hold!

CLC

Well, of course, life gets put on hold.  And gets reprioritized.  And the stupid crap gets ditched.  And the important stuff gets put to the fore.  My dx was low grade, stage 0 and it was such a small area that the stereotactic biopsy actually removed it all before I got to the mx.  I feel lucky that I don't have to do rads or chemo.  But, he!!, I lost a breast and a lymph node and remain at higher risk on the other side.  We are completely justified in being pissed, scared, frustrated, angry and everything else.  Someone on bc.org quoted someone with Stage IV cancer as saying that the worst thing that has ever happened to you is the worst thing that has ever happened to you.  There is no comparing pain.  There is no comparing fear.  Pain is pain, fear is fear.  Give yourself the room and space to feel all the feelings.  It helps to be able to do that and accept them for what they are...reasonable in this craziness.

stage1

bexybexy, I think that soy in our food could be a great factor in our health.  Everything I pick up in the grocery store that is packaged or canned has some kind of soy in it.  Why??? I think it is a cheap crop and adding it to anything makes the product cheaper.  But what is it doing to us?  I think it is causing a hormonal imbalance.  I really think, and I knwo the studies are not conclusive, but hey, common sense!

bexybexy

I do agree with you. I do analyse things but still it seems like too much of a coincidence to me. Some coincidences I feel are too strong to explain away. My mum has pre-cancerous cells in her cervix when she was 35 - exactly the same age as me!

I am still gonna have soya in it's pure form, i.e tofu, soya beans, as I see that in asia they have low rates of breast cancer and the women there eat a lot of it but I so agree about the processed soya in everything. I am gonna stay away from additives too and packaged foods with about ten different ingredients in them. Kind of just go as nature intended now!

bexybexy

looking at ingredients for meat products like burgers and processed chicken burgers etc they all contain soya isolate so not gonna beat myself up over what I used to eat. Just know that in future am going to go for more natural foods.

CLC

I have removed all processed foods from my diet...the most processed food I eat is organic nonfat yogurt.   I eat an almost vegetarian diet and eat no animal fats whatsoever.  There is no processed soy.  There is no alcohol.  I eat next to zero sugar.  I feel way better.  I have lost 50 pounds (slowly over 5 years), dropped my cholesterol from 230 to 130 and got control of the COPD (chronic lung disease)I was diagnosed with  4 years ago.  I exercise 300 minutes per week, 180 are high intensity.

I imagine that most people I know are saying...and she does all the right things and got cancer anyway, what is the point?  I know that I weathered my mx better because of it and I suspect that my cancer might not have been so early if I'd been doing all the high risk behaviors.  But, like I said before, there is no point in looking back...just ahead...and you do what you can and don't worry about the rest, right?

bexybexy

I completely agree with you there! You hear about people that drop dead of heart attacks that were super fit but it can happen and doesn't mean we should all just become obese! I'm interested in your diet it sounds great I am vegan but ate too much processed soya. I am not going to have soya milk anymore and certainly wouldn't go back to dairy. I love almond milk and rice milk. What do you have instead of sugar? That is my biggest vice actually more than alchohol! would rather have a cupcake than wine!! I have been using stevia which is a plant based sweetener but there is still controversy out there about that! We can't win - sugar is seen as feeding alchohol and alternative sweeteners even worse!

CLC

I use fruit.  My oatmeal in the morning is with blueberries.  No other sweetener.  I have plain yogurt, with nuts and seeds and raisins.  No sweetener.  I just weened myself off.  I do allow myself a square of 90% chocolate each night (2.5g of sugar) and put a dried apricot on top of it.  I also allow myself sweet things as planned on special occasions.  A tiny piece of cake at each of my kids birthdays.  A slice of low sugar pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and a scoop of ice cream on vacation in the summer in Cape Cod.  That's it for the year. 

I do eat lots of sugars, as found in fruit.  They are just not refined.  No processed anything was my rule. 

The key to  it for me was I changed over very gradually.  When I first started, I used maple syrup in my oatmeal.  I reduced it over time until I just eliminated it altogether.  Everything was very gradual.

I eat dairy, so long as it is fat free and organic.  No rBGH for me...for years.  My son drinks almond milk, as he is allergic to milk.  But it has so much sugar added.  I eat egg whites, but no yolks.  I started out vegan, and added each of these back in over time as they made me feel better.  I just listened to my body.  There are things I have tried adding back in, and my body said no...like bread and bagels and other refined flour products.  The last thing I have added back in was lean turkey meat...and it made me feel wonderful.  So I eat that 1 to 2 times per month.

 I guess I eat the "listen to my body" diet...  It is the first time in my life that my weight is under control without my needing to try.  It is the first time in my life that I know what makes me feel good and what doesn't.  I am very proud of the changes I have made.  But, again, they were really gradual...my cousin says that the way I did it shows that I am very kind to myself.  That made me feel good.:)

stage1

I bought agave for sugar, but I don't like the taste very much, and seems like more calories than sugar.  I am just using less.  I used to like Splenda, but I will just not have a lot. 

BTW, Asian women do have more soy, but the way I understand it, their soy is grown in rich selenium soil, makes a difference.  I studied that in nutrition class, that I took in college.  Anyone have anything to add to this? 

bexybexy

I also heard that Asian women have soya a lot but in it's purest form i.e soya milk, tofu etc...also their incidence of breast cancer (and other cancer) is lower as they don't eat as much red meat, full fat dairy, processed foods etc which makes sense to me as they always look so healthy.

CLC I couldn't go back to having dairy or meat but that's because I am vegan for ethical reasons and also lactose intolerant. However what you said about fruit I am going to start doing that. I could put raisins on stuff as they are so sweet anyway even sweeter than sugar. They would definately satisfy my sugar cravings. I could always heat some blueberries or strawberries and make a kind of syrup out of them to use as sweetener. Thanks so much for that advice - I guess in tea and coffee I just need to wean myself off the sugar but in anycase I only have about one cup a day of either so one teaspoon wouldn't be too bad in the great scheme of things xx