Dairy and Egg

bhlri

I have read through many posts and confused. My dietician at M D Anderson said I can drink organic fat free or 1% milk max of 2 cups a day. I can also have organic eggs 3 times a week. Although she did mention the studies with egg and effects on ER+ cancer are still in early stages. I love milk and felt happy that I could take organic milk. Any different opinions or studies that says no to organic milk for ER+. Thanks.

Momine

Bhl, I have tried to get a definitive answer to this and have not found one. Some studies show that dairy is problematic, others show the opposite. Many alternative diet types will  advocate for a dairy-free diet (because milk has growth factor, among other reasons), but so far I have not been able to find anything that conclusively backs this recommendation with hard science.

It sounds to me as if you got reasonable advice. I do not like milk, but I do use a little for my coffee and muesli in the morning. I also do eat small amounts of cheese, usually goat or sheep cheese. If I make something like pancakes, I usually make them with some kind of fermented milk, like kefir, because that is supposed to have various health benefits.

jojo68

Organic grass fed milk is the safest...so, is organic Rae cheese and goat cheese.

jojo68

Organic grass fed RAW milk is safest.

Momine

Why raw? What difference does it make to the hormone effects?

bhlri

http://www.organicvalley.coop/products/milk/grassmilk/



It says the cows are grass fed and not on grains like soy and they don't add any hormones. Naturally omega 3.

Lee7

I eat organic eggs frequently so I'm curious about the egg studies and effect on er+.  Are eggs thought to be good or bad?

Momine

Lee, I don't think there is any problem with eggs. Many of us, I think, try to get organic ones, just on some vague idea that the mass produced ones may come from hens fed hormones. However, I am not sure that is really an issue.

I avoid eggs because I am on femara. Femara can raise cholesterol, so I basically stick with a low-cholesterol diet as much as I can. I do eat some eggs, but usually around 2-3 a week.

Lee7

The 'fed hormones' thing is what I'm trying to avoid in my foods.  I'm on Arimidex, so I do have to keep an eye on my chloresterol too.  

Momine

Lee, I hear you. But last time I bought eggs, I started wondering if they ever feed chickens hormones. I know they sometimes feed them anti-biotics, which is quite gross, but which has also been mostly dicontinued as a practice in Europe. Hormones I am really not sure about. It is an issue in the dairy industry, but I simply don't know if it also happens n the poultry business.

I have been on femara for almost a year, and my cholesterol has only risen about 10-15 points, but I do stick to a low-glycemic, low-cholesterol, high-fibre diet most of the time. 

Momine

Further to the egg and hormone question, it was bugging me so I looked it up. According to the US poultry association, egg-laying hens are not given hormones:

"Do egg laying hens receive hormones?
Egg laying hens are not given hormones. Some egg cartons say that the eggs are hormone free; however, this is true for all eggs in commercial egg production in the United States." http://www.uspoultry.org/faq/faq.cfm

As for chicken meat, Wiki gives the following info:

"

Hormone use in poultry production is illegal in the United States.^[22][49][50] Similarly, no chicken meat for sale in Australia is fed hormones.^[51] Several scientific studies have documented the fact that chickens grow rapidly because they are bred to do so, not because of growth hormones.^[52][53] A small producer of natural and organic chickens confirmed this assumption:

“

Using hormones to boost egg production was a brief fad in the Forties, but was abandoned because it didn't work. Using hormones to produce soft-meated roasters lasted into the Fifties, but the improved growth rates of normal, untreated broilers made the practice irrelevant--the broilers got as big as anyone wanted without chemicals. The only hormone that was ever used in any quantity on poultry (DES) was banned in 1959, and everyone but a few die-hard farmers had given up hormones by then, anyway. Hormones are now illegal in poultry and eggs.[54] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultry_farming#Growth_hormones

Lee7

Well that's good information to know!  I should look stuff up more often.  Maybe blhri will stop back and clarify what her dietician said about studies on eggs and effects on ER+ cancer.  Maybe its about the chloresterol? or maybe it was positive news that eggs are good and I just read her post wrong.

Anyways..I'm eating my eggs.

bhlri

Lee7: my dietician did say it was ok to eat organic eggs in moderation. I asked her about it's effects on ER + and she said the studies were still in early stages to conclude anything. But def organic, non hormone fed should be ok.

Lee7

Sounds good. I gave up a bunch of foods I used to eat and I really didn't want to give up one of my favorites...the omlette!

fifthyear

I recently read a book by Jane Plant, about dairy and the link to breast cancer. Hard to tell. I have NEVER had milk (lactose thingy), don't eat cheese at all, and I got bc. Go figure.

jessica749

Okay, so to be clear, does this mean the final verdict from the above conversation is that HORMONE FREE (1% or ff) milk (ie grass fed, organic) is okay, max 2 cups a day? Why the limit, what is in milk or dairy that is concerning? Is there , n o matter what, a trace of hormones anyway?

And if eggs have no hormones why would they be bad? Organic eggs in "moderation", but isn't that true for everything - "moderation"? OR is there something we are worried about re eggs?  

bhlri

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987797901109



http://www.notmilk.com/igf1.txt



http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/more-breast-cancer-awareness-month-quackery/



The risk lies in Non organic milk which is said to have hormone rBGH injected. rBGH is known to increase IGF which is known to increase BC. When i asked my dietician she said organic low fat or non fat milk twice a day is ok. Mainly for its nutrition. But you get non dairy milk fortified with calcium and vitamin D.



Everything in moderation is ok. And left to your discretion.



Re soy, the guidelines she said was if soy is processed like tofu, soy milk to consume in moderation. but to avoid if it is added in other foods esp soy isoflavones.

Momine

Jessica, some people hypothesize that the IGF that is in milk naturally may be bad for hormone-dependent cancers. As far as I can tell, there are no definitive studies on this. There are various, inconclusive studies that show either a small association between BC and dairy consumption or show the opposite.

There is also one doc, who is convinced that casein, a component of milk, causes cancer. OTOH, other studies suggest that whey protein may protect against certain cancers. As far as I know, the casein theory is controversial, the IGF theory much less so, although nobody knows exactly how much of a risk the IGF in milk, for example, poses.

Apart from the natural IGF in milk, the commercial dairy industry employs 2 practices that end up boosting the hormone content of the milk - they give the cows hormones to boost production and they continue to milk them when they are pregnant.

To the best of my knowledge this is not done with goats and sheep, at least not here in Greece, so when I eat cheese (can't give it up completely, just can't) I stick to cheese made from those milks rather than from cow's milk.

bhlri

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/121/topic/789281?page=7#idx_204



Found this in other tread. Last page almost towards end, interesting to read moderators comment about milk and IGF.

bhlri

After reading everything in this forum and dr google and talking to my dietician, my personal choice is organic fat free milk for breakfast and fortified organic dairy free oat or almond milk before bed. Also alternate days of organic fat free low sugar yogurt and organic dairy free coconut milk yogurt with cultures. Still researching cheese. Will try goat cheese per Momine. Thrice a week organic egg omelette !!!! Hope this should take care of my body's dairy needs and not effect my cancer!



PS: found a dairy free and vegan probiotic drink in whole foods. Does the same thing as reg yogurt. But I love dairy and can't live without it!!!!