Do I need to cut out Caffeine?

BoobieBetrayal

Hi ladies,

Im in the bc club and it's clear to me that I need to make my diet as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, I'm British and I consider a good cup of tea (with milk) and a biscuit key to my happiness!!

I've read that I need to limit my Caffeine to one drink a day. Is that what you all have heard and would recommend?

Thanks!

Veronica x

exbrnxgrl

Veronica,

I am a coffee drinker. I drink 1-2 cups a day and like you, it makes me happy. Being happy, even with bc, is something I consider very important to well being and quality of life. I know some will disagree with me, but one or two cups a day, if it makes you happy, should be fine.

Manu14

1. I don't know about caffeine in general; but I read that there is a study or two that showed a possible benefit for women who drink a cup or two ofcffee when they are taking Tamoxifen. If you are ER +, that may be a drug you take after surgery and .

Scottiemom11

I was a caffeine addict (diet coke and tea) before surgery. Trying to limit myself now, so drinking almost all caffeine free diet and decaf tea.

Scottie

Claire_in_Seattle

Veronica...I can't face the world without a POT of Typhoo or PG Tips. Plus, I require full fat milk for it all to work. A biscuit sounds like a lovely addition.

There are other things to worry about, and one of them is your overall wellbeing. I remember when I was going through chemo. One of my friends would come the Saturday following my infusion to make sure I got out on my bicycle. As I was dragging, I would plan for tea with something lovely first. I still remember those moments, and so does she.

Overall, I try to eat a reasonable diet, and I do exercise. Just don't want to give up all the pleasures in life, and one of those is my AM pot of tea. - Claire

WinningSoFar

My attitude toward food is to be moderate. A few cups of tea is moderate. I just don't believe that food gave us breast cancer, nor do I believe that food can keep it away. Perhaps I'll be proven wrong, but it hasn't happened yet.

besa

http://www.breastcancerconsultants.com/blog/2015/2...

This is a blog (with references) about caffeine consumption written by a local DC metro area bc medical oncologist. I, like exbrnxgrl, enjoy 1-2 cups of coffee a day. I also feel that being happy is important :-) It seems that, in moderation, caffeine may possibly be something that is actually good for us.

BoobieBetrayal

Thanks Ladies, it seems that the results are in!
I'll keep my tea to a miniumum and keep the enjoyment!

Thanks again

scvmom65

Hi Veronica,

A site that may be helpful to you since you are starting your cleaning up journey is foodforbreastcancer . They have a bunch of studies linked to the research they do and you can put in your BC type and it will tell you specifically what to avoid based on research. Hope this helps, I wish someone would have told me about it when I was first starting. I would have saved hours from just random googling

chef127

Great topic. I love my 2-3 cups of coffee daily and I say "Take me now if I can't enjoy the simple pleasures in life"!

xoxM

Nancy2581

I agree. I don't drink coffee or diet coke (anymore) but I do drink iced tea. I'm not giving it up. I find food a pleasure in life so moderation as you've all mentioned is the key.

Deblc

What does your doctor say? Mine says that "It has not been proven that any particular food will cause or not cause cancer. Follow the basic guidelines of more fruits and vegetables, everything else in moderation, and most importantly, get some exercise. This is for your overall general health, not just cancer. Live your life!"

My feeling is that the western diet is such that, unless we grow everything ourselves in our backyards, including cattle, we are at the mercy of all the preservatives, chemicals etc that are an INESCAPABLE part of how the food we consume is produced. That's why the western diet causes more cancer than the traditional Asian diet . Not necessarily the kind of food we eat, but how it is grown and produced and preserved. My theory, not at all proven .

I am a tea addict too, and my attitude is that, if my life is coming down to cutting out the simplest pleasures.....what's the point? (By the way, Brit tea is so much better than American tea lol. Harrods used to have an almond tea to die for)

tgtg

I think that the ancient Greeks had it right centuries ago--their guiding principle for all choices was "Everything in moderation, nothing in excess." And that approach to life still works in the 21st century. But sadly too many of us "moderns" say that if one is good, three is better," almost in defiance of the gift of wisdom from the ancients. So I just ingest everything with Grecian restraint, and prepare from scratch as much of what I eat as I can and use the highest quality fresh foods as possible. Here's to a cup or two of caffeine, but not to ten of them!

WinningSoFar

I was watching one of the Great Courses course, Nutrition Made Clear, which is excellent by the way. Somewhere in the 3rd disk, at the beginning of the lecture about food and cancer, the professor, a registered dietician and dedicated exerciser for 30 years, tells us that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. If she can't figure out how to manage food intake to avoid cancer, that tells me that I sure can't and probably no one can.

Momine

I have not heard that, and if anything I have seen a number of things suggesting that caffeine, in moderation (2-4 cups) is downright healthy, including for cancer survvors. But you might want tocut back on the bisquits