Whey protein, ER positive and tamoxifen

2yearsurvivor
2yearsurvivor Member Posts: 5

Trying to figure out whether whey protein is OK for me. My cancer was ER+ and now I'm on tamoxifen. Can't really seem to find anything on the web, but I'm always scared about messing with unknowns. Thanks!

Comments

  • koshka1
    koshka1 Member Posts: 678
    edited September 2008

    hi there..i have no idea about the whey protein,,but now you have me thinking about it...if you find anything let me know.....

    i found another thing in horror today,,,i have always bough organic eggs and meats etc...anyway,,reading on the egg package,,the organic farm feeds their chickens soy and flax products..so now i am thinking...am i supposed to avoid eggs and chicken too.....???

    sheesh....

    kosh

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2008

    I know what you mean - it is hard to find organic products.  I get my eggs from a lady that lets her chickens run free in her yard - she throws them veg./fruits scraps too. I'm staying away from chickens unless I know that don't feed them soy. I haven't had any meat - but I'm hoping to see about deer meat come deer hunting season.

  • ICanDoThis
    ICanDoThis Member Posts: 1,473
    edited September 2008

    Whey protein is a milk byproduct - it has no soy.

    Breast cancer caught me in the middle of a lifestyle cleanup, so I had been reading like mad about balancing carbs-proteins-fats, and keeping insulin regular, and how exercise affects your metabolism right up until I switched to reading madly about the requirements of breast cancer.

    I did some investigating by contacting info hot lines for some of the food supplement companies - Medifast said that they recommend that customers who should not eat soy should use whey based supplements.

    I also talked to Kashi - most of their products include soy lechithen. They seem pretty concerned about the whole soy thing -  I ended up talking to someone about how they process their soy, which they claim is much better than the standard way of processing soy, and takes out most of the elements that are supposed to be bad for BC.

    I've given up on eggs - my dietician says that eating cage free eggs where the chickens are fed Omega 3s is about as good as I'm going to get - that when an animal eats soy, the soy byproducts don't stay in their bodies, as far as she can tell. But she recommends any kind of eggs over tofu as a protein for BCers.

    I don't know if this helps - we can't seal ourselves into a bubble.

    Right now, I'm just trying to eat as many organic veges as I possibly can, and exercise every day.

  • koshka1
    koshka1 Member Posts: 678
    edited September 2008

    Sue...

    This is good news... I was really concerned about the eggs and that stuff cuz i used the egg whites a lot as a protein source....

    And good info on the whey protein.....!!  :)

    I know what you mean..you gotta check all the product because alot have soy in them... I can't rememebr how many Zone bars i ate as a meal replacement bar,,,and go figure,,,the prime ingredient is soy!!! Sheesh...........

    Anyway,,,,hugs...and thank you for the info...

    Kosh

  • 2yearsurvivor
    2yearsurvivor Member Posts: 5
    edited September 2008

    I didn't know about eggs.Scarey. Not much protein left...

    I was told by my cancer center's dietician that soy lecithen is OK -- it's just a preservative. The kind of soy to stay away from is soy protein and soy fiber.

     ICanDoThis is right -- you can't live in a bubble, but it's maddening sometimes to figure things out.

    I didn't learn about the soy thing until I was almost through with chemo, and up until then I was eating Weight Watchers cereal, which has soy protein. So I guess that's made me even more interested in making sure I'm not unknowingly ingesting anything unhealthy.

  • koshka1
    koshka1 Member Posts: 678
    edited September 2008

    hi there...

    i know it is so frustrating...not only do we have to worry about what we are eating...we have to think about what they are giving the animals that we are eating  (gross) and what they are spraying on our food.....

    i dunno,,,i still wanna read up on the issue that if they are feeding an animal soy proteins (like chickens), that the soy protein does not travel on to the human..i need to grasp this....if you have any further information..that would be great :)

    also,,,can't believe how much flax i consumed prior to this toooo!!! lol....when i found out that i couldn't eat flax..i looked in my cupboard and everything had flax in it...even my favorite oatmeal was flax n' oats!!!!

    lol

    hugs....kosh

  • arahija
    arahija Member Posts: 4
    edited September 2008

    I meet with a natropath and she has really helped me with this all. I have individually contacted farms and have now found that I buy only from local farmers where I can see and  talk to them.

    My inlaws have chickens so I am good with the eggs and chickens... but you have to be careful

  • geebung
    geebung Member Posts: 1,851
    edited September 2008

    My personal opinion is that most foods, if eaten close to their natural, whole state (ie - they look like they did when they were harvested) and preferably organic, are not cancer producing. Eg, soy beans, soaked and cooked look pretty much the same way they did when they came out of their pod - nothing has been added to their basic structure or taken away. (That's not to say you can't serve them in a variety of delicious, natural sauces).They are natural, balanced and an excellent source of protein. However most soy products have been changed beyond recognition and have lost their natural nutritional balance. Soy protein isolate, soy isoflavones, textured vegetable protein, soy oils are so far from their original form that you just have to wonder if they can still be classed as food!

    I don't know all that much about whey protein except that it is one of the proteins extracted from milk. As far as I know they don't add soy products to it. I would say that it is out of balance because it is not a whole food.

    gb 

  • AccidentalTourist
    AccidentalTourist Member Posts: 365
    edited September 2008

    I have been following a dairy free diet following the advice of Jane Plant from 'Your life in your hands' book.  I have mentioned this in other threads as I am surprised how many people in America with breast cancer are still eating dairy but are worried about soy.  This book advocates quite the opposite no dairy and lots of miso, tofu etc.  This is so confusing.

  • tobi
    tobi Member Posts: 21
    edited September 2008
    From what I have read about soy, soybean oil is all right since it doesn't have genestein in it.  It is the genestein that we need to stay away from and genestein is in soy protein and soy fiber. What do you eat to maintain your weight?  I have lost 20 pounds since I am eating mainly fruit and vegetables.  I need help witih my diet!
  • AccidentalTourist
    AccidentalTourist Member Posts: 365
    edited October 2008

    I have also lost weight although only half of your weight loss.  In my case it was welcome.  I eat bread and rice with vegetables (always wholemeal), nuts and seeds of all kinds have a lot of calories.  Today I bought artichoke pate which was delicious and based on olive oil.  Avocado has a lot of calories and is delicious as well as nutritious.  I will read up more and post some recepies but have just started a new job and am rather busy so it may take a while.

  • Azura
    Azura Member Posts: 34
    edited December 2011

    I have whey protein I was able to order it takes a while to get here but the company say there feed their animals grass but it's all organic I have double checked it. My only main concern is how ot make a shake that won't have too much fibre in it. How do I add flavour to it please? Thanks

    I dont want to go mad and start adding lots of fruit as the fibre content will pass through. So I am a little unsure what to do. 

  • balsie
    balsie Member Posts: 391
    edited February 2012

    I am wondering about shakes by visalus sciences...the first ingredient is soy protien isolate...is this not safe? 

    Thanks Balsie 

  • Kadia
    Kadia Member Posts: 314
    edited February 2012

    Balsie, soy is controversial for people with ER+ tumors, so many of us choose to avoid it due to its estrogenic properties. See http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/soy for more info.

  • Califgirl12
    Califgirl12 Member Posts: 92
    edited February 2012

    I was on a smoothie making kick for the past year using an organic non gmo soy protein powder that Cost Co sold with my Vitamixer. I thought I was doing myself some good taking in all those good vegies and fruit smoothies. By the end of the year my fibroids were giving me a lot of problems after having about 8 years of no problems following a myomectomy. I went to get all of my physicals due to my concern over the fibroids. Turns out my fibroids were the least of my worries cause now I have BC. I think the high doses of soy protein and all those Isoflavens stimulated not only my fibroids but this E+ BC. MY advice is to avoid soy. They say as long as you dont have a history of BC in your family it should be ok ......but 85% or so of newly diagnosed BC are non family related. I thought I was safe.

  • Califgirl12
    Califgirl12 Member Posts: 92
    edited February 2012

    One suggestion to get your protein in smoothies are nuts and beans. I know that sounds weird but plain red or white beans have mild favors. I choose to use organic Greek yogurt. It has the calcium and protein. It keeps me full and gives me about 7 servings of vegetables and fruits.

  • Kadia
    Kadia Member Posts: 314
    edited February 2012

    You can also use rice or hemp protein powders, sold in most natural or health food stores.

  • christina1961
    christina1961 Member Posts: 736
    edited February 2012

    Kadia,

    Good idea!  I will try the hemp protein. I've had it before in a smoothie from the Earthfare store and it tastes good. I usually drink Gladiator protein but it is whey  and I'm not sure how it is sweetened. It doesn't have sugar, which I am trying to stay away from.

  • jenlee
    jenlee Member Posts: 504
    edited March 2012

    One MO that I saw said to avoid dairy if you're ER positive.  In fact, to avoid dairy anyway - he's from a country where people don't drink cow's milk.  Anyway, whey is from dairy, so I looked hard to find non-day, non-dairy shakes.  I prefer real whole foods too, but need a shake as a back up for a quick meal.  I've seen hemo, rice & pea protein.  Also found a vegan tropical shake called Shakeology.  Really good!

  • misswim
    misswim Member Posts: 931
    edited March 2012

    Jenlee, I lost 25 lbs on the original Shakeology, pre-BC, drank two shakes a day. Bummer that the choclate and berry have soy protein. I just got the tropical and it is SO good. I called the company directly just to be certain there was NO soy. I feel quite confident in it. It is great for energy!

  • barbiecorn
    barbiecorn Member Posts: 437
    edited October 2012

    I just read here that flax is not good for breast cancer???  I've been taking flax everyday since my BMX...why is flax bad????

  • curly123
    curly123 Member Posts: 127
    edited April 2013

    Now you have me confused!  I was told flax is GOOD for cancer prevention.  Why no flax?  And what is wrong with soy?

    thanks!

    curly

  • 2miraclesmom
    2miraclesmom Member Posts: 131
    edited June 2013

    I second that. I had heard that flax was good for bc as well. So is it not?!?

  • Shadow88
    Shadow88 Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2017

    Hello!

    For those who are concerned about whey protein being safe, I found this article ... which may help. Search for drnibber and whey and cancer. It's an interesting article. I tried to put the link in, but it will not allow me to do so. I hope you can find it and make the decision for yourself. : )

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