Vegetarian diet and ER+

All I can tell you is the medical world has not determined whether soy is good for breast cancer or bad.  On one side they point to low rates of BC in Asia where soy is prevalent; on the other hand, if you read the back of a lot of our foods they are made with soy or soybean oil.  My doctor told me to avoid it at this time since the jury is out on this.  Also, Johns Hopkins web site says same thing.  Hope this helps, Maryiz

I was vegan for many years and I did eat soy and drank soy milk.  I do wonder now if I was feeding my cancer.  I had a strongly ER/PR+ tumor.  Now I eat fish and chicken occasionally but not read meat, pork or dairy products.  I don't eat any soy products on purpose but soy is in a lot of stuff.  I agree that there are many ways to get adequate protein without eating meat/dairy.  I added fish and chicken back into my diet during chemo to try and keep my strength up.  Now I find I like them now and again.  I try and get raw food into my diet each day as well.

Another problem with vegetarian diets is that many people tend to fill up on rice and pasta and make this a mainstay of the diet. Rice and pasta are high glycemic and if vegetarians eat a lot of sweets also, all this is just as dangerous as soy, or meat. The key is to eat mostly fruits and veggies, and small amounts of protein, with very little starches or sugars. Variety is important. If we eat the same things all the time, we may be missing key nutrients. Also it is hard to get enough nutrients from our fruits and veggies because the soil is depleted of many of the essential things our bodies need. It is important to eat well, but also take supplements so nothing is missing.

My onc suggested Walter Willet's diet based upon his research w/the nurses and professionals study. It's easy to Google him or go to Amazon.com. He has a couple of books out. His diet deals w/the glycemic index issue and it's easy to go vegetarian on it as he separates nuts and legumes from animal protein. I was on a healthy Mediterranean diet and my onc suggested that I "tweak" it a little toward Willett's suggestions. I would say that I'm a vegetarian except that I still like to have 2 3-oz servings of salmon/week. It's an easy, great diet for most chronic diseases and I highly recommend it. Easy to get your protein while being vegetarian (we don't need that much) as well as the essential oils.

BTW--my onc suggests avoiding soy.

Eating meat is not so bad as long as you make sure it is the hormone free and antibiotic free kind. Also, did you have a blood test for anemia? Sometimes anemic symptoms can mimic other problems. Also take magnesium and vit c for the constipation. There is a powder I got for my uncle who was so bound up after surgery. It is very bitter, lemon but it works if you take drink it. I cannot remember the name. Just ask them for the mag/C. Also there is lots of protein in nuts and iron in spinach that can replace red meat. I eat very little meat, and my blood work was great.

 Frist thankyou both for your great suggestions, you are both well informed and i appreciate your contribution to my post.

vivre, I like your name, yes I had blood test I have been anemic for many years due to uterus fybromes that brought on heavy periods. What I don't understand is that after four years without periods I am still borderline anemic from the last blood draw. I will look into the antiobiotic and hormone free meat but I'm from a small town with little choice considering products. Vitamine C is part of my regymen as is magnesium citrate, I wonder who my bowels with be without this, Femara and calcium and low energy for exercices seems to have made my constipation worst. I also look for rich in iron products like black strap molasses and spinach. I hope my anemia does not come from something else, I've had a few test with my gastro to check for bleeding ulcers with no finding.

car: what form of mag are you taking, maybe I could switch if it is not citrate, my dose is 150mg X3 a day, I was hoping it would help me more but maybe your constipation problems are less than mine. For the dosage I am following the advise on the bottle and of my naturpat who sold them to me.

I have a book called Vitamin Cures. It says that anemia can also be caused by lack of copper and folate or B12. If you cannot find the book, pm me and I will call you and read you the chapter on anemia. It also says that sometimes anemia takes up to a year to overcome so be patient. Even though you are low on energy, force yourself to exercise every day. Even just walking will get your blood flowing and improve your energy level.

I know that anemia is a lack of iron in the blood, but iron also has a link to bc so do not overdo the iron supplements. You can get a lot of iron by juicing dark veggies, so try that too.

Welga, before bc dx I had a lot of heartburn too. Once I cleaned up my diet, it went away. My doc told me to take prolosec, but it did not do anything. Then I started taking probiotics every day, and with better foods, that did the trick. My chiro did a blood test that evaluated over 200 foods that are toxic to some people. My test showed that there were about 10 things that I should avoid. Ironically,some of them I had always eliminated because I did not like the way they made me feel, like brewers yeast(I have never been able to drink beer), and bakers yeast( which always made me feel icky). Now I know why. The blood was sent to immuno labs in Florida for evaluation if you want to check it out: immunolabs.com

A good book about digestion is "Micro Miracles", by dr. Ellen Cutler. It really explains how poorly our stomachs digest food as we age and the need to add enzymes to aid digestion. Sometimes our stomachs work so poorly, that even when we eat well, it does not get absorbed. If you can find this book, on page 131, she talks about supplements needed for extreme fatique. It is too long to type the explanation, but she mentions, Biotin, ribooflavin(vit B3), niacin, pantothenic acid(vit b5) vit c, iron, and magnesium along withdigestive enzymes to aid absorption. It should take a couple of months to notice results.

I think it is fine to eat iron rich foods, just do not use supplements. Check any multi vitamin you take as many of them contain iron. The ones for "over 50" generally have no iron.

Have you ever tried blending a bunch of veggies and then heating it up? Add some herbs and you have a healthy drinkable soup. Great for energy! If it is too thick, you can strain it. You will lose the fiber, which is good for you, but still get lots of nutrients.

A good book about soy and ER+ is "What your doctor may not tell you about breast cancer" by John Lee, MD.

bmdaley, I'll read more about your supplements, although when I wanted to take Aloe my pharmacist was against it. I think he said it was a laxative that your intestines could get use to or something like that. I think I'll give it a try anyway. About GlutAloeMine it contains licorice (degly something) and my gastro told me to stop taking licorice because it would raise my blood pressure. There are other ingredients I'll have to research, nice to hear that someone has found a solution, have a nice day

Rosemary,

I have tried boiling ginger and drinking the liquid and that did not help, crystallized ginger sounds good and delicious,maybe the reason it works is that it is more concentrated than when I boil a piece of ginger . Like you say problem is to stop at one piece, I'll be looking for that in the health food store. Nice to hear your advice

Welga

About the soy I've been reading the same thing for a few years, soy has to be taken over a lifetime in order to be beneficieray, starting at 50 (like I did) is not the way to go.

Rosemary

Always with good advice, been reading you for a few years, boiling ginger was told to me by my onc nurse for nausea to drink it like a thea.I tried the route of juicing it, like you said I hated it, burns to much. My sister was telling me that she used soy for her hotspells and I told her to stop it right away for the reasons you have explained, have a nice day

Welga

Welga - I just saw your post about still being anemic well after your periods ended. I ran into a similar problem. I had a blood transfusion a few years ago b/c of severe anemia. Blood counts were good so we thought my problem was solved. I still had heavy periods b/c of uterine fibroids too. But once I was postmenopausal I thought I would be fine. Turns out, I was again extremely anemic and ended up in the hospital last spring for another transfusion. This time I saw a hemotologist who figured out that the problem was that after the first transfusion, I should have remained on iron supplements even though my blood count was normal. Seems that they also need to check your iron stores. I should have remained on iron until mine were normal. This time she kept me on iron supplements for six months after the transfusion, even though my blood count looked fine to make sure my iron stores got replenished. btw...in order to be able to take the iron supplements, I always take them with food. I also take the polysaccharide-iron complex capsules. They are easier to metabolize and are easier on my system.

ptjean

Well looks like we have the same problems, anemia caused by fibroids, I never tought one should continue the iron pills if blood count is normal, well your doctor either so you are fortunate they finally realized what was happening, I will talk to my doctor about this and let him know what you have told me, will print you message in case I forget some parts and thanks for letting me know about this it's very important and also it keeps me from wandering if the anemia is cause by other causes when it keeps lowering even after menopause,  and the supplements I will see if we have those in Canada, your info was very helpfull, hope you continue to stay anemia free,

Welga