Phytoestrogen Foods We Should Avoid?

It is the same with flax - some say it is good, some say it is bad.

I spoke with a Dietician right after I started chemo. She said the jury is really out on a lot of these issues. We were talking specifically about flax - I asked her if it was her, would she eat it. She said no.

I think if you get small amounts in bread or whatever it probably won't hurt, but eating it by the spoonful could just cause harm. Same with Pomegranates - the occasional glass of juice won't hurt, but eating 6 a day might.

Marilyn: Thanks for posting that link.

Since you all are talking about juicing, I have a question- have any of your oncologists said juicing during chemo was OK or not OK? My onc has told me to not take supplements or antioxidants during chemo as it would make the chemo less effective. Would juicing be in the same catagory or not? I already own a juicer that I haven't used for years and I got all excited about using it again when you all were talking about how good you feel. I find it SO hard to know what I should or should not do to have the best chances that the chemo works....

Thanks for the info Jen.  Glad to hear you are feeling so well; especially in your pregnancy.  When is your due date? 

Do you have any smoothie recipes.  Is the wheat grass hard to find in stores?  

I had heard about the grapefruit but had not heard about tangerines.  The list continues.....

The 10 sevings of fruit/veggies a day thing.....is exactly why I started juicing. Its so much easier to get them in this way. I still do eat fruit and veggies whole.

Shanagirl,  I hear you about eating all the food on the list on the phytoestrogen website.  I like how it showed just how much phytoestrogen content was in each food.  There's no way I could cut most of that stuff out of my diet!  What would I eat then??  LOL  

My four year old picked up a bottle of pomegranate/blueberry juice in the grocery store the other day.  I put it back and replaced it with apple juice....sigh.  I guess maybe it would have been okay, huh?   Pomegranate seems to be the latest, greatest fruit and it's showing up everywhere it seems! 

Crystal, OMG, what a turnaround for you!  I'm still that meat, dairy, caffeine, sugar, and alcohol girl that you were prior!  I Love meat, ice cream, coffee, chocolate and wine!  How, how did you do it?   I also love the lentils, veggies, beans and water but just cannot seem to incorporate enough of it into my daily diet.

I find this all so confusing!  Maybe I should look into a nutritionist.  I wonder if insurance would cover that.

Shanagirl,

That sounds really good.  Next time I'll get the juice!  

hi everyone. Ive been reading all the posts and thanks so much for al the information.I had breast cancer 4 years ago...which was treated in Israel where i lived then.Now im living in Canada. I was on Tamoxipen but they recently changed me to arimidex.

Recently ive been having alot of pain in the breast i had the cancer in and am worried.I try and eat so healthy. I make my husband humus as he loves it..with loads of garlic...and i eat plenty of it too. And ive been eating a grapefruit every day in the morning.Now i just googled grapefriut and found out its not good to eat with Arimidex..so now im abit freaked my oestrogen has gone right up again. Im SO confused about what we should eat and what we shouldnt...one place says Phytoestrogen rich foods help against breast cancer and another place says to avoid them.

I follow a very healthy diet, rich in nuts, beans, legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables,  and healthy oils.  I also eat soy products a few times a week and flaxseed several days a week.  All of these items are among the main culprits for phytoestrogen content.   If I were to cut them out, what would be left?  Meats, dairy, sweets, bad carbs.  Meat and dairy, unless bought organic, is full of injected hormones.  For me, it makes more sense to cut out most of the meats and dairy products and keep the phytoestrogens.  I've read good and bad about the phytoestrogens, but more good.   Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cabbage are known to have anti cancer compounds in them, and yet, they show up on the phytoestrogen list.

So we have our own natural ovarian estrogen, the xenoestrogens (those found on pesticides and household chemicals), the phytoestrogens, and tamoxifen (for those of us who are on it), all competing to lock into the estrogen receptor.  From a nutritional conference that I attended, I learned that the xenoestrogens are the bad ones, which will get crowded out by the good phytoestrogens.  Of course, this is all controversial, so it boils down to what makes the most sense to each of us individually.  For me, keeping the phytoestrogens makes the most sense because they are also good for cardiac health, as well as skin, energy, nervous system etc.... 

After reading all the posts about juicing I really, really want to try it.

Also, I thought wheatgrass has estrogenlike properties. Is this true? I can't remember where I read it but I thought I saw it in a few places. I was taking it at least twice a week and when I read that I stopped. 

Rose--I don't believe the doctor went that far as to recommend  phytoestrogens over Tamoxfifen as a preventative medication.

The way I understood her is that it that she believes the clinical trials done with Tamoxfen have clearly shown a significant benefit  in preventing recurrence in ER+ BC. However, sufficiently powered trials have not been done to support this finding with phytoestrogens.

Her way of looking at the question was in the answer to her rhetorical question:  why would you want to take the chance of using a weak estrogen molecule to block the estrogen receptor when you know that a stronger one, i.e. Tamoxifen, will bind more strongly? She made the comment that the phytoestrogens would "just get in the way of the Tamoxifen."

She was most persuasive with this position when she was talking about the ER+ BC patients who are considering or are already taking flaxseed and are also taking an A/I or Tamoxifen.  But once the 5 years are over for the TAM or A/I, then she said there could be a role for pyhtoestrogens as a longer-term CAM therapy.

This, of course is one doctor's opinion, as I understood her to state it.  You, on the other hand, are doing your own research into the question.  And once you are satisfied with the answers you develop, it will be your opinion that matters the most.

Good luck--bird