Herbs That May Increase Breast Cancer Recurrence Risk

The urban legend that there are "estrogenic herbs" or foods that cause breast cancer keeps circulating. Somebody posted a scientific study disproving this on this forum but the myths keep resurfacing.

And test tube studies prove nothing. If what goes on in a test tube counted we would have had a guaranteed cure years ago.

Anyway, thanks for thinking of us.

Hi, Agnes ~ Like thenewme, I couldn't get into the site to read the full article, so I'm wondering if you or someone can tell me (either from that research or other knowledge) what the problem is with alfalfa, a supplement I've used for many years.  I've never heard alfalfa, which draws a variety of micro nutrients from deep in the ground, termed estrogenic, and it seems to me that its inflammation-fighting properties would be especially beneficial to us now.    Deanna     

Thanks, thenewme!  Very interesting!  What's strange is that I recently had an app't. with the integrative specialist @ UCLA, to discuss diet & supplements, and she never questioned alfalfa, which was on my list of the 15 or so supplements I take.  In fact, I just went back and looked, and she'd noted "OK optimal" next to it.  Hmmmm... I'll ask her about it.    Deanna

Well, CRAP, Prettyinpink!  So it was the *shoes* that did me in?  Ack - I always tried to convince my mom to let me go barefoot - see what happens!

A big study just came out on Soy and its safety. You can access it here on this board as it has been proven safe... So I think maybe some of the info on Consumer Labs may be a little outdated. The Eastern diet is high in soy, and it wasn't until they adopted a western diet that there was a significant increase in many types of cancer. Just some "food" for thought!

I wouldn't say Soy has been proven safe by that study.  It involves Chinese women, who ate soy frequently, still got breast cancer, continued to consume soy, and fared as well as the women who didn't consume soy post treatment.  Flaws: 1) The women consumed soy all their lives, and their bodies may have adapted to it 2) The study uses women who consumed soy while at the same time developed breast cancer.  The nature of their breast cancer could be differrent, and the cancer cell's sensitivity to soy could well be different than women who weren't taking soy while their cancers developed.  How can you say soy is safe if you only include women who got cancer while they consumed  a diet high in soy?  I think this Chinese population of women is too unique to compare to North American women.  It's entirely possible that women who consumed soy and got cancer, and continue to consume soy, are very different from women who don't consume much soy, get breast cancer, and start to consume increased levels of soy.  Its apples and oranges.

 That said, I'm not saying I believe soy is detrimental, I'm just saying that we don't have good answers to the fear that it is.

Thanks for the post. Yeah, I was hoping panax ginseng would be something I could take, since energy is a missing link in my armor. Low, low energy. Any suggestions. I have considered spirulina or blue algae (which I think is safe.) Let me know if you have heard anything about these two being unsafe or causing estrogen growth! Went to buy fish oilcaps yesterday and they were loaded with soy!!!???

Michele, Don't pay attention to the urban legends you hear about estrogenic herbs on this board. 

Studies done with test tubes in specific concentrations are NOT equivalent to humans.

Hi Lucy88,

I wonder if you can clarify your statement, "...Don't pay attention to the urban legends you hear about estrogenic herbs on this board.  Studies done with test tubes in specific concentrations are NOT equivalent to humans."

Which urban legends are you referring to?  Are you saying there are no herbs with estrogenic activity that may be harmful to ER+ breast cancer patients? 

I also don't remember any one saying that test tube studies are equivalent to humans.  

If we could all cite our sources when we post (or dispute) specific information, I think it would be so much more helpful for discussion and fact-finding purposes. 

ok...estrogen base foods are not the cause of cancer? As I understand, it only feeds the cancer once you have it. Once your cancer is removed, you are cancer free, and these foods in moderation are ok to eat.

Re: the soy debate... not to sound like a broken record, but in the traditional Chinese diet, not only was the soy not genetically modified, but it was also FERMENTED... not consumed the way it's consumed rampantly in the U.S. Those two factors -- GMO vs. organic/non-GMO, and fermented vs. not fermented -- make ALL the difference.

Just the phytates/anti-nutrients alone in unfermented soy should be enough to tell you to stay away from those types of soy foods -- regardless of its phyto/xenoestrogen status.

Lucy88 and Mollyann,

Two simple questions:

1. What is the "urban legend/myth"  you insist that I'm spreading?

2. Do you have sources to share that might be helpful for this discussion? 

Timothy, this is going to sound like a stupid question but is the soymilk in the supermarket the same as what the Asians consume? What is soy isolate?

Unless you are getting Fermented organically grown soy, like a tempeh or an edamame dish, you are likely to get "Round up Ready" soy.  It is a GMO soy crop designed to be unaffected by excessive applications of a weed killer called Round Up.  Secondly, if you don't metabolize estrogen to more favorable types (the "2" methoxyestradiol) you are more likely to have the pro inflammatory estrogens circulating in your body regardless of whether you avoid estrogenic foods or not, so:

In other words, if you are going to eat soy, make sure it is organic, preferably fermented, and in moderation.

Soy supplements are dangerous.  Recent research show 11 grams/soy per day in milk, tofu etc can help PREVENT recurrence.