What Foods Interact with Tamoxifen?

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  • cheryl_29
    cheryl_29 Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2010

    I was also told that about the grapefruit but I was also told to stay away from anything that is soya base and yam base products as well.

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  • neogirl
    neogirl Member Posts: 269
    edited March 2010

    Does anyone know if I can drink the Turkey Hill green tea that comes in the gallon jugs.  It says on the jug that it contains ginseng and lemon.   And now, it am reading I can't have the ginseng?

    Kathy

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited January 2011

    My oncologist or pharmacist never said anything about grapefruit. I love the ruby red grapefruits that we get at this time of year. I had one last night and have another two to go. I looked at the advice note that I got with my last Rx and although it does mention some drugs to be avoided, there is no mention of any foods.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited January 2011

    sandy--white tea is fine--I don't know of any restrictions for any tea with tamox. I toook tamox for 5 years, never had any problem with pomegranate. Just stayed away from grapefruit and it's juice per my pharmacist (as far as drug interactions go, I always go with the pharmacist recommendations, they always seem to be more knowledgeable than  most doctors!!)

    Anne
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  • zoey1
    zoey1 Member Posts: 42
    edited January 2011

    McKenzie, I've been on Tamoxifen a year. I also experience diziness throughout the day. For me it helps to step outside (especially during the week when I work under florescent lighting) and eat a salty snack like popcorn or almonds. I also started drinking seltzer water which calms my stomach.

    Best to you all,

    Karen 

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  • pinkcandy001
    pinkcandy001 Member Posts: 54
    edited April 2011

    Hi to everyone, 7weeks Tamo.

    I also experienced problems with soya milk, and flaxseed capsules which I was taking twice a day, and after seeing posts on here, eliminated them and am feeling better.  Does take awhile to get into the system, and i didnt get any problems until the 5 week, when all of a sudden I got very dry skin, and felt very depressed .  Decided to drink plenty of water, and the depression only lasted couple of days.  Currenly feeling fab and very energentic, will have to chance my evening tablets to morning as i feel that it could make it harder to sleep at nite. 

    Pinkie

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  • adenacb
    adenacb Member Posts: 89
    edited April 2011

    A new study found that tamoxifen and SSRIs together are not a problem. Also, I wouldn't worry so much about individual foods. I don't think there is strong evidence at all that foods decrease the effectiveness of Tamoxifen.

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  • pinkcandy001
    pinkcandy001 Member Posts: 54
    edited April 2011

    To all: had appointment re problems with tamo, and onco said no soya products at all as they do interact (why they dont tell u these things I dont know). I was drinking (for calcium intake) a carton of soya a day, flaxseed capsules. Came off tamo, and awaiting bloods to go on to another one.

    Pinkie

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  • tgordon3
    tgordon3 Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2011

    How about wine. I enjoy my wine and not sure if it's a problem?

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  • Annicemd
    Annicemd Member Posts: 341
    edited October 2011

    Bump



    Any new threads on food dos and dont's with tamoxifen? Does anyone know if caffeine is a problem??

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited October 2011

    The only food that I'm aware of interacting with Tamoxifen is grapefruit ... even on that one the jury is out. There is no mention of avoiding grapefruit on the drug information sheet. I asked the pharmacist at Costco and he said he'd never heard of an interaction between the two.

    But apart from hearing of avoiding grapefruit here, I found a few comments online...

    There's this CBS article Grapefruit Bad With Some Drugs (which references WebMD).

    However, the current WebMD article on the subject - Grapefruit Juice: Is it Affecting Your Medication? - doesn't list Tamoxifen.

    I also found a blog post from 2009 that said there used to be a grapefruit warning on the drug info sheet prior to that but it was no longer mentioned in 2009. 

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  • Annicemd
    Annicemd Member Posts: 341
    edited October 2011

    Thanks for the update Mary

    Annice

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  • sweatyspice
    sweatyspice Member Posts: 922
    edited October 2011

    I recently asked my onc if I should avoid grapefruit, he said it wasn't a problem. 

    Who knows.

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  • Ahnick
    Ahnick Member Posts: 5
    edited November 2012

    To all,

    pomegranate enhances the effect of tamoxifen according to Pubmed

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21706446

    It is estimated that one in eight women will be affected with cancer during their lives, which means over 1 million women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the year of 2011. Roughly, 70% of breast cancer will be estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α) positive. The presence of ER-α is associated with better prognosis and is able to determine if tumors will respond to the estrogen-blocking/ER-antagonist drug Tamoxifen (TAM). However, a significant fraction of ER-positive tumors respond with minimal or no response to TAM. It is unclear why some breast cancer cells resist TAM and how to make these cells respond. Early evidence suggests Pomegranate fruit extracts (PFEs) exhibit an anticancer effect against some cancers. The objective of the study was to determine whether PFEs may able to enhance/sensitize the TAM's effect in ER-positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells. To test the hypothesis, we determined the effect of PFEs on sensitive and TAM-resistant-MCF-7 cell viability and cell death in the presence or absence of TAM under estrogenic or non-estrogenic culture environment. The present studies demonstrated that PFEs enhance the TAM action in both sensitive and TAM-resistant MCF-7 cells through the inhibition of cell viability (regular or estrogen-induced) by inducing cell-death machinery. Collectively, the results showed for the first time that pomegranate combined with TAM may represent a novel and a powerful approach to enhance and sensitize TAM action.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2012

    Benedryl (not a food, an OTC drug) is also contraindicated with tamoxifen My pharmacist confirmed that grapefruit of any kind (juice or otherwise) is contraindicated.  There's a substance called querecin (sp?) from the peels of citrus fruit that reduces the effect of tamoxifen, so watch putting  that lemon, etc. in your iced teas and other drinks.

    The only SSRI my MO said was acceptable for me to take while on tamoxifen was Effexor; she put me on it to lessen effect of possible hot flashes.  So far so good: they're only mild (I only started having them when I stopped chemo and started tamoxifen--chemo put me into menopause).

    Better safe than sorry.

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  • Annabella58
    Annabella58 Member Posts: 2,466
    edited April 2013

    Hi all, just went thru this extensively with nutritionist and onc and pharmacist...

    Grapefruit juice interferes with lots of stuff...avoid it.

    Pomegranate, extracts, seeds, fruits, juice, seem to be fine, jury still out.  In moderation alcohol perfectly fine.  Dn't have a shot of Jack Daniels for breakfast but two glasses of wine a week AOK w Tamoxifen or arimidex.

    All supplements should be run by onc., avoid the alternative web sites and all things in moderation.  (Not grapefruit juice tho)

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  • ReRe1957
    ReRe1957 Member Posts: 6
    edited August 2013

    I have been taking tamoxifen for nearly 4 yrs!! I have not had any complications except for the famous hot flashes!! I have not had grapefruit but I have been taking GET READY for the long list!!! It must be working bc every 6 months I get a clean bill of health thank The Lord :

    Tamoxifen 20 mg daily

    Blood pressure 50 mg

    Vitamins:

    Clatrate

    D3

    Garlic

    Reservertrol 2x daily

    Coffee bean ". "

    Flaxseed capsules

    Dandelion

    Vit E

    Vit. C

    Cranberry capsule bedtime

    Bee pollen

    Folic acid

    GNC total lean capsules 2x daily

    Alpha lipoic acid

    ChlorOxygen

    Tumeric

    Green tea capsule

    Osteo Bi- flex 2x daily

    B6

    Apple cider vinegar

    BioSil 2x daily taken for hair and skin

    Ocuvite adult 50+

    Milk thistle liver support

    Omega 3-6-9

    CoQ-10

    As I mentioned earlier no grapefruit but I drink 1/2 cup of lime juice water daily

    Hope it continues but I have tons of energy!!! I eat very healthy, exercise(push mow my yard with no self propel and I enjoy a glass of Cabernet and a lite beer.....



    Note: I buy organic in my supplements that come organic!!





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  • mamabee
    mamabee Member Posts: 546
    edited August 2013

    I didn't know about the citrus peel/oil interaction. The substance that's a problem is tangeretin. 

    "Tangeretin is a bioflavonoid found in citrus fruit and some citrus bioflavonoid supplements. Animal studies suggest that high intake of tangeretin reduces the effectiveness of tamoxifen. 1 For this reason, people using tamoxifen should avoid supplements containing tangeretin, and should also probably avoid excessive intake of citrus fruit."

    http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=111810

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  • Janeybw
    Janeybw Member Posts: 199
    edited August 2013

    I started drinking healthy smoothies last year that included Flax Seed meal.  I have seen posts on this site warning against Flax Seed, however, here is the science:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15570004

    Looks like it has actually been helping my Tamoxifen.  This is one of several research articles saying the same thing.  My onc is in the soy is OK in moderation camp.  The estrogen like properties of soy aren't really estrogen.  He tells me that the research is saying that a little soy will help with my hot flashes and not promote tumor growth.  This is soy from diet--not supplements.  Here is the latest from the American Cancer Society (scroll down to the section for survivors):

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/expertvoices/post/2012/08/02/the-bottom-line-on-soy-and-breast-cancer-risk.aspx

    It seems that it is actually protective or neutral.  My approach is that I eat soy when it is presented to me (tofu, edammame), but I do not seek it out or take it as a supplement.  I think going out of your way to avoid it isn't necessary.

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  • juneping
    juneping Member Posts: 1,594
    edited February 2014

    my pharmacist also told me to avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice. she didn't mention all the other stuff you guys mentioned. 

    i am taking resveratrol which is very good for ppl like us, antioxidant and promotes apoptosis in unhealthy cells. i am just baffled that a lot of supplements mentioned are supposedly good for us.

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  • Butter31
    Butter31 Member Posts: 1
    edited November 2014

    Can I take Ginseng with Tamo?

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  • shoppygirl
    shoppygirl Member Posts: 694
    edited November 2014

    I love black licorice and was eating Panda brand natural licorice thinking it was better than twizzlers. This natural licorice actually contains licorice, unlike twizzlers.

    I decided to google it one day to see if there were any health benefits to the natural brand and was shocked to read on several websites that natural licorice mimics estrogen! For someone that is er+, takes Tamoxafin and also had my ovaries removed to avoid estrogen, this was a huge shock ! Needless to say, my supply of it went in the garbage!

    Just thought I would pass this along.

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  • whitedove
    whitedove Member Posts: 292
    edited December 2015

    Does anyone know if Grapefruit Seed Extract is contraindicated with Tamoxifen?


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  • lala1
    lala1 Member Posts: 1,147
    edited January 2016

    Whitedove---I was wondering if you found out anything about the grapefruit seed extract and it's interaction with tamoxifen? It has been suggested that I try something called Citridrops to put in my sinus rinse solution to try to stop this chronic sinus infection I have. One of the components of Citridrops is grapefruit seed extract. I know grapefruit is contraindicated with Tamoxifen but I'm trying to find out if the extract is okay. Could you let me know if you get any information?

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  • whitedove
    whitedove Member Posts: 292
    edited January 2016

    Hello Lala1,

    So far the jury is out. I hope someone who might know something about GSE can help.

    Doing lots of research on the internet and finding that some GSE is comprised of synthetic additives.

    It would be important to buy a certified organic or natural brand. I'll be in touch if I find anything out. I love using GSE for many purposes but will stop if I find that it is contraindicated with Tamoxifen.

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  • whitedove
    whitedove Member Posts: 292
    edited January 2016

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topics...

    So I searched BCO and found THIS contraindicating use of GSE and Tamoxifen. Nice what you can find here on the archives. Hope this helps.

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  • lala1
    lala1 Member Posts: 1,147
    edited January 2016

    Aack!! There goes another possible solution to my sinus issues!! Thanks for the info though!

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  • lala1
    lala1 Member Posts: 1,147
    edited February 2016

    WhiteDove--Just thought I'd let you know that my MO finally got back to me about GSE and Tamoxifen. I had asked if I could use the Citridrops in my nasal saline rinse. He said he was fine with it since it was such a tiny amount and I wasn't swallowing it but just rinsing my nostrils. He's pretty strict about what I take so I decided to listen to him. So far these Citridrops have worked wonders on my sinus issues so I'm happy!!!

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  • ksusan
    ksusan Member Posts: 4,505
    edited February 2016

    I asked my ND about tangeretin. She said the quantities used in flavoring something like a vitamin D pill were minute compared to the amount used in mouse studies. She also commented that mouse and human metabolism differ when it comes to cancer and that mouse models are only poorly predictive of human responses. Her advice was to go light on tangeretin but not to worry about eliminating it.

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  • whitedove
    whitedove Member Posts: 292
    edited October 2016

    Hi Lala1:

    Thanks for the info. I ended up using GSE as well as it is such a great product. FYI, I am stopping my tamoxifen on the advice of my gyn. I am on Year 6. My uterine lining is showing "dangerous" levels of overgrowth. Now I have to get an IUD. We also talked about the possibility of a hysterectomy with ovary and fallopian tube removal (UGH!) if my lining does not improve in 3 months with the Mirena.

    ...It never ends...

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