I’ve tried to find out more about this myself, but don’t know which articles to trust. The message seems to be that as the phytoestrogens are a lot weaker the oestrogen, so it is OK to eat them. However, I’ve realised that my diet is quite high in them (I think). Lots of pea shoots, nuts, sprouting greenery etc. Does anyone know what ‘enough’ is or ‘too much’…Sound ridiculous but I ate some home grown pea shoots (I love them and its the first time I grew anything - so I ate a whole plateful). Then fell over as I got really dizzy. I’m still taking Anastrozole. Any thoughts?
Annie
Hi Annie,
Sorry you haven’t had any replies as yet, so I have put for you below the link to BCC’s publication regarding BC and diet, hope you find it helpful.
www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/health-wellbeing/diet-breast-cancer-bcc98
Jo, Facilitator
Hi Annie,
The whole diet thing is a minefield, with lots of misleading or conflicting information out there. Phyto-oestrogens are present in all sorts of foods to differing degrees (see for example here Totalityofbeing.com) It tends to be the foods especially high in phyto-osetrogens such as flax, soy and sage that people try to avoid - as you can see from the list soy has unpteen times more phyto-oestrogens than mung bean sprouts or garlic. Also soy finds its way into a lot of foodstuffs including chocolate (soy lecithin) cakes and bread (soy flour), so it is easy to eat a lot of it unawares. I am on Tamoxifen and there is some evidence that soy reduces its effectiveness (since both tamoixfen and phyto-oestrogens try to latch on to the same bit of dodgy cells) so I choose to avoid soy. Anastrazole works differently, so I have no idea how it might interact with phyto-oestrogens.
The only thing I can say, is that my oncology team were very clear that I should not take any herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms… so soy, sage, red clover and black cohosh for example, are all forbidden. All of these supply very high levels of phyto-ostrogens, far more than you would get from a balanced diet with a few pea shoots in it.
At the end of the day, we all have to make choices, and if eating shoots and nuts is going to give you a happier, healthier life overall, then try not to worry about the phyto-oestrogen thing. But if you are worried, I would talk to your oncology team and see what they say.
Hope this helps a teeny bit and does not add to your confusion!
Thank you both. You’re right about a minefield! The trouble is that some ‘new’ foods on the market are not even defined properly as to what they are.
You’re also right about being healthy and happy, but I would rather eat a simple and safe diet - and I’m lucky that food doesn’t bother me, nor the lack of alcohol, coffee or tea. So, I’m VERY fortunate that I can avoid stuff. I avoid soya and all the things you suggest Rev Cat (and good to have a reminder - so thank you), but I am bothered that some foods seem to cause an instant ‘hot flush’ and it makes me wonder if this is due to a surge of oestrogen in the foods…but as you say you can confuse yourself!
Thanks for the advice
Annie