My husband bought me a Woman’s Weekly magazine today and it included the following which may be of interest:
“Research from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study showed that ,of those women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and then followed up for 26 months,those who ate around 15g of soya protein per day had a 33% lower risk of breast cancer relapse or death from breast cancer compared to women eating the least amount of soya.”
Sorry I cant do links.Its on page 65 and is in response to a reader’s question.
Hi Horace,
Thanks for that info - I know soya does seem to be controversial, too little is great, too much I think has the opposite effect doesn’t it? Anyway it’s great to have a specified amount that is supposed to be good for one.
Doesn’t soya contain phyto-oestrogens? If so, it’s a no-no for people with hormone sensitive bc surely. My onc says I can take anything to help with the SEs of hormone therapy, except anything that contains phyto-eostrogens.
Here is the whole thing:
“The risk of breast cancer has been linked to women having higher levels of the hormone oestrogen.Because soya products contain the group of nutrients called isoflavones,which have oestrogen-like effects,it’s assumed that soya may up the risk of this cancer.But studies have found that soya isoflavones have no effect on breast-tissue density or breast cell proliferation in humans-markers for increased breast cancer risk.Also,research on both pre-and post menopausal women who eat significant amounts of soya based foods has found no real effect on their oestrogen levels.This means it’s likely that whatever good things soya does for us ,such as lowering cholesterol and possibly easing symptoms of the menopause,are independent of hormone levels.
Research from…”[see earlier post]
Agreed, if your breast cancer is Oestrogen Receptor Positive (ER+) you should avoid rich sources of phytoestrogen such as soya products.
I can’t see any harm in a small amount of soy sauce when making a stir fry (because the overall concentration of phytoestrogen will be low)but I’d avoid large quantities such as you might obtain from tofu dishes.
Remember all fruit and vegetables has some phytoestrogen and therefore we cannot exclude it completely from our diet without losing the benefits of our “five a day” etc.
Because I am lactose intolerant I was worried about soya, I use as a milk replacement. I discussed with BCN, Onc and hospital dietician and the concensus of opinion - after reviewing research etc, was that 3 - 4 servings a week would not be a problem and could be a benefit. I’m Er+ by the way. Still confused but I felt comfortable with the french study, also 3 - 4 servings, that I read and so that’s the way I’m going.
Forgot to say - thanks for the article Horace. x
hi there
prior to being diagnosed i was taking soya capsules, because of symptoms i felt were hormone related. and hey presto i ended up with bc so in my case they didnt help. and my worry as always been did they make it grew quicker. who knows? i just know i am not risking taking them again.x
In 2007 I started having severe menopausal symptoms - the worse one being anxiety. I didn’t want to take hrt so I did some research and changed my diet to include soy isoflavones and phyto oestrogens. I had soya milk, soya desserts, soya bread and I took a supplement containing soy isoflavones. My symptoms improved quite considerably. Just over a year later I was diagnosed with dcis with an oestrogen receptive tumour developing. I don’t have any soya now because I am frightened of having it. Did the phyto oestrogens in my diet cause the bc? Who knows! It is a minefield. Now I just have to put up with the menopausal symptoms.
Love
Maude xx
I gave up dairy about 10 or so years ago due to a slight lactose intolerance, and replaced milk etc with soya. I was then diagnosed with er+ breast cancer in february this year. I asked my consultant about soya & he didn’t think it was a problem. My understanding from things I’ve read (but I am no expert) is that soya supplements specifically for counteracting menopausal symptoms have huge amounts of phyto-oestrogens, many times more concentrated than in soya milk or tofu. You would have to consume vast amounts of them to reach the levels in the tablets. I’ve decided that the amount of phyto-oestrogens in my “normal” diet isn’t going to cause me any problems.
Also, I’ve found out that the way Tamoxifen works is not to stop your production of oestrogen, but to mimic oestrogen & block the oestrogen receptors in your body, therefore I don’t think a small amount of phyto-oestrogen in your diet is going to significantly interfere with that process.
Phili x
Maude
Unlike you, I was on HRT but didn’t have soya and I ended up with ER+ bc as well. Who knows what causes it?
Ann x
From my reading ( Susannah Olivier’s and David Servan Schrieber’s books) on this subject, I am in agreement with what Philidel has said!
Ditto about the Tamoxifen.
Anna x
Hello,
For those trying to avoid dairy and soy, I just want to mention that rice milk and oat milk are two more alternatives. Rice milk is quite watery, but oat milk is quite thick, so it works for me in cooking, over cereal or in a cuppa - especially once it has been refrigerated and shaken. I’ve found the ‘Oatly’ brand at Sainsbury’s and in health shops. It’s also low fat and high fibre. oatly.com
I’ve discovered the rice milk lately - makes a lovely hot chocolate, use coco and no sugar… mmmmm
when i was diagnosed with ER pos BC in 2006 i was advised to increase intake of phyto-oestrogens and considered joining a research study for it.
i think some of it is still inconclusive but thought you might find this leaflet from breakthrough cancer research useful… it was originally published in dec 2008 and reprinted in aug this year and has a very good explantion on page 2 in the section titled HOW MIGHT PHYTO-OESTROGENS REDUCE THE RISK OF BC
breakthrough.org.uk/document.rm?id=1076
hope this is an allowable link mods as from a reputable site.
Lx
Hi Lulu,
It is alarming how we can each be given such different advice. I was diagnosed estrogen and progesterone positive in 2006, but was told the opposite to you - I was told to avoid all types of estrogens including phyto-estrogens. I was told soy is considered ‘protective’ if you don’t have breast cancer, but a potential danger if you do. Bizarre. Thanks for the link, I’ll read the leaflet. But as you say, the situation is still inconclusive.
Buckwheat
I was told the same as you, to avoid oestrogens and phyto-oestrogens.
Love the new photo, Lulu.
Ann x