What to eat to beat breast cancer

[Rebec]

I just read this article:

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

and wanted to ask our members if they heard good things about eating soya products as I remember reading that soya wasn't recommended for breast cancer.

[Hidden]

Fascinating read, I've made many changes to my diet since being diagnosed.

[Hidden]

Hi . I believe in balance and moderation in this area with a heavy dose of choice and remembering to enjoy what you eat and drink too.

Macmillan have healthy eating booklets but I researched diets and decided on the following:

Less red meat (twice a week maximum)

More fish, especially oily fish

More chicken and white meat

One vegetable only meal a week

Porridge with milk, seeds and a spoonful of maple syrup for breakfast

More homemade soups

More water - 2 litres a day minimum

Alcohol- hardly any and then champagne, red wine is meant to be better for the antioxidants but I love bubbles.

Vegetables- I have a handful of kale everyday in a juicer with half banana, coconut water (alpro as plant based), blueberries and mixed seeds for omega 3;it tastes great and I feel like a puritan afterwards!

White rice, white bread, white pasta I have cut out altogether.

Bleached flour mostly in cakes I have almost cut out but still have one on occasions, well I'm not a nun and this is where balance comes in!

Walking 30 mins a day and I increase the pace for 2 sets of 10 minutes within that time.

At the moment I have completed chemotherapy (January) , recovering from total mastectomy with axillary node clearance (February) and waiting on radiotherapy starting as I have Seroma a lot. These changes with my lifestyle are enough right now and the best I can manage.

However I do recommend this book that is written by a doctor who discovered he had a brain tumour during a research study of his own, " anti cancer, a new way of life" by Dr David Servan-Schreiber.

My view is that we can reduce our chances of recurrence but not stop it and it's about changing habits not who you are or becoming a nun. For example, I love chocolate but have changed from milk chocolate to 70% minimum cocoa solids dark chocolate that way I eat less of it too and yes I weaken and eat a cake now and again but so what, it's moderation not banning foods that counts.

My strict area is reducing red meat, takeaways and increased exercise.

I hope this helps.

Emily x

[rhodes]

I was told to avoid any Soya products

[Saralouise]

I was told Soya isn't good for breast cancer because it isn't good for hormones. Xx

[Hidden]

Sorry I meant to include that quality of food is essential so if you can afford organic food, specifically fruit and vegetables in addition to animals that are free range and grass fed then you are onto a good thing, the bonus is they taste better too!

[Rebec in reply to Hidden]

I try to get organic vegetables as much as possible, and the interesting thing is that once I couldn't find organic cucumber and my grandson complained (he had no idea if the cucumber was organic or not) about the cucumber having a strange taste!

[Hidden]

Let's hope the rest of my response was helpful then.....

[Rebec in reply to Hidden]

Yes, thank you. If one reads an article written by a doctor who mentions important things that we should eat like flaxseeds, turmeric, etc, but at the same time, mentions soya products, so how are we to believe anything else he writes?

I know that Japanese women hardly suffer from breast cancer and their diet is based on soya products, but at the same time, I remember eating soya when I needed help with hot flushes! So, I think that the consensus is going definitely to be, no soya for us even if a doctor says we can have it!

[Hidden]

See this link from cancer research UK very helpful: cancerresearchuk.org/about-...

[Rebec in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for sending it. From my own experience, and after reading about cancer in general, I think that stress is the cause of it all. My oncologist told me what not to eat but I blame it all on a big stress that my daughter went through as well, and even more so, and I hope she won't develop later on in life any cancer at all.

The Japanese women start eating (when they move to the States) a lot of beef which is full of growth hormones as are the dairy products we enjoy. In an ideal world, we would live in a stress-free place and eat organically grown food only and the cows won't be neither fed nor injected with neither antibiotics nor growth hormones (neither the other animals that are send to abattoirs for our own consumption).

[Mell in reply to Rebec]

I agree with stress being a cause or major factor. My daughter went through cervical cancer picked up on first smear aged 25 in 2014. Then in 2015 I went through a very nasty divorce and was diagnosed with BC 2 days befor my Absolute. 2 years I'd like to cancel out. However 2016 is seeing my recovery and a grandchild on the way so a much better year to come. Good health to you x

[Rebec in reply to Mell]

Great health to you too! Such great news! Becoming a grandmother is such a joyous occasion! When I became one, I went into town to look for a big, a gigantic badge to say: I'm a granny! Unfortunately, no shop sells anything remotely similar to this. Maybe you'll be luckier and find one when the time comes.

[Mell in reply to Rebec]

Thank you Rebec I will keep a look out!

[Saralouise]

Really interesting, just need to remember it all xx

[lovesradio]

I use soya milk on cereal and eat soya yoghurt as am dairy sensitive, but eat no meat as vegetarian, and not much in the way of processed foods......do not think my breast cancer was 'caused' by anything other than randomn chance and I'm a bit fed up being told it's 'our fault' for one reason or another.

[Rebec in reply to lovesradio]

I don't know who says it's our fault. I continue to be of the opinion that it's due to stress like quite a lot of other health problems. Now, the fact that Japanese women are better protected from breast cancer raises the question of diet also. Don't you think so?

[Hidden]

Diagnosed aged 34, don't smoke, barely drink, never been over weight, very active, drank green tea for years, don't eat a lot of red meat....but I have family history all at young age despite not carrying the genes (had testing), and I keep being told by docs that I was just bloody unlucky...6 years ago I had the contraceptive implant known as implanon inserted into my arm and it caused all sorts of chaos, I turned into the incredible hulk! Surprised I'm still married, lol! Prior to this i'd had different types of pill as didn't get on well with most, I believe my hormone receptive BC was exacerbated by a combination of these things, I had to come off it all years ago as they all made me extremely hormonal, like a stroppy teenager and I'm usually very placid and easy going. I have shared these thoughts with my docs and nobody has ever told me I'm barking up the wrong tree and obviously they can't tell me that is the cause as they have no way of knowing I suppose.

[Rebec in reply to Hidden]

You, of all people, shouldn't have got BC, unless the fact that you "played" with your hormones brought it about.

I would never have agreed to have any implants as contraceptive, but my mother, I heard, used to get injections in those days (although for about two or three years) and she never had any cancer and lived a very long life.

[Hidden]

I have finished my 3rd cancer treatment, all tests ok.

never thought you need to be on a speciall diet !!

Getting stronger every day on a diet of all dairy products,also meat, chips etc.putting on weight at last, out walking and active, drinking plenty of water.l definately would not to be on a diet and worry about what l eat,had enough worry going through all my 3 cancers,2000,2013,2016.amen.x