Diet/nutrition while on Ibrance

[Fiercefighter13]

Does anyone follow a specific diet while on Ibrance? I read on the Mayo Clinic's site that green tea interferes with Ibrance/Letrozole combo. I also read an article in The Scripps Institute's research pages that grains and sugar (from mold toxins that grow on them), and soy (from it's genistein) also interfere with the drug combo. I would love to hear about any dietary ideas anyone has. Thanks!

[JKMS]

I broadly follow an organic vegan keto diet which is not always the easiest and severely limits restaurant choices! I don’t think anyone can say for certainty the impact it has but my main aim is to support my broader health, reduce inflammation and support my gut microbiome which is linked to the immune system of course. One definite impact is that I’m 50 kilos now which I haven’t been since my mid 20s! I do also however drink a fair amount of green tea and without soy I would have no protein in my diet so I eat a high amount of tofu and tempeh. I also take a wide array of supplements which I have run past the pharmacy team and the only interaction they tend to focus on for Letrozole and Lbrance is, as we all know, grapefruit!

[Hidden]

Hi

Thanks for your post interesting food for thought, I’ve not heard reference that green tea has an impact on palbociclib(Ibrance)/letrozole combination ~ do share the links. I do take a EGCG supplement as it’s a great antioxidant and you want to help reduce oxidative stress in your body

I know that you should avoid grapefruit and also Valencia oranges as that accelerates the way your liver breaks the drugs down. I also limit the amount of pomegranate I have when actually taking palbociclib (tend to eat it more in my 2 week break) as also I think that may interact

In terms of food for breast cancer once it has metastasised it it both fat and sugar fuelled. So the advice I have heard fairly consistently is stick to a low GI plant fuelled diet. I also don’t tolerate gluten well but starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, white potatoes quickly convert into glucose and can cause spikes in blood sugar which will help fuel cancer.

As MBC is in part fat fuelled then there has been some suggestion that a ketogenic diet many not be advisable however this is not true for everyone. I’ve actually done a test that tells me about my SNP’s (the kinks in my DNA) so I know that I have a SNP that makes me hyper sensitive to saturated fats so shouldn’t have more than 22g a day so keto is not right for me

I avoid meat and dairy as it makes your body more acidic which cancer cells like, as well as containing a growth factor IGF1 which fuels cancer and also unless it is organic, pasture raised etc it will contain synthetic hormones which will not serve you well

I know from the testing I have done that a pure vegan diet is not right for me so I do eat fish and have eggs and ensure I get a good quality omega 3

Hope that helps

[Beryl71]

I know pomegranate and grapefruit to are to be avoided. I avoid soy as it promotes estrogen. Other than that I try to have a healthy diet with plenty of plant based meals, fish , poultry. I drink plenty of water , herb tea and non caffeine drinks. I have read something about green tea but I think maybe you'd have to drink a lot to affect your meds.My oncologists have never advised anything in particular and they just say a healthy diet but have a few treats you enjoy. There's no point in making life miserable!

There's lots of recipe books out there and I dip into them to try new things but I can't follow slavish diets.

Good luck. Carolynx

[Debbigbang]

Hi

I am on both, now on my forth cycle. I would be careful on what you read or we would all starve and be dehydrated. The only thing I don't drink is grapefruit and due to liver I don't drink alcohol. I have always said, eat, drink anything in moderation. I drink green tea and both bone hot spots are healing. Green tea is good for the immune system. The immune system is your best buddy for fighting cancer cells 😁.

[8576]

Just want to add that Mayo and John Hopkins are great sources for accurate information. Also your National Cancer center. If it is happening they know about it. Of course your own oncologist is good as they know your personal cancer situation the best. Hope this helps.

Cheers, June S.

[debbiedo2063]

. During lockdown when I was diagnosed my local farm shop in the dales was open and I started shopping there. Njoy the food so much I kept on. I make nutritious meals from organic veg and meat from the farm and create things out of what they have in each week. It’s a small family farm, sell their own meat slaughtered on the farm and they also sell their own honey and eggs. I eat a lot of manuka honey on my week off Ibrance and also a lot of their home grown shiitake mushrooms. I use their dairy products too in moderation.I’ve lost 1.5 stones since diagnosis as I don’t buy the supermarket extras and tbh it does not cost me much more as I was buy what I need. I eat no low fat products just love the farm yogurt, butter and milk etc.

In addition I eat a selection of organic nuts each day as snacks.

My daughter is a dietician, and she lives South in England , I’m on North East coast but we enjoy making recipes up etc. Her advice was listen to oncology don’t take unnecessary supplements just use good organic ingredients and an occasional treat if you want it.

After 10 months my mets have shrunk a bit, oncologist happy so now on 6 month scans.Next one Feb 22.

I think the lifestyle makes me feel healthier and the weight loss is good too . I don’t drink alcohol but I would have a glass of organic wine if I fancied one just haven’t since going on Ibrance.

I drink lots of tea and water each day.

Debra xxx😍

[Fiercefighter13]

Hi everyone, I made a mistake in my comment of green tea, it is not Mayo Clinic, but Memorial Sloan Kettering that has the link for interactions with Ibrance. Here is the link, once in it, click on interactions, and Palbociclib is listed. mskcc.org/cancer-care/integ... Additionally, here is an article relating to the Scripps study that should give us all some hope and relief about consuming Soy and grains. inspire.com/groups/advanced... I see many people on vegan and vegetarian diets, who use soy and are doing fine on the Ibrance/Letrozole combo, so it's hard to make sense of what these studies really mean. The bottom line, the more I dig, the more information I get, the more confusing it all gets. In the end, I LOVE THIS FORUM, AND I THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSES!! The real life information being shared here gives me more hope and helpful real life information to take action on than an studies I have dug up! Cheers to everyone, take good care, and let's all keep on fighting ahead for health and life!!

[Garden-Lady in reply to Fiercefighter13]

I eat a Blue Zones diet. Joyful and healthy. It's what helps people grow old healthily and live long lives. Check it out on Google. What I love is it makes me happy.

[LadyKatarina]

Please know that ALL CELLS including cancer cells are fueled by glucose. If you stop taking in glucose or fat, or other carbs, the body will just convert them to glucose because that is what all cells need. The cancer cells just use nutrients faster--because they grow faster. Search any reliable cancer site for more information. Best to all!

[ANNIE6449]

If you read the MSK article very carefully it says "The bioavailability of Palbociclib decreased following administration of green tea extract in a murine model (79). Clinical relevance has yet to be determined." Supplements & extracts usually effect the body very differently than if you ingest them as food. Drinking a cup of green tea contains so much less of the ECGC they are referring to I doubt it would have the same effect as taking the highly concentrated extract! ECGCs are also in black tea, many berries, kiwis, etc. You have to be much more careful with non-natural forms of nutrients than with just ingesting the food bc the human body is probably not used to that amount/strength/form of the nutrient!

[ANNIE6449]

Also - newer studies on soy are showing a protective effect against breast cancer, according to one of my oncological surgeons and my Integrative GP. But soy should be ORGANIC & FERMENTED (tempeh/natto). Be careful of American soy products as they tend to be significantly lower in quality and very unhealthy! For example - soy milk is NOT particularly healthy!

[Fiercefighter13 in reply to ANNIE6449]

Excellent information! I only use organic almond milk, as I avoided soy due to that article. I wonder if all soy sold in the US is American grown? Miso soup was my favorite soup and have missed having it. It would be so wonderful to be able to enjoy it again.

[sevoia in reply to Fiercefighter13]

Miso master makes organic miso. I met the owners of the company and the lived in Japan for a year learning how to make it

[KatyAnn]

I just try to eat less of all foods and drink more water. Stage 4 de novo. 70 yrs old. Tumor hidden unseen from mammograms found from an MRI for a pinched nerve.