Flax and Flaxseed

[jhandley]

Hi Tanya
I am a >8 yr survivor of BC. I was dx stage iv 4 years ago and went immediately into remission with taxol and herceptin. I have been on herceptin ever since. Just wondering if you are aware of the Canadian study which showed that 25 g of flaxseed /day took out 70% of the her 2 receptors. If you search this website under flaxseed it should come up. I am religious about this resesarch taking a muffin a day along with fish oil/flaxseed oil and Q 10.
I am planning to stop herceptin soon after 4 years NED.

jackie (down under)

[Leslie304]

Hi All,
This is all interesting information above. Tanya - why, why, why do oncologists forbid the use of flaxseed then? At Sloan-Kettering it is printed in their nutrition guide to avoid it! I'm torn between following my oncs strict regimen of 'eat whatever I want but no supplements' or sneaking in the things I know to be good for me like flaxseeds and juicing and some supplements like Co-Q10 and Vit C! What do you think?

[TanyaRD]

I am going to do a review of the current literature on flax and see if there is anything new to report. Flax has been controversial in the past, like soy, in regards to breast cancer. However, it is generally allowable in the diet. I often don't recommend flax oil as an omega 3 supplement because omega 3 from fish is better utilized in the body but often recommend ground flax in the diet. I will do the literature review over the next couple of days and report back in an individual thread.

As for green tea I would be curious as to the reason. Sometimes it will be restricted if one is on warfarin (coumadin) because of Vitamin K content (although when brewed is VERY low). There was a recent study demonstrating some decrease effectiveness of Velcade (not typically used in Br. Cancer) in patients drinking green tea. Of course, we often caution patients to avoid high dose antioxidants during chemotherapy or radiation but that which is naturally found in the diet is not generally considered harmful. Every practice is different though as is every individual's situation. It is important to look at everything on a case by case basis. If you feel strongly about doing a particular thing for your health during treatment be sure to keep talking to your health care team and keep asking questions until you feel your question has been adequately answered.

[R.B.]

Hi Tanya welcome.

Flax has been the regular subject of discussion on the main message board, including consideration of the phyto-oestrogenic effects, references to trials etc.

You should be able to find them searching under flax flaxseed etc on the main board.

There are a few dietary threads on the main board including mine on Omega 3 and 6, a thread on vitamin D, Rhondas thread on the Dyer breast cancer diet etc.

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24410&highlight=greek+diet

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=40695&highlight=vitamin

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=26595&highlight=breast+cancer+diet

and many more on a variety of topics.


In respect of flax the main issue raised in BC seems to be the phyto-oestrogens


In general terms according to a flaxseed / BC researcher oil does not contain phyto-oestrogens.

Some argue that the phyto oestrogens are beneficial and other think they pose concerns. The researcher suggested they displaced oestrogen and were beneficial (see posts on main message board)

[StephN]

Again -
Could we get the "flax seed" question and answers into a thread of its own, as it is important to be able to find these subjects in an orderly way.

Thanks for humoring my pet peeve about too many subjects in one thread! http://her2support.org/vbulletin/images/icons/icon12.gif