Coffee and Tea
 

Someone told me coffee and tea stimulate BC. I do not want to believe since I'm quite addicted to coffee.
Has anyone heard if having coffee or tea is not good for BC patients.

Gift, who will go for Taxoltere and Caboplatin combo in a bit, wish me luck!

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Gift,

I love your screen name. I believe the association is with the caffeine in coffee and tea, which is thought to have estrogenic effects. Here is a link to another thread where Rich66 posted some research: http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...fee#post235360

Herbal teas are best to avoid caffeine, as even decaffinated coffee and tea contains some caffeine.

Best of luck with your treatment,

Hopeful

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

My oncologist told me to limit caffeine so I stick to herbal tea. Mary L

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Gift,
There is no strong evidence suggesting a link between caffeine and breast cancer (but have been some small studies showing possible link warranting further review). Caffeine does appear to impact breast health in regards to fibrocystic breast disease (increased pain, swelling) but studies have not demonstrated a connection with BC risk. However, caffeine certainly impacts many areas of health (blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety, etc). I feel comfortable with patients enjoying a cup of coffee but don't like them drinking it all day. Here are a few studies from PubMed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20680436

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18852405

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Hi, Gift:
There is another issue besides the caffeine. Coffee and tea plants are heavily sprayed with dangerous pesticides in many countries. Therefore, we're drinking pesticides if we are not careful. Whenever possible, try to drink 'organic' or 'fair trade' teas to avoid pesticides.
Lisa
www.pinkkitchen.info

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

We are coffee drinkers.The dietecian said one small cup with diluted milk is OK per day.She approved plain green Tea

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

This could drive you crazy. I certainly have tried to make healthier choices since my diagnosis but I really feel I cant stop enjoying things. I have probably two cups of cofee a day, I love cofee, and then drink green tea probably once a day. When I was first diagnosed I didn't know which way to turn and I was scared to eat anything because of all the warnings, red meats, hormones in food, etc etc. I think we have to be sensible and have our treats in moderation. I still want to have a glass of wine here and there and I dont want to give up my coffee. I also only buy organic free trade coffee.

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

LoisLane,
I couldn't agree more! Thank you! Yes, I think a healthy lifestyle is very important but part of that includes limiting stress.

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

I drink one cup of coffee in the morning and green tea the rest of the day. Green tea is supposed to be good for breast cancer patients. I just bought some organic coffee and will try that next.

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Well, a good buddy of mine made what seems to me to be a very rational comment, "all my cancer survivor acquaintances who switched from coffee to green tea are dead."

It may be anecdotal but it speaks volumes to me. I drink both along with black tea, hedging my bets! LOL!

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Has anyone tried sundried(not machine cured) black organic tea.We got some as a gift from our homestay hosts when I took Hema to Homachal a fortnight back.I wonder whether it has the same properties as gren tea.Its aroma is heavenly

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

According to this abstract, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18183588, there's actually a weak "inverse correlation" between caffeine intake and BC risk in post-menopausal women, meaning caffeine might be good for you if you've experienced menopause. "Moderation in all things. . . ."

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

My understanding is that the estrogenic qualities of coffee are not related to caffeine. So decaf or reg would have the same issue. I saw this first in relation to promoting an existing ER+ breast cancer (at surprisingly low levels) and more recently in prostate cancer, where there is a benefit. Makes sense since prostate cancers, driven by androgens, are sometimes given estrogenic supplements to help fight it. To complicate things, there are some instances in breast cancer tha have been deprived of estrogen can become susceptible to highly estrogenic supplementation..i.e estradiol shots etc. The trick is knowing when the ER+ cells have jumped ship and become vulnerable to estrogen. Who knows. But if you are in the mode of treating the cancer by blocking or reducing circulating estrogen, probably counterproductive to drink coffee.

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Pibikay, how was the sun-dried tea? Sounds yummy. Did you ever get any more info on that?


Lisa
www.pinkkitchen.info

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

I am making Hema stick to green tea.We have'nt tried the other one.Thanks

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

I agree with Laurel. Along those lines- if something as common as caffeine is causing, contributing, or even related to BC- I think we'd have noticed this trend long ago. But everything in moderation, naturally.

On another note, just because something says its organic doesn't mean its free of chemicals that could still cause/contribute to cancer- there are alot of chemicals in nature, just think about animal manure used as fertilizers. To try and live completely organic or free range is going to set us all up for a big disappointment because that generates a false sense of security. Perfectly healthy people, who exercise daily, eat organic food, avoid caffeine can still get cancer.

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

"if something as common as caffeine is causing, contributing, or even related to BC- I think we'd have noticed this trend long ago."

Not too sure about that since it's a clinical trial world. Who's going to fund a randomized caffeine/cancer study? But again, it seems the more concerning issue is estrogens in coffee in relation to ER+ BC..including decaf.

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

Ok, here's the official list of things we can no longer do since BC:

1.Drink Alcohol....bad (probably gave you cancer in the first place).

2. Enjoy Sex....too estrogen deprived to get "charged up."

3. Feel attractive....foobs, foam foobs, weight gain, stiffness, fatigue.

4. Savor Sugar.....(probably gave you BC, but if IT didn't it will feed whatever CTCs remain behind)

5. Chow Down on Red meat, processed meats...(probably gave you cancer, but if they didn't they will definitely cause it to return).

6. Slurp Soda....(sheesh, you know that stuff is loaded with SUGAR, not to mention you can peel paint with the crap!)

7. Wear deodorant....oh, come on, you KNOW it clogs your sweat glands and the aluminum chlorhydrate gave you cancer! Just stink already, will ya? After all considering #2 what does it matter?

8. Splash on perfume, make-up, shampoo, lotion....contain the estrogen mimicking parabens.....yep, you guessed it, vanity (thy name is woman to quote the immortal bard) gave you cancer.

9. Being female, puberty.....estrogen, estrogen, estrogen. Ladies, become men!

10. Wake up to a hot cup of joe....aw, hell, you might as well just stay in bed. Wonder if the sheets can give me cancer....?

11. Drink water.....from the tap: full of contaminates, from the bottle: phalates. To recap, no alcohol, soda, coffee, water, nothing reconstituted with water, leaves what? Milk? Oh no, full of bovine growth hormone! Suggestions anyone????????

12. Have peace of mind........

Re: Coffee and Tea
 

And..no stress ;) C'mon Laurel..become a tea snob. It's good fer ya...and it's slimming too. And it might just get ya..err..charged up. And oh...be grateful that you can take some level of control over inputs..unlike the trip neg gals. (ducks)