vitamins and green tea question

Hi! I was reading the posts about the green tea, vitamins and COQ10. I am very confused because I thought tea was one thing I had to avoid. (I used to drink lots of iced tea, but stopped drinking it when I was diagnosed). I was also afraid to take vitamins because I thought it would make the cancer stronger. I think I always ate the wrong foods too. Could you please list the vitamins, tea, etc. that you are taking that you feel are helping you? ( I am taking herceptin and xeloda.) It would be so helpful! Have a great week! God Bless You All! Cathy

Hi Cathy,

How are you? My mom is curretly taking: Zyflamend, Vit D and all B vitamins, drinking green tea. She used to take flax oil but there has been some grey areas if it's good for Her2 cancers. Joe, I know this is a lot of work, but I would love some sort of formal spreadsheet about supplements and natural remedies people are taking. I know Al was working on something. Please let me know if I can help out in any way.

Thanks,
Anne

[StephN]

Hi -
Here is a link to Sloan-Ketterings web site for Herbs and Supplements. It is managed by their Integrative Medicine Services staff. I have found it to be very helpful.

http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm

You are still on chemotherapy, so it is good to take vitamins in moderation, but we do need our minerals and B vitamins. Also Folic Acid.

I read that a person would have to drink about 8 cups of green tea per day to get a good anti-cancer benefit. I stick mainly to other types of herbal and "detox" type teas to cleanse my blood. This helps with my energy level.

Many of us on this board have made dietary changes - the most important is to cut way down on the sugar and junk foods with "empty" calories. Good nutrition is very important for building yourself back up after a round of chemotherapy.

I use that website too. And as Steph says, I've cut out sugar and empty calories.

In regard to flax seed and the controversy about soy, etc. the key question to consider is, what are you eating/drinking instead of those products? For example, are you drinking products that contain animal fat? Especially products that are not organic? If you are, consider that those are not considered safer.

There is also a lot of excitement about the benefits of using olive oil since a major component of it works against cancer and also because they think it has qualities that help Herceptin work.

AlaskaAngel

Hi Everyone,
Green tea is an excellent and proven anti-cancersupplement but is NOT recommended in conjunction with chemo because it is a very powerful anti-oxident.
Anne, the drug matrix is done (Jeff helped me out with it) but I can't recall what happened to it or why it wasn't posted. I'll track it down in the next few days.

Al

Steph.

What kind of herb and detox tea do you take?

Irene

[StephN]

H Irene -
I almost missed your question as this thread has gotten way down the list!

For herbal teas - I use several for various reasons.

Sleepytime or Valerian to help sleep
Senna - for constipation
Chamomile to settle my stomach and calm nerves
Rose hips - high in vitamin C
Flora Breath Support - for allergies and congestion

Everyday Detox - has an organic version with no caffiene.
Longlife Detox - a Chinese version

These are the main ones, but I buy others from time to time.