HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post

rhondalea · 05-26-2012, 07:22 AM

I take enough supplements in a day to make a full meal, but I don't take a multivitamin. Instead, I keep a food diary that tracks all my nutrients, and I only supplement those I'm routinely short on. Everything else I take is a not-vitamin (e.g., fish oil, CLA, ubiquinol, and so on).

I'm supposing you want to avoid soy because it's a phytoestrogen. I think the jury is still out on whether phytoestrogens are safe for women with breast cancer--even to the extent that I was invited to participate in a study that requires taking a soy extract pill daily for a year. (I said "no thanks" rather vehemently.) On the other hand, someone who is really serious about giving up phytoestrogens may have to give up eating. Check out the list in this paragraph:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoes...s#Food_sources

Very discouraging.

I avoid soy mostly because of my stupid, wonky thyroid, but also because I grew up in a farming community and to me, it's just not human food. With that said, I find that fermented soy is useful, so I keep a bottle of tamari in the cabinet by the stove. (The defining attribute of humanity: contradiction.)

As to vitamins, I shop online, and the sites I use make note of possibly adverse ingredients, such as soy. Because I have no food allergies or sensitivities, I mostly ignore these notifications. As near as I can tell, the miniscule amounts of soy used in processing are insufficient to have an effect except on those who are exceptionally sensitive.

I checked a few of the more popular multis just now, and it appears that even if they don't contain soy, they have something similar. I did find a list of soy-free vitamins on the Livestrong website, so perhaps that will help you:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/27...s-with-no-soy/

Kirkman EveryDay Hypoallergenic Multi-Vitamins
Slice of Life Gummy Vitamins for Adults Multi Vitamin + Lycopene from Hero Nutritionals, Inc.
Vitamin Code Liquid Multivitamin Formula

Unfortunately, the last one on the list contains other ingredients that might be phytoestrogenic, but the Kirkman ingredients look good. You can also try googling "hypoallergenic vitamins" to see if there are others available.

05-26-2012, 07:22 AM	#7
rhondalea Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Somerset, NJ Posts: 487	Re: So many vitamins... I take enough supplements in a day to make a full meal, but I don't take a multivitamin. Instead, I keep a food diary that tracks all my nutrients, and I only supplement those I'm routinely short on. Everything else I take is a not-vitamin (e.g., fish oil, CLA, ubiquinol, and so on). I'm supposing you want to avoid soy because it's a phytoestrogen. I think the jury is still out on whether phytoestrogens are safe for women with breast cancer--even to the extent that I was invited to participate in a study that requires taking a soy extract pill daily for a year. (I said "no thanks" rather vehemently.) On the other hand, someone who is really serious about giving up phytoestrogens may have to give up eating. Check out the list in this paragraph: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoes...s#Food_sources Very discouraging. I avoid soy mostly because of my stupid, wonky thyroid, but also because I grew up in a farming community and to me, it's just not human food. With that said, I find that fermented soy is useful, so I keep a bottle of tamari in the cabinet by the stove. (The defining attribute of humanity: contradiction.) As to vitamins, I shop online, and the sites I use make note of possibly adverse ingredients, such as soy. Because I have no food allergies or sensitivities, I mostly ignore these notifications. As near as I can tell, the miniscule amounts of soy used in processing are insufficient to have an effect except on those who are exceptionally sensitive. I checked a few of the more popular multis just now, and it appears that even if they don't contain soy, they have something similar. I did find a list of soy-free vitamins on the Livestrong website, so perhaps that will help you: http://www.livestrong.com/article/27...s-with-no-soy/ Kirkman EveryDay Hypoallergenic Multi-Vitamins Slice of Life Gummy Vitamins for Adults Multi Vitamin + Lycopene from Hero Nutritionals, Inc. Vitamin Code Liquid Multivitamin Formula Unfortunately, the last one on the list contains other ingredients that might be phytoestrogenic, but the Kirkman ingredients look good. You can also try googling "hypoallergenic vitamins" to see if there are others available. __________________ 2/6/09 Core needle biopsy: negative; Mammos through 2010: no change 3/30/11 Pea-sized lump in left breast at site of prior biopsy; mammo negative, sonogram not so much 4/14/11 Core needle biopsy: negative for cancer 5/18/11 Excisional biopsy 1.2 cm tumor, LVI, positive margin; ER+60%,PR+20%,HER2/CEP17 5 6/15/11 BMX: Left DCIS & LH; Right ADH; SNB: 2/3 nodes: 1.4 cm and 1 mm; ALND L1&2: 0/10; Stage IIa, Grade 3 7/14/11 CT/Bone scans NED; MUGA 66% 7/19/11 Biweekly dd AC w/Neulasta; done 8/30/11 9/13/11 Transfusion (Hemoglobin 8.6); MUGA 64% 9/20/11 Start Taxol + Herceptin; Taxol done 12/6/2011; continue Herceptin until 9/4/2012 12/27/11 Radiation - 6 weeks; 2/27/2012 - DONE! Yayyyy! 2/29/12 Start Tamoxifen 20 mg/day; continue until 2/28/17 5/16/12 Start five-years Metformin trial 6/19/12 MUGA 61% 8/21/12 Brain MRI NED (head still hurts, brain still fogged) 9/4/12 Herceptin done! 9/6/12 Port out! 7/11/13 Aricept 5mg for cognitive impairment; increased to 10mg as of 8/23/13; back to 5mg 12/2013 5/2014 Add Namenda 7mg 9/2014 Stop Aricept and Namenda; Neuropsychological evaluation 10/24/14 Start cognitive rehabilitation therapy