When you’ve got estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, you need to try to reduce your exposure to this hormone. This is no easy task, as estrogens are found everywhere, in the environment as well as foods. I wrote about this in some detail in a previous post titled “Beware Hidden Estrogen”.

There was a time when I decided to follow the Budwig Protocol, an alternative cancer program characterised by the consumption of large quantities of flaxseed oil, flaxseeds and quark or cottage cheese daily. To my horror, during the 14 months that I was on the program, tumors grew on my chest and bled profusely. One day, I discovered that flaxseed is a rich source of estrogen, as are dairy foods. I also found out that flaxseed is a blood-thinner, which is a big problem when you have bleeding wounds or tumors. I stopped consuming flaxseed in all its forms, as well as cottage cheese. That particular combination obviously did not suit my body. Reluctantly, I also started on a course of Tamoxifen, and my condition began to improve.

People who tell you that you can eat whatever you want are morons. What you eat and drink definitely affects your health. Numerous studies have proven this. If you have estrogen dominant breast cancer, familiarise yourself with the phytoestrogens – the natural estrogens found in plant foods – which mimic the action of estrogen in the human body. Phytoestrogens are a weak form of estrogen, and can be helpful in filling estrogen receptor sites on cancer cells, preventing dangerous estrogens like estradiol from occupying those sites. In my experience, however, large amounts of flaxseed oil combined  daily with cottage cheese actually fed the breast cancer and caused it to spread. Perhaps the real culprit was the cottage cheese, a dairy product. Why knows? Dairy products are known to cause many health problems.

These are some foods high in estrogen (this list includes some animal sources as well, so go easy with those):

Alfalfa
Animal flesh
Anise seed
Apples
Baker’s yeast
Barley
Beets
Carrots
Cherries
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Clover
Cowpeas (black- eyed peas)
Cucumbers
Dairy Foods
Dates
Eggs
Eggplant (aubergines)
Fennel
Flaxseeds
Garlic
Hops
Licorice
Oats
Olive oil
Olives
Papaya
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Plums
Pomegranates
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Red beans
Red clover
Rhubarb
Rice (relatively high)
Sage
Sesame seeds
Soybean sprouts
Soybeans
Split peas
Sunflower seeds
Tomatoes
Wheat
Yams

There are also food sources which inhibit or block estrogen:

Berries
Broccoli
Buckwheat
Cabbage
Citrus Foods
Corn
Figs
Fruits (except apples, cherries, dates, pomegranates)
Grapes
Green beans
Melons
Millet
Onions
Pears
Pineapples
Squashes
Tapioca
White rice
White flour

If you’re wondering why white rice and white flour are listed as estrogen blockers, apparently it’s because they coat and stick to the villi of the duodenum, blocking the absorption of estrogens in the food. I learn something new everyday.