Diet taboos for breast fibroids

Long-term indiscriminate consumption of high-sugar and high-fat/processed meat products, illegal estrogen-added pseudo-health foods, and long-term alcoholism. The other so-called "taboos" are all individually adjusted items, and there is no need to cut them off across the board.

I just met a 22-year-old girl in the clinic last week. She was just diagnosed with a 1.2cm fibroid. The first thing she said when she entered the door was, "Doctor, can I never drink milk tea and eat fried chicken again?" "I threw away all the soy milk and honey at home yesterday, and I don't even dare to touch the tofu made by my mother." This amused me - this is also the biggest misunderstanding that many people have about the diet for breast fibroids. They always think that the disease is related to hormones, and all foods with "hormone" in them must be rejected.

Take the soy products that everyone is most afraid of. A few years ago, there was indeed a view that the soy isoflavones in soybeans are phytoestrogens and may stimulate the growth of fibroids. This belief has been circulating for too many years, and there are still many marketing accounts using it to gain traffic. However, in recent years, more and more clinical studies have disproven this statement: soy isoflavones are a "smart" two-way regulator. When the estrogen level in the body is high, it will preemptively occupy the estrogen receptors and instead reduce the effect of its own estrogen. ； When estrogen is low, it can fill a gap. People who eat soy products regularly for a long time have about 15% lower risk of benign breast diseases than people who don't eat them at all. The nurse next to me in the same department has two small fibroids. She drank a cup of soy milk every day for five or six years, and the nodules did not grow at all during the review. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable breast swelling and pain every time you drink soy milk, then there is no problem in drinking less. In fact, diet depends on your body's reaction, so there is no need to force it.

The most frequently asked question is whether honey and royal jelly can be eaten? The estrogen content in ordinary honey is so low that it can be ignored. If you drink one or two spoonfuls of it in water every day, that amount will not even affect the hormone level. There is really no need to waste the honey that has been stored at home for half a year just for this. But be careful with royal jelly. It does contain a certain amount of sex hormone activity. If you have hormone dependence problems such as breast fibroids and uterine fibroids, eating large amounts all year round may indeed cause irritation. However, it does not mean that you accidentally took a bite of a snack with royal jelly at a dinner party and you were so scared that you couldn't sleep. If the dose is not enough, talking about toxicity is a hoax.

Oh, by the way, some people ask if chicken can be eaten. Don't listen to the rumors on the Internet that "farmed chickens are all given estrogen to promote growth." It is impossible to take estrogen for regular farmed chicken, and the cost is more expensive than the chicken itself. Just eat it with confidence. What I'm afraid of is that you are eating fried chicken that is thickly coated and fried to a golden color, and you don't leave it every time. That's the real problem.

Let’s talk about the minefields that we really need to pay attention to. First, let’s talk about the issues of high sugar, high fat and processed meat products – the 22-year-old girl just now gained 20 pounds in half a year. She has at least one cup of milk tea every day and cannot live without fried chicken burgers. The fibroids detected this time are larger than during the physical examination half a year ago. 1cm faster. It is not directly caused by fried chicken. It is the aromatization effect of adipose tissue itself, which converts androgens in the body into estrogen. The more fat you have, the greater the amount of conversion. It is equivalent to producing a lot of more estrogen for yourself, which can easily stimulate fibroids. There are also processed meat products such as bacon, sausages, and cured meats. The WHO has long listed them as Class 2A carcinogens. Eating large amounts for a long time is not good for breast health. You should eat less of them regardless of whether you have fibroids or not.

The second thing to absolutely avoid are those estrogen-containing products disguised as food. Many people don’t take them seriously. I once met a 28-year-old girl who bought some "ovary maintenance pills" and "breast enlargement gummies" in an internet celebrity live broadcast room in order to fight aging. After taking it for three months, there was only one 1cm fibroid. After a follow-up check, three new ones appeared, the largest of which was almost 2cm. She sent it for testing and it turned out that estrogen and progesterone were secretly added to the product. This kind of thing is the real invisible killer. The secret pills promoted by beauty salons to "condition your aunt", or the anti-aging and breast enhancement products with unknown ingredients sold by internet celebrities. If your skin improves, your breasts swell, or your aunt suddenly changes your regular routine after taking it for a short period of time, most of them have added hormones. Don't make fun of your breasts.

There is also the problem of long-term alcoholism. Many people do not take it seriously. No matter it is white wine, beer or red wine, as long as there is alcohol, long-term intake will increase the estrogen level in the body. Friends who have fibroids really should not drink every meal. Occasionally, it is okay to have a drink with friends at gatherings. Just don’t treat drinking as a daily routine.

What I usually tell my patients the most is, don’t make dietary taboos like a curse. Even eating a piece of tofu takes half an hour. The anxiety caused by you struggling for that half hour will have a greater negative impact on the breast than eating three pieces of tofu. There are really not so many one-size-fits-all rules. The core is to eat a balanced diet, don’t make up for random things, stay up less late and get less angry, which is much more effective than your taboo food.