e ones with lower saturated fats, such as lower fat dairy products such as skimmed milk, low-fat yoghurts, low-fat feta cheese, and leaner meats such as chicken and turkey.
Soy and foods that contain phytoestrogens
Soy foods such as soy milk and tofu contain natural compounds called phytoestrogens. Foods such as chickpeas and linseeds also contain phytoestrogens.
Phytoestrogens have a chemical structure that is similar to the female hormone oestrogen. As the hormone oestrogen can stimulate some breast cancers to grow, some people worry whether foods or supplements containing phytoestrogens might have the same effect as oestrogen and increase the risk of recurrence.
Current evidence suggests that a diet containing naturally occurring phytoestrogens is safe if you’ve had breast cancer and may be beneficial.
Phytoestrogens are also found in supplements including:
- black cohosh
- red clover
These are sometimes taken to relieve hot flushes and other menopausal symptoms. However, these are not recommended because the evidence on their effectiveness and safety is limited and conflicting.
Some people choose to eat organic foods as a way of reducing pesticides in their diet. However, no association has been found between eating an organic diet (before or after diagnosis) and the risk of breast cancer recurrence.
The term ‘superfood’ has been used to describe foods that are apparently beneficial for preventing or treating a range of health conditions. ‘Superfoods’ include:
- green tea
There is no evidence that any single food can reduce the risk of breast cancer developing or coming back in someone who has been diagnosed. The EU has banned food companies from making these health claims on their packaging unless they are supported by scientific evidence.
Find out more about diet and breast cancer.
Some people who have had breast cancer consider following a special diet. This may be because they believe it could reduce the risk of recurrence. These include:
- The Bristol Whole Life Approach to healthy eating
- dairy-free diet
- macrobiotic diet
- overnight fasting
These diets often encourage eating or avoiding certain types of food. There’s no conclusive evidence to show that they reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence.
Special diets can often be very restricting, expensive and can sometimes lead to a lack of nutrients. This may result in other conditions such as anaemia (too few red blood cells in the body), or bone conditions such as osteopenia or osteoporosis.
If you’re thinking about changing your diet or want to find out more about different diets, you may find it helpful to talk to your specialist team or a dietitian.
You may hear about some of the diets below.
The Bristol Whole Life Approach to healthy eating is a set of dietary guidelines for people living with and beyond cancer. The guidelines mainly focus on eating foods that are in their natural state and have not been altered. For example, they suggest:
- eating wholegrain brown rice instead of refined white rice
- including a range of different colour vegetables and fruit in your diet
- animal products permitted only in small amounts
The Bristol Whole Life Approach to healthy eating aims to help people eat healthily and cope better with the physical and emotional impact of cancer. However, there is no evidence that following these recommendations will reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence.
The recommendations were developed by Penny Brohn UK.
Some people with breast cancer are concerned about eating dairy foods and believe that following a dairy-free diet will reduce their risk of recurrence.
In a dairy-free diet, dairy foods are avoided altogether and are replaced with non-dairy alternatives such as soy products, and almond and rice milks.
There’s no conclusive evidence that following a dairy-free diet will reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. As dairy foods are one of the main sources of calcium it’s still important to include non-dairy foods that contain the calcium the body needs. Find out what foods are high in calcium.
A macrobiotic diet is hig