Tamoxifen in the news

In the Science Times today, Tara Parker-Pope tries to make the case that women are being illogical in not taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer.

I'm a scientist and the conclusion I draw from Ms. Parker-Pope's data differs from hers. Is it really logical to take a drug that when given to 100 high risk women, will lower the number of breast cancer cases from 1.9 to 1.0, but cause 8.5 additional cases of endometrial cancer, blood clots, cataracts, and sexual problems and 12 additional cases of hot flashes and irregular periods?

Are women really being illogical when they are willing to take birth control pills, but not tamoxifen? If the same 100 women were sexually active and not using birth control, 85 of them would become pregnant. Birth control pills would reduce this number to 1 to 8. If the pill were as ineffective as tamoxifen, women would be in big trouble.

Ignore the rumors- soy is a great food

Because the Japanese traditionally eat soy products and have low rates of breast cancer along with generally good health, we think that soy is probably a good thing. Tofu, edamame, and soymilk have all withstood the test of time.

If you like to engage in ‘nutritionism’, evaluating food on the basis of known nutrients (from Michael Pollan), you might base soy’s benefits on it being rich in protein, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium potassium, B vitamins, and healthy omega-3 fat.

Why have people heard that soy might not be great? Some people are allergic, some are intolerant, some abused it by eating it 6 times a day, but you could say the same of whole wheat. Don’t become obsessive about any one food.

Next time you order a cappuccino, try it with soymilk. Instead of letting milk’s evil saturated fat clog your arteries, you’ll be lowering your cholesterol with soy’s healthy unsaturated fats and plant sterols. Yeah, I know the taste is an acquired one.

Did you know that you need some sunlight?

I hate seeing people completely covered up so that no sunlight touches their skin. Sure, that may reduce the risk of some skin cancers, but it will also increase the risk of vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis, and probably breast cancer.

As with all things nutritional, moderation is the key- you need about 15 minutes of sunlight per day on your arms and legs (more if your skin is dark) in order to make vitamin D. Don't fool yourself that the tiny bit of vitamin D added to milk is enough- spend some time in the sun and your body will make hundreds of times as much as is added to a cup of milk.

Probably because we all spend so much more time blogging than sun bathing, recent studies have found low vitamin D levels in well over half of the people they test, including kids in Georgia and the northeastern U.S.