Yesterday, a sister left a message in the comment area and asked Mutual Aid Jun: "Can endocrine breast cancer patients eat sesame seeds or sesame oil? After all, it is said that sesame seeds are good for hair and high in nutrition." ”
Source: Mijian
The sister also gave Mutual Aid Jun a link to the literature she saw, as shown below.
Source: Mijian
After verification, Mutual Aid Jun came to the conclusion that it is not authoritative! (there is no specific source for the opinions in the article, and then the only key word in the paper on the relationship between sesame products and breast cancer is that the original conclusion is that the connection between the two is not found).
Will eating sesame seeds affect the efficacy of tamoxifen?
Can patients treated with endocrine drugs still eat sesame seeds happily?
Let's have a good chat today!
01 芝麻与他莫昔芬的"爱恨情仇"
As an anti-estrogen drug, tamoxifen (TAM) was first used in clinical practice in 1971, and in 1978, the US FDA approved it for the treatment of pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer, and has now become the drug of choice for the treatment and prevention of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
Sesame is one of the traditional oil crops in the mainland, and it is also a kind of "medicine and food" food. It is rich in protein, vitamin B, vitamin E and minerals, sesamin, sesamelinin, sesamol, lecithin, sterols, etc. [1], which is rich in nutritional value, so it is often regarded as a good health care product.
Seeing this, not only the sisters will have the wonder of "why does sesame affect the efficacy of tamoxifen", but even the sesame seeds themselves may not help but jump out and say angrily
The water from our well does not interfere with the river water, so why do you slander me for influencing it (tamoxifen)?
Concern about vitamin E: When vitamin E enters the body, it is hydrolyzed into a substance called "tocopherol". Tocopherol promotes the secretion of hormones by the gonads. Especially for women, it can promote the secretion of estrogen and progesterone by the ovaries and promote ovulation of the ovaries in women. In fact, the essence behind it is the role of hormones, and if you are under the action of hormones for a long time, your body is prone to problems.
There is also a 20-year study involving 50,000 people at Brigham and Women's Hospital affiliated to Harvard Medical School, and an article published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2019 showed that the risk of breast cancer, uterine cancer, lung cancer, etc. increased after vitamin E supplementation in patients with certain genotypes.
But is that really the case?
02 Sesame shouted injustice: "I'm no problem at all if I eat it in moderation"
Reason 1: Pick up our tamoxifen drug instructions, which does not say that you can't eat sesame seeds, but only says that "people with fundus diseases are prohibited".
Reason 2: Not talking about the dosage is a hooligan.
Small doses of estrogen and vitamin E are not enough to cause cancer, and they accumulate in fat cells when used in large amounts over a long period of time (vitamin E is fat-soluble). It happens that breast tissue is surrounded by subcutaneous fat, and these two substances can stimulate breast hypertrophic lesions, and in severe cases, breast cancer can be induced.
Questioner
"How much vitamin E is in sesame seeds?"
Professional answers
Ordinary black sesame seeds are about 50.4mg/100g, and the vitamin E content of a health care product is 97.5mg, (it is said that 400mg per day, the course of treatment is more than 1 year, and when used together with estrogen, there is indeed a risk of cancer). If you are using vitamin E cream, then Mutual Aid reminds everyone not to use it for a long time and in large quantities.
Conclusion: Breast cancer patients can eat sesame seeds appropriately, because sesame seeds contain good calcium (aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole and letrozole can lead to bone calcium loss, osteoporosis, and even increase the risk of fracture). In addition, there are two potentials.
1. Inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells
Sesamol and sesamin, as powerful functional active ingredients in sesame seeds, not only have high antioxidant and free radical scavenging abilities, but also have anti-tumor (anti-proliferation) functions [2]. It can have a strong inhibitory effect on breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and other cancer cells, and can reduce the proliferative activity of tumor cells. [3]
2. Prevent chronic diseases and protect the liver
Some effective functional ingredients in sesame seeds can play a good role in the treatment and prevention of some chronic diseases. The active ingredient in sesame seeds has good performance in protecting the liver and controlling and lowering blood pressure. [2]
It can be seen that there is no specific research to prove that eating sesame seeds or how many sesame seeds to eat will affect the efficacy of tamoxifen, and eating sesame seeds appropriately may also be beneficial to health.
Therefore, you don't have to be too entangled in the remarks that eating sesame seeds affects the efficacy of the medicine, eating sesame seeds in moderation is not affected, if you are really worried, of course, you can also try to eat less or not eat.
For those who love to eat sesame seeds, there is no problem in eating them in moderation, and we recommend simple daily healthy recipes [4].
03 Healthy ways to eat sesame seeds
Sesame seeds are actually quite high in fat, so tahini should be eaten less (which is one of the reasons why some sisters can't lose weight after eating salad + sauce).
1. Sesame porridge
50g of black sesame seeds, 100g of rice, fry the black sesame seeds and grind them into minced pieces, stir them into the porridge after the rice is cooked, and eat them after a while. This porridge is suitable for patients with liver and kidney insufficiency, premature graying of hair, hair loss and habitual constipation.
2. Black sesame paste
After the black sesame seeds are fried, they are ground together with the stem rice (measured as needed), and boiled into a paste with water and sugar, which is very suitable for patients with dry stools, and has the effect of nourishing the liver and kidneys and moistening the intestines.
3. Sesame and walnut porridge
20g of black sesame seeds and walnut kernels. The sesame seeds are fried and finely grinded, the walnut kernels are chopped, 100g of japonica rice is taken to cook porridge, when the porridge is cooked until thick, add sesame seeds and walnut kernels to eat together. For those with weakness, dizziness, intestinal dryness and constipation after illness, it can play a role in nourishing the liver and kidneys, moisturizing dryness and laxative.
END
Reminder: When we take endocrine drugs, the real thing to guard against is actually these foods!
Tips: This article is only based on the sharing of disease science, and cannot replace hospital diagnosis and treatment. The opinions are for reference only, please follow the doctor's advice for specific treatment.
Cover image: Finalized design
Editor in charge: Mijian Mutual Aid Jun
Author: Mi Jian
参考文献：[1]汪学德,崔英德,刘兵戈,等.芝麻各成分相关性分析［J］.中国油脂,2015,40( 11) : 99-103．[2]邵家威,祁国栋,张桂香,付建鑫,张炳文.芝麻的营养与功能价值评价研究进展[J].粮油食品科技,2019,27(06):86-92. [3] MAJDALAWIEH A F, MASSRI M, NASRALLAHG K. A comprehensive review on the anti-cancer properties and mechanisms of action of sesamin, a lignan in sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum)[J]. European Journal of Pharmacology, 2017, 815. [4]彭铭泉,彭年东.冬季强身健体的药膳[J].东方药膳,2007(02):28-29. [5]任桂英,王丽,盛秋,等.围绝经期女性骨质疏松症的膳食营养策略 [J].中国妇幼健康研究,2014,25(5):837-840.