Menu

Vegetarian diet help

by Jenna
(NM)

Let me start by saying thank you so much for all your help over the last few months.

Now, I have a question about diet. I'm a vegetarian and am finding it difficult and confusing to find sources of protein that aren't estrogenic. I can only eat so many eggs! I was in love with quinoa, but then read that it might have estrogenizing effects. I've also read that if it's soaked overnight before cooking, it really limits the estrogen effects. Is this true?

Since I'm still having some estrogen dominance symptoms (this is my fourth month on progesterall at 300mg/day), I'm really looking into my diet for estrogen culprits. I do eat a lot of typical vegetarian sources of protein like beans, which I am now finding out can be estrogenizing. Does it help to soak these too?

I try to eat as much raw vegetables as I can every day, but going on a completely raw diet just isn't feasible at this time. I would appreciate any help with this, especially on where to find sources of good protein. Is whey protein a viable option?

Thank you!

Comments for Vegetarian diet help

Click here to add your own comments

Feb 21, 2012
 Vegetarian diet help
by: Wray

Hi Jenna I'm not sure how I've helped you, but I'm pleased you think I have! I don't know if you saw my reply to your orgasm page, see here. And another page you started here, where you asked me about migraines and diarrhoea? Unfortunately there isn't a food that doesn't contain phytoestrogens, they are even found in meat. The following are some foods which contain phytoestrogens.......
nuts and oilseeds including flax seed, sesame seeds
grains ie wheat, oats, barley, rice, wheat germ, rice bran, including breads and cereals
legumes contain the highest amount, ie soybeans and all soy products such as tofu, miso, tempeh and soy milk. Also lentils, alfalfa, mung beans, fenugreek, peanut, chick pea, kudzu, lupine, broad bean, red clover and all sprouts made with them
yams
ginseng
hops and beer
fennel, caraway and anise etc
Oestrogen, the phytoestrogens, and many oestrogen mimics, have a triple bonded or phenolic A-ring. But the phytosterols don't have the triple bonded A-ring, one reason labs use the phytosterols to make progesterone from. Due to their similarity to an oestrogen molecule, phytoestrogens are able to bind to oestrogen receptors.
The USDA Food Composition site is an excellent resource, see here. It's best to get the full report. It doesn't list any phytoestrogens in soy oil, only the phytosterols stigmasterol, campesterol and beta-sitosterol. The following paper lists in descending order the phytoestrogen content of foods, with nuts and oilseeds having the highest content, see here. Another full paper lists flaxseed, pumpkinseed and rapeseed oils as containing phytoestrogens, but they didn't analyse soy oil. But it's highly likely it contains some if the above oils do, see here. Unfortunately the abstract doesn't show the list. But this paper here gives a comprehensive list. Phytoestrogens are impossible to avoid, even in animal products, see here. Continued below.
Feb 21, 2012
 Vegetarian diet help Part 2
by: Wray

Hi Jenna Even olive oil contains lignans, see here. Another on lignans is here. Although these are regarded as potent antioxidants, they are still phenolic substances. Coconuts have the lowest level of phytoestrogen content of all nuts, but they still contain some, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid. Although I'm against soy in particular, see here, all legumes contain high levels of phytoestrogens, plus trypsin inhibitors, phytates and goitrogens, see here. Grains are just as bad, see here. I'm not convinced by the favourable studies, as there are just as many unfavourable, see this one here. One of the most potent oestrogen mimics is zearalenone, produced by some moulds such as Giberella and Fusarium. Zearalenone is a mycotoxin causing infertility and abortion in animals, especially pigs. It is heat-stable and found worldwide in grains such as maize, barley, oats, wheat, rice, sorghum and bread. All of which we eat too, it's not just animal food. So where does one draw the line? To my mind the only safe vegetarian diet is raw food, as veggie juices are consumed which have the highest content of nutrients of any food. They are also low in sugars, which the grains and legumes aren't. We do have a link to two good sites on our Nutrition page. Axiom Foods produce an organic rice protein powder. They also do other protein powders. You said you were getting a vitamin D test done, I do hope you've increased the amount you were taking. Something you could consider taking is Calcium D-glucarate. Oestrogen is metabolised in the liver by glucuronic acid, the process is known as glucuronidation. Continued below.
Feb 21, 2012
 Vegetarian diet help Part 3
by: Wray

Hi Jenna Glucuronidation is one of the major detoxification pathways of the liver. It removes carcinogens, toxins, tumour promoters, the sex hormones ie, the androgens and oestrogens, mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids, aromatic and heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, various nitrosamines, drugs, fungi etc. It's then excreted in the bile, but an enzyme in the intestine called beta-glucuronidase reverses the glucuronidation process. It breaks the glucoronide bond between a toxin and glucuronic acid, and releases carcinogens, toxins and excess steroid hormones back into circulation. There's evidence beta-glucuronidase activity is increased in breast and prostate cancer. Calcium D-glucarate inhibits beta-glucuronidase, see here, here, here and here. Incidentally this enzyme is produced by undesirable gut bacteria, supplementing with probiotics suppresses the bacteria, and subsequently the beta-glucuronidase. Take care Wray

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Progesterone faq.

Share this page:
Find this page helpful? Please tell others. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Search over 8,400 pages on this site...