My Prescatarian Journey So Far

I'm glad to report that I hardly crave meat now. While I was in Australia I only had a small steak and a few "obligatory" omnivore meals. Aside from seafood, I did'nt get thrills from eating meat.

I now enjoy having lighter meals and my metabolism runs faster. A few people said I've lost weight. I feel healthy but there are two health issues which have concerned me since I changed my diet.

(A warning in advance for anyone who knows me outside the online world, this will be TMI.)

Firstly I've noticed my hairline is receding badly. It might be hormone related rather than nutrition. I'm not losing hair faster than usual anywhere else. So I'm getting a blood test to make sure vital levels are in check. Will post the results when I get them.

Secondly I have more benign breast lumps than before. I've always had a fibroadenomata in each breast but I found 2 new ones and had an ultrasound. It detected 5 in one and 2 in the other. One was 2 cm wide which is the biggest I've ever had.

Fibroadenomata are common with Asian women and sometimes shrink or disappear on their own. They are formed with hormonal changes which is why I think the increase in lumps is because of an uptake of soy in my diet. I was eating natto everyday and having soy milk in cereal and coffee.

Soy is high in phytoestrogens, which are plant chemicals that mimic female hormones. I'll quote from here that: "Soy phytoestrogens do have the estrogenic effect of stimulating the growth of breast cancer cells in tissue cultures. Several studies presented at a recent soy symposium showed that soy protein isolates stimulate the growth of normal breast cells much the way that natural estrogens do, and of course this would add to breast cancer risk if progesterone is not present."

Perhaps I'm sensitive to these hormones so I've switched to nut and hemp milk (as I'm lactose intolerant). I've cut down on eating natto from everyday to once a week. Hopefully this will reduce the incidence of breast lumps. I'm not due for another scan until next year but I'll self monitor the lumps in the meantime. Fingers crossed!