healthy eating

Well said ladies!I think it's because they feel that we will somehow believe that we will be 'cured',and then if it comes back,we will question them.I read so much about healthy eating.I would never reject conventional treatment,but I do believe that eating well,and taking care of your body,gives you the best possible chance at staying on top of things.i.e. Side effects etc.We all know that eating a balanced diet with veggies,fruit,whole grains etc.is healthy eating,but for us,and others,that have had a life threatening illness,I think that we need a bit more!Especially when you read the mountains of information that point toward this as being beneficial I , for one,eat on a daily basis,green veggies,fruit,green tea,whole grains,red berries,almonds.I walk a good distance every day,and I feel pretty good.However,I am doing this only from what I have read,and I often wonder if I could fine tune it even more.We have LGFG workshops,how about Eat Well Feel Well workshops! cheers Robyn xoxo

It would be great to have support from medical circles for those of us who are wanting to do what we can to help ourselves. I am sure that there are many women and men who have had cancer who would feel and think the same. I believe there are some medical facilities in other countries that demonstrate clear benefits in dietary changes for cancer and other chronic diseases. Why is it that the medical establishment in Australia appear to resist exploring these issues? Deanne

I wonder why the medical establishment is so reluctant to recommend we include certain foods in our diet when it seems to me - from what I've read - that there is defiinite scientific evidence that some foods can be helpful in reducing the risk of recurrence or of getting cancer in the first place? I have read books on this issue where long lists of academic studies are cited showing that particular foods show promise in reducing the likihood of cancer. You can find research on the internet into these issues using Google Scholar. Are all these studies rubbish?

I'm not one to put my faith in fanciful or way out alternative ideas but it just seems logical to me that the food we eat plays a huge role in creating the very complex bio-chemical environments that make up our bodies. It also seems logical that there may be certain foods, because of their chemical make-up, that influence that bio-chemical environment in a way that mininises or reduces the risk of cancer.

And yet the medical establishment seems reluctant to ever say anything more specific than eat a balanced diet with lots of vegetables. I don't understand this.

Are medical authorities worried that we will misinterpret more specific information about food?

Do they think we will believe that eating pomegranates or mushrooms or some other individual food will somehow cure our cancer?

Is there a concern that we will reject conventional therapy - chemo, radiation, drugs etc - in place of eating the "right" foods.

Are they worried that we will try to hold them to account if we eat lots of broccoli, drink lots of green tea and still our cancer returns?

While the "eat a balanced diet with lots of vegies" line is safe I find it just a little patronising. It's as though we, the general population of women with breast cancer (and I suppose people with any form of cancer), are too silly to handle any more specific and nuanced information.  I think we are all well informed enough these days to know that cancer is an insidious disease and that whatever you do there are no guarantees. You can have all the conventional treatments and eat mountains of  broccoli, drink litres of green tea and still the bastard can come back. 

I just feel that in dumbing down the message about diet the medical authories may be denying cancer patients potentially helpful information. I'm not having a go at you Annie btw, it's just something that has been playing on my mind for a while now and I wanted to have my say on it. Janet.

 

 

Hi all,

This is Annie from BCNA. We know many women diagnosed with breast cancer are really interested in maintaining a healthy diet, so it's great to see such a lively chat about this topic.

I thought I would jump in and mention that while you may hear about various diets for people diagnosed with cancer, there is no scientific evidence that women diagnosed with breast cancer need to follow a ‘special’ diet or eat particular foods to prevent the cancer returning. It is recommended that women with breast cancer follow the same dietary guidelines that are recommended to all Australian adults.

If you have a question about nutrition after a cancer diagnosis, the Cancer Council can help to clarify things. Their iHeard website (www.iheard.com.au) is dedicated to busting cancer-related myths. People can submit questions, and the Cancer Council will post responses based on the latest good quality evidence. You may find questions about nutrition and breast cancer on the website already, or if not.... why not post the question yourself? I'm sure there are other people out there who are wondering about the same thing.

 

Good luck,

 

~ Annie

I have just started on Arimidex, and have joined their Verve club, they send out a magazine. In the issue that I have just received there is an article Cancer- contesting cuisine, wish I could copy article for everyone, but here is a basic run down copied from the mag.

Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegies.

Carrots contain falcarinol which is a natural pesticide with anti-cancer action.  Eat raw or if cooking boil befor cutting.

Lentils - for their fibre 

Brussel sprouts/cabbage cauliflower and broccoli are cruciferous vegies, shown to protect against bc thanks to compounds called isothiocyanates anti cancer.

Parsley contains apigenin, an antioxidant that has a chemopreventive property, could help in the fight against bc.

Lychee's the juicy translucent pulp is a rich source of flavonoids that research suggest may kill breast cancer cells.

I thought mushrooms were good as well, especially shitake - the American Cancer Society have an article on this to google.

Not sure if you can go to the Arimidex site and look at this magazine which is for breast cancer Welcome issue,  also in the mag are the latest results of ATAC research (Arimidex,Tamoxifen, Alone or Combination), which I did look up (thank you Mr Google) and is worth reading for those who are unsure about taking this drug. 

Viv

 

I had heard that mushrooms were great anti cancer food too.  I hate it when we hear conflicting advice like this.

How do we know what is true?

Julia

Thanks Cathy,

All the evidence I have read and a well known naturopath told me the best thing you can do is have mushrooms they are like a 'bomb' going off. In Japan they actually encourage this with chemotherapy as they apprently enhance immune system. Food for thought. I also found this article interesting.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5000582/Eating-mushrooms-daily-may-cut-breast-cancer-risk-by-two-thirds.html

Jo

Thanks Cathy,

All the evidence I have read and a well known naturopath told me the best thing you can do is have mushrooms they are like a 'bomb' going off. In Japan they actually encourage this with chemotherapy as they apprently enhance immune system. Food for thought. I also found this article interesting.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5000582/Eating-mushrooms-daily-may-cut-breast-cancer-risk-by-two-thirds.html

Jo

Hi Joanne,

According to Ian Gawler the occasional mushroom is okay on his healing diet, but my naturopath said not to eat them at all.  I didn't question why, because I really don't like them anyway!  I think when making dietary choices it is a good idea to be under the supervision of a good naturopath.

Cathy

 

I would also like to know why mushrooms should be avoided as all the info I have found points to them being very helpful. They are a natural aromatose inhibitor so would actually help with estrogen positive cancers. Deanne xx