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Erica_Shadiac's avatar
Erica_Shadiac
Member
12 years ago

Reading and Eating

Pre-med for Taxol, Dexamethasone = insomnia. So its the night after treatment and I find myself wide awake and reading, researching. ...and raiding the fridge and pantry! This is where the challenge and conflict can occur. I am finding out about other people's ideas on what is perhaps better for our diet (often just for anyone but specifically for those with, or who have had, cancer). I am finding it hard to change habits of a life time. People say I'm strong but it is hard to stick to changes in diet when you're hungry hungry hungry; it is hard to change a diet when others are cooking for you.  Thankfully the hunger pangs are not all the time and at home I can try to limit what I have in the fridge and pantry that is not so good for me. When catering for others though I stock things things that I am tempted with!! I don't want my guests to have to make drastic changes to their diets necessarily.

So some articles and books I have come across that interested me:

I can't follow any one approach religiously but I am trying to change a few things.

Things I am trying to minimise or eliminate:

  • sugar - obvious, and fruit
  • grains - especially wheat and corn
  • processed foods - read labels constantly but mainly avoid
  • browned foods - trying steaming, baking more

Adding or focusing on:

  • if have fruit then pair (haha) with a protein like nuts - to slow down absorption
  • lemon juice in glass of water lowers blood sugar levels
  • if I do fry - eg veggie stir fry or eggs - I use coconut oil which does not burn when heated like olive oil can but use olive oil for salads
  • use butter more than processed marg
  • atlantic salmon, chicken, some red meat
  • add antioxidants in herbs and spices as much as possible - ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, cayenne, cumin
  • trying to drink tea (no milk or sugar) rather than coffee - never liked tea!
  • almost no alcohol - maybe a glass of wine once a month
  • very little milk products - almond milk on porridge, some cottage cheese

Breakfast

  • eggs + mushrroms, spinach and or tomato
  • plain yoghurt with blueberries
  • plain porridge with almond milk - with maybe  cinnamon, Stevia, ground cashews

Lunch

  • tuna and salad
  • veggie soup
  • cold rolls with raw veggies, tuna or mashed chick peas

Tea

  • fish and lots of veggies
  • meat and 3 veg
  • variations on this.....

Snacks

  • nuts
  • raw veggies with hummus or cottage cheese
  • maybe a piece of fruit

9 Replies

  • Stressmagnet's avatar
    Stressmagnet
    Member
    12 years ago

    Our cancer often grows it's own blood supply. There is hard scientific evidence that an Antiangiogenesis diet can reduce the chance of recurrence/distal mets.

    I try to follow this:

    Eat to Defeat - http://www.eattobeat.org/

    Worthwhile reading; and whilst it's NOT a diet, I try and include as many foods from the list as possible every day.

  • positive3negati's avatar
    positive3negati
    Member
    12 years ago

    I agree, Erica. I'm one of those that believes knowledge is power, although I do understand why some people believe that ignorance is bliss.

  • positive3negati's avatar
    positive3negati
    Member
    12 years ago

    I agree, Annie, although I do find that the Cancer Council information is, as a matter of necessity, very simplified. It's still a useful place for current information. I'd like to see governments take up their recommendations about alcohol labelling!

  • Erica_Shadiac's avatar
    Erica_Shadiac
    Member
    12 years ago
    Thanks for the links, ladies. The more info we can lay our hands on the better off we are when making choices (or more confused)... Personally I like researching.
  • positive3negati's avatar
    positive3negati
    Member
    12 years ago

    http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html

    I found this TED talk very interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's a great guide to some of the foods we can include to help prevent new tumours and potentially fight the tumours we already have.

    Secondly, it explains that everyone has cancer all of the time. It's the ability for those cancer cells to trick the body into treating them as 'normal' and provide them with a blood supply that causes the tumours to form. 

    This shifts my thinking around how to stay healthy, and how to encourage my family to stay healthy.

    I'd also caution against some of the Dr Mercola stuff. Some of it is poorly supported by research and some of it is anti-chemotherapy. 

    I found this very useful when deciding to have chemotherapy:

    http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/chemotherapy-doesnt-work/

  • positive3negati's avatar
    positive3negati
    Member
    12 years ago

    Hi there,

    Some useful searches for you: cancer and omega 3

    Lots of information about the benefits of omega 3 including helping with chemo.

    Cancer and mushrooms: There's a great TED talk by a guy called Paul Stamets about mushrooms and their impact on cancer.

    My oncologist has advised me against any supplements (including mushroom supplements) until after chemo. She tells me that my chemo works by oxidising the cancer cells, so taking anti-oxidant supplements can counter act the chemo! 

    I think it's best to check anything with my doctor because sometimes we think we're doing something healthy and it turns out to be a really bad idea.

    I also recommend googling breast cancer and alcohol. It turns out that just 400ml of wine a night can double our chances of breast cancer. It's a category 1 carcinogen (same as cigarettes) but nobody ever says to a cancer patient "Sure, it's fine to have a couple of cigarettes a night if it makes you feel better." The Cancer Council have a policy on putting the same kind of warnings on alcohol as the warnings on cigarettes. I don't know why this hasn't happened. It seems like common sense to let people know the risks.

    Good luck with everything. I think you're right to focus on diet and everything else about what we put in and on our bodies.

    Every little bit helps.

  • Erica_Shadiac's avatar
    Erica_Shadiac
    Member
    12 years ago

    Deanne, I've also added the link you suggested to Dr Michael Slancar (via Michelle R's post) to my list above. I had heard about the Intermittent Fasting and done some research on it but not retained a link. So I'm glad you pointed this out. There are other articles on his website which will make interesting reading too.

    http://www.slancar.com

    Thanks

    Erica

  • Erica_Shadiac's avatar
    Erica_Shadiac
    Member
    12 years ago

    I agree, Deanne. I believe stress and my not eating well, drinking more and exercising less to cope had a lot to do with my getting cancer - nothing else makes much sense! The timing just seems to point to that. Who knows. It's not what happens to you though but what you do about it! And that's what I'm focused on and you too by the sounds of it.

    You take care too.

    Erica x