eating healthy

• By barbaray
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 8:17 am
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Diane,

A friend just gave me "Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life." Author: David Servan-schreiber, M.D., Ph.D.

It has interesting information including clear, simple discussion of the anti-cancer foods--even including color pictures. It's very clear about what to eat and what not to eat.

Other chapters include The Anti-Cancer Mind (fascinating), The Anti-Cancer Body, Lessons of a Relapse, Learning to Change, and more.

The author, a physician, had cancer and cancer surgery (brain) a few years ago, and after one relapse, decided to work on overcoming the disease.

I hope you have a chance to get the book and dive in. I learned a lot while I enjoyed the reading.

Good luck,

Barbara

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• By magazine2
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 8:41 am
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thank you so much for the advice. I will have my daughter order it for me. She always is sending me new things on cancer including the one on the crazy sexy cancer , the books and the dvd... It was quite interesting. The poor girl in there went from eating grass to etc... so you can see why I get confused.

Thanks again and did you try any of his advice.??

diane

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• By texaszan
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 9:22 am
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There is every kind of crazy diet imaginable for cancer but when I do a google search I always include the word "study". That way you get actual research and not just the opinion of someone trying to sell you something. Here's an easy diet backed by research.

http://lungcancer.about.com/od/preventinglungcance1/a/dietprev.htm

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• By barbaray
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 10:11 am
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Diane,

Isn't this site great? Never know who or what will turn up and be interesting.

I'm so happy to find someone who's a bit "older," as we say. I'm 79 myself.
Tell me about the "crazy sexy cancer" book, because I might want to read it.

As to the advice in the book I told you about: I just got it two days ago and have been reading and reading.

Luckily, I already pretty well eat and drink an anti-cancer diet--I practically live on the Diet Green Tea (iced) made by Turkey Hill which comes in a jug and which most supermarkets around here carry. (Green Tea is highly recommended.)

The stuff is delicious and makes you feel good--at least the cold kind I drink does. It's barely sweetened with a tiny bit of honey and aspartame. The book prefers unsweetened, but I figure the bit of sweetening in the Turkey Hill stuff won't kill me. Maybe stores in your area carry it?

My downfall is good cheese. Got to cut down on that.

Back to the recommended food plan (other than the tea): I stopped eating salt quite a while ago, so no problem there. Sometimes I eat dark chocolate, which you may be glad to know is recommended. (But not other sweets like cake and cookies and ice cream.)

At first I didn't like dark chocolate, but now I do, and it relieves the craving for sweets.

I almost completely stopped eating meat quite a while ago, because I totally lost my taste for it. I don't miss it. I cook up a giant vat of (meatless) veggie chili now and then, and that's delicious.

I make good soup a lot using the recipes in the "Moosewood" cookbook or the other two cookbooks by the same author (whose name I've forgotten.)

My problem is exercise, more than diet. I've got various ailments that make it very painful to walk, so I don't walk, and that's probably the best exercise next to swimming. I need to go back to swimming, but I avoid the slight hassle involved..

I take it you live alone, and that you're planning to go back to work? Good for you! I retired at your age. I'll try to be in touch with my e-mail address. Meantime, every good wish--

Barbara

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• By Mach1
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 5:56 pm
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Hello - I can also recommend a book by Patrick Quillin called Beating Cancer with Nutrition. Got mine from Whole Foods Market. There were also some great posts about nutrition as replies to a post from susanL1 about a week or so ago. I was also confused about nutrition, so about a year ago I went to a trained nutitionist for help and I have never regretted doing that. The key thing is to find a nutritionist (as opposed to a dietician) who has specific experience of working with cancer patients. My best buy was a Vitamix (get the reconditioned one, they are really brand new ones that have been returned, but all are a bit pricey. Check website for details) It is a blender, but not like any other I have owned and it cleans up in a snap. I like juicers but they can be a pain to clean, especially if you juice more than once per day. Best, J. Mac.

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• By magazine2
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 8:08 pm
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Hi, well the book is called crazysexy , one says cancer tips and the other one says cancer survivor and then their is the dvd... same name and Kris Carr is the author and she was also on oprah show about this. I am still reading the books, the tape was her life taped over the last 3 or 4 years of her life from the time of her diagnsosis to now. send me your email, so we can correspond , would love to know your cancer diet. I am such a sweet freak and have to break that habbit.

diane

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• By SHERRYLAC
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 8:18 pm
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I would like to share a website that I just love. I do not have cancer and I cannot say I have been a healthy eater as I took care of my mom but not myself. I hope it is as informational to others as it has been to me.

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/ME2/Default.asp

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• By magazine2
• Posted January 5, 2009 at 8:58 pm
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Thanks I will check out everything, its still hard to decide which way to go. There are j ust so many choices....

Life sure does change when getting cancer.

diane

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• By Lindonna
• Posted January 6, 2009 at 7:34 am
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Hi,

This is an article by a nutritionist named Mike Adams. Hope it's useful. BTW my father is 65, diagnosed with Stage IV Small Cell Lung Cancer in April 2008.

Food & Cancer
By Mike Adams

Ever wonder which foods should be strongly avoided because they can cause cancer? We can begin identifying cancer-causing foods once we know which ingredients in our food cause cancer. Some of those ingredients are food additives and chemicals used to enhance taste, while others are used strictly for appearance or to increase product shelf life. The key to avoiding cancer-causing foods is knowing which ingredients are carcinogens -- or cancer promoters -- and then reading food labels to permanently avoid consuming those ingredients.

Cancer develops, in part, by feeding on sugar in the bloodstream. If you eat lots of sugary snacks loaded with simple carbohydrates, you're loading your bloodstream with the chemical energy needed for cancer cells (and tumors) to proliferate. No biological system can live without fuel for its chemical processes, including cancer cells. Thus, one of the strategies to pursue for any anti-cancer diet is to eat low-glycemic diet. That means no refined sugars ... ever! No refined grains (white flour, for example), no heavy use of sweeteners and the lifetime avoidance of sugary soda pop. Aside from starving tumors, eating foods low in sugar and avoiding simple carbohydrate will also keep your weight in check while helping prevent type-2 diabetes.

What to avoid on the labels: high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, sucrose, enriched bleached flour, white rice, white pastas, white breads and other "white" foods.
The dangers of hydrogenated oils
Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils -- another danger -- are developed from otherwise harmless, natural elements. To make them hydrogenated, oils are heated in the presence of hydrogen and metal catalysts. This process helps prolong shelf life but simultaneously creates trans fats, which only have to be disclosed on the label if the food contains more than 0.5 grams per serving. To avoid listing trans fats, or to claim "trans fat free" on their label, food manufacturers simply adjust the serving size until the trans fat content falls under 0.5 grams per serving. This is how you get modern food labels with serving sizes that essentially equate to a single bite of food. Not exactly a "serving" of food, is it?

Besides being a cancer factor, trans fats promote heart disease, interrupt metabolic processes, and cause belly fat that crowd the organs and strain the heart. The essential fatty acids that the hydrogenation process removes are responsible for a number of processes in your body. When trans fats replace these essential fatty acids, they occupy the same space without doing the same job. The "anchor" portion of the fatty acid is in place (which is how the body recognizes the fatty acid and puts it to work) but the chemically active part of the fatty acid is twisted, distorted, and missing vital parts.

After the hydrogenation process, the fatty acid can't function in the same way. Things like brain cell function, hormones, gland function, oxygen transport, cell wall function (keeping things in or out of your cells) and digestive tract operation (putting together nutrients and blocking allergens) are adversely affected.

Food manufacturers don't tell you this on the product label, of course. Your body needs essential fatty acids and you are programmed to keep eating until you get them. If you're only eating trans fats, you'll never feel fully satiated, because your body will never get the fatty acids it needs for essential function. Since cancer needs high blood sugar and low oxygen levels, a person with lots of belly fat who just can't seem to put down those trans fat cookies or crackers (also loaded with flour and simple sugars) presents the ideal environment for the development of cancer.

The acrylamide factor
Since trans fats are often formed during the frying process, we should also talk about acrylamides. Acrylamides are not added into food; they are created during the frying process. When starchy foods are subjected to high heat, acrylamides form. A Swedish study found that acrylamides cause cancer in rats, and more studies are under way to confirm the understanding that acrylamides also cause cancer in humans.

Sodium nitrite (and nitrates)
Food companies add sodium nitrite into certain foods on purpose. This carcinogen is added to processed meats, hot dogs, bacon, and any other meat that needs a reddish color to look "fresh." Decades ago when meats were preserved, it was done with salt. But in the mid 20th century, food manufacturers started using sodium nitrite in commercial preservation. This chemical is responsible for the pinkish color in meat to which consumers have grown accustomed. Although today the use of refrigeration is largely what protects consumers from botulism and bacteria, manufacturers still add sodium nitrite to make the meat look pinkish and fresh.

The nitrites themselves are not the problem. People get more nitrites from vegetables than they do from meat, according to research by the University of Minnesota. During the digestion process, however, sodium nitrite is converted to nitrosamine, and that's where the cancer problems begin. Nitrosamine is a carcinogen, but since it is not technically an ingredient, its presence can be easily overlooked on the packaging. Nitrosamines are also found in food items that are pickled, fried, or smoked; in things such as beer, cheese, fish byproducts, and tobacco smoke.

Knowing about all these ingredients doesn't mean there is simply a "short list" of foods that should be avoided. You have to vigilant and read labels constantly. Here are the five worst offenders:

1. Hot dogs

Hot dogs contain sodium nitrite that is added to give fresh and pinkish look to the sausage. Sodium nitrite is carcinogen. Besides, the white bread is simple carbohydrate that will turn into sugar as it enters the body. If you must have your hot dog fix, look for those without sodium nitrite listed among the ingredients.

2. Processed meats

These meats almost always contain the same sodium nitrite found in hot dogs. You can find some without nitrites, but you'll have to look for them in natural grocers or health food stores. Bacon is also high in saturated fat, which contributes to the risk of cancers, including breast cancer. Limiting your consumption of processed meats and saturated fats also benefits the heart.

3. Doughnuts

Doughnuts contain hydrogenated oils, white flour, sugar, and acrylamides. Essentially, they're one of the worst cancer foods you can possibly eat. Reader's Digest calls doughnuts "disastrous" as a breakfast food, and many experts agree it's probably one of the worst ways to start the day.

4. French fries

Fries are made with hydrogenated oil and fried at high temperatures. Some chains even add sugar to their fry recipe to make them even more irresistible. Not only do they clog your arteries with saturated fat and trans fat, they also contain acrylamides. They should be called "cancer fries," not French fries.

5. Chips / crackers / cookies

These generally contain white flour and sugar as well as trans fats, but it's not enough to simply look for these ingredients on the label; you have to actually "decode" the ingredients list that food manufacturers use to deceive consumers. They do this by hiding ingredients (such as hiding MSG in yeast extract, or by fiddling with serving sizes so they can claim the food is trans fat free, even when it contains trans fats (the new Girl Scout cookies use this trick).
Besides avoiding these foods, what else can consumers do to reduce their risk of cancer? The main things are simple: Eat unprocessed foods and base your diet largely on plants. Consume foods that have omega-3 fats and other essential fatty acids. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables; many common ones have known cancer-fighting properties. Get regular vigorous exercise, since tumors cannot thrive in highly oxygenated environments. Keep your blood sugar stable to avoid being an all-you-can-eat buffet for cancer cells.

Eat foods high in natural vitamin C, a nutrient that deters the conversion of nitrite into nitrosamine and promotes healthy immune function. Make sure you get adequate amounts of cancer-fighting vitamin D through exposure to sunlight -- about 10 to 15 minutes each day if you have fair skin, or ten times as long if you have dark skin pigmentation. Stay well hydrated to ensure that your body rids itself of toxins. Avoid smoking and don't use conventional fragrance, cosmetics and personal care products -- virtually all of them contain cancer-causing chemicals.

Preventing cancer is actually quite straightforward. Even the World Health Organization says that 70 percent of all cancers can be prevented with simple changes in diet and lifestyle. The truth is that most people give themselves cancer through the foods, drinks and products they choose to consume. In my opinion, over 90 percent of cancers are easily preventable.

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• By magazine2
• Posted January 7, 2009 at 11:21 pm
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Thank you so much, I pasted it and transferred it to my email, so I can study it. I have to figure out what works for me. Its really hard to figure it all out.

I have to sit down and start preparing my new way of eating. I use to eat alot of donouts, looks like they are in the past. Well I am sure for the best.

thanks again

diane

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