As a cancer survivor/battler, the issue of food as medicine comes up often. These days, "sugar feeds cancer" runs through my mind pretty frequently, causing a battle between my sweet tooth and my desire for survival. To me, giving up sugar means eliminating desserts - you know, the obviously sugary things. But the other day a fellow survivor friend said she wasn't going to try a healthy zucchini bread recipe because she's giving up sugar, and sugar is one of the ingredients. Whoa! Not being an extremist, that never crossed my mind! That eliminates a ton of food options. I haven't had a chance to talk to her and find out if that includes fruits, too, but it could, since they are mostly sugar, fiber, and water.
When I was first diagnosed, one of my sisters offered to research food and cancer, to find out what I could eat to demolish my cancer cells. Now, I'm the least healthy eater in my family. This sister is, I think, working toward vegan, and eats a very clean, fresh diet. My brother is vegetarian during the week, and my other sister is a registered dietician and a diabetes educator. Even my parents eat fairly health-consciously. What I love about my dietician sister is that, whenever I ask her for advice, it all comes back to moderation. Which is what she practices: whole grains, lean meats, lots of fruits and veggies, but with room for a bowl of ice cream or a glass of wine and fine chocolate. When someone is on a crazy diet and it's working for them, she points out what they're eating, which is usually heavy on the veggies and grilled chicken, and very practically states they're losing weight because they are eating more veg and less fatty, carby, sugary things.
Interestingly, the research my sister did revealed that, while there are lots of ideas and tons of research about cancer FIGHTING foods, there aren't any consistent results. Therefore, science says there isn't any proven way to eat and destroy cancer. Now, I went to school with a girl who had cancer and opted not to have traditional treatment, but rather with food and lifestyle changes, and she's still cancer-free many years later. We probably all know a person or two with a similar story, so food can make a difference.
To further muddy the waters, during chemo the doctors say not to load up on antioxidants and other cancer PREVENTING foods. What?! That was a shocker, and counter to all my self-protective instincts (as in, this would be a great time to start juicing!). The rationale is good, though: the goal of chemo is to destroy cancer cells, so giving them lots of protective antioxidants would be counterproductive. And then I had my colostomy and they told me to eat a low fiber diet for awhile, which is everything we're told NOT to eat - think white foods like potatoes and pasta. No fresh fruits and veg, no whole grains, etc. For me, it's been a very interesting year in regards to food advice from medical professionals!
After my sister completed her research, she gave me the report that there is good, conclusive research on eating to prevent cancer, but nothing consistent on fighting cancer. Then she sent me a book called Healing with Whole Foods. Which has 40+ pages of index... I'm working my way through it, and it's very interesting. Although I'm not running to sign up for its cancer diet, which consists of fresh fruit and veg, wheat grass, sprouts, omega 3 oils, and once-daily cooked grains. Oh, and seaweed.
Meanwhile, I joined a cancer support group and, soon after, several of the ladies got excited about an anti-cancer protocol, which is spelled out in several books and videos. It seems so complex! I'm (hopefully) a low-maintenance, moderate girl, so these strict, specialized, restrictive diets are not my cup of tea. But I do wonder if, by rejecting them and protecting space for the occasional ice cream, I'm reducing my chances of being cancer-free someday. But I AM sure that if cancer gets the best of me, I want to go out eating foods I enjoy!
I counteracted the flood of emails about this new protocol with a couple one page lists I've been using in my moderate quest to eat better. A pretty list from Bright Pink, a site to help young women prevent cancer, includes fruits and veg (like berries, citrus, apples, all the leafy greens, sweet potatoes, mushrooms), lean proteins (beans, salmon, nuts, eggs), whole grains, spices like tumeric and flax, and beverages like green tea and pomegranate juice. The other list is from John Hopkins, and recommends restricting sugar, milk, meat (particularly beef and pork), coffee, tea, and chocolate. They say 80% of our diet should be fresh veg, grains, seeds, and nuts, with some fruit, and we should exercise and maintain a positive, proactive outlook.
The women responded positively, saying my one-sheeters were in line with the fancy protocol they were pursuing. Phew! Maybe I'm not neglecting my chances completely!
The interesting thing about these recommendations is that they are pretty much in line with ALL the healthy eating plans. Cheer with me now: "Fruits and Veg! Fruits and Veg!" Which is a good thing, because, while we fear cancer, there are other, often less visible threats out there. For example, women are 9X more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke, etc) than from breast cancer. Exercise and better eating are key to preventing that, too. It's nice to know we can prevent most diseases with the same diet and lifestyle choices.
So things are changing at my house. We're having fruit & veg smoothies for breakfast, thinking of meat as flavoring rather than the main course, and I've made kale chips three times this week! Yum. We did go out for burgers last night, but I tried a really healthy recipe for blueberry breakfast bars today. Unfortunately, they taste like cardboard unless there's a blueberry in your bite, but I'll eat them because I hate throwing things away. I also tried the chocolate zucchini recipe: a bit of a disaster, but I didn't exactly follow the ingredient list. I did it correctly today and am waiting for it to cool, so we'll see whether I can share it with friends tonight or not.
I'm also walking with my dog for at least 30 minutes every day. Research shows that walking 30 minutes, 5 days a week, reduces recurrence in breast and prostate cancers by 40-50%. WOW! We don't know if it's effective for other cancers because studies haven't been done, but it's plausible that it applies to other cancers, too. Now THAT is motivating for me! How exciting that a short walk can prevent cancer from coming back?! And prevent all kinds of other diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Pretty cool.
Speaking of which, it's time to get Rayna and take our walk. Grab your kale chips and sneakers, and let's go! To life!
