MMMMM Meat

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Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376

 I've read so much about eating healthy and changing to a raw diet, and juicing.  I have always eaten healthy, juiced for many years, eat lots of fruits and veggies, worked out etc.  But hell, sometimes I just like a good steak every now and then.  Now after breast cancer,  I'm really watching that I get enough servings of fruits and veggies, still juice and getting back into working out, but I just don;t want to cut out meat or seafood from my diet.  I want to still enjoy my life by enjoying a good steak when I crave one, or having a lobster, or going out for sushi once in awhile. I know this would horrify all you "Crazy Sexy Cancer" cancer girls but............ whateverFoot in mouth

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  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited December 2009

    I still eat meat. Not as much as I used to, probably red meat only once a week now, but I still eat it! I try to do vegetarian every second day, salmon about twice a week, and a bit of pork or chicken the other day.  Moderation in all things!

    One thing though - try and buy it without hormones, and don't BBQ it.

  • lexislove
    lexislove Member Posts: 2,645
    edited December 2009
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2009

    Kerry ~ I have a steak maybe once every month or two.  I usually eat salmon fillet twice a week.  I am mostly vegetarian.  I do BBQ a lot.  I have a gas grill off my kitchen on the back deck, and my DH likes to throw the steaks on there.  I always cook my salmon fillet wrapped in tin foil with wine, "Saucey Susan" duck sauce, butter salt & pepper.  Delicious.  I ate that mostly every night while doing chemo during the summer.  I stayed away from sushi the whole time and am missing it now http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZNman000    As far as hormones,  I'm a little nervous about eating chicken for that reason, although my onc warn me to stay away from it.  The only thing he told me to stay away from was supplements or herbs that advetised phytoestrogens.

  • Celtic_Spirit
    Celtic_Spirit Member Posts: 748
    edited December 2009

    As I've said numerous times, the two women I've known who had recurrences were vegetarians.

    I didn't eat a lot of meat prior to breast cancer. I ate lots of fiber, fruit, and vegetables. I took gobs of supplements. While it's kept me very healthy, it didn't prevent cancer. For many years, I even cooked out of a book called The Doctor's Anti-Breast Cancer Diet: How the Right Foods Can Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer. Yeah, that worked.

    On the other hand, my boyfriend's aunt Evelyn - a 30+ year stage III bc survivor - eats diner food several times a week. She never met a French fry she didn't like, and she's in pretty good shape for an 80-something lady.

    So my vote is, eat what you want in moderation. And that includes the occasional steak and ice cream!

  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited December 2009

    My Onc said eat what you want! She is very skeptical of any dietary impact on reoccurance.

    I was a total vegetarian for about 15 years, in my late teens until my early 30's.  Still didn't stop me getting cancer. And, probably, in hindsight, all that Soy did me more harm than good...

    I agree wirth lexis - if you love something, you have to include it somewhere. I cannot cut out my red wine, but i now only drink at weekends. But I will happily never eat bacon again. Just choices...

  • baywatcher
    baywatcher Member Posts: 532
    edited December 2009

    You might want to check out the movie "Food Inc.". It is about meat and is pretty interesting.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2009

    Celtic and Kerry,  I know.... right?  I was such a healthy eater and my husband is in the food supplement industry, so I always had every kind of supplement around.  I used to be so confident that breast cancer was one disease I'd never get because I felt secure in the fact I had all my children early, breast fed them all into the second year, ate little meat, mostly salads, fruit and fish, took daily vitamins A, E, C, B6, B12, Lecithin granules, Kelp, I ran for a number of years, until my knees got sore,  I trained on riding and jumping horses, and fast walked a few miles a week.  The year I was diagnosed with breast Cancer which was last Jan 2009,  I had been drinking a lot of soy milk, and green tea.  I've always been strong, and so never ever would have thought I would get breast cancer.

  • Mamita49
    Mamita49 Member Posts: 538
    edited December 2009

    I dont know if it makes a difference, but I get 2 normal AAA best quality steaks for my family, and myself a hormone free steak from the healthfood store. We have that once or twice a month. I agree, its ok to eat what you like, for me, the steak from a biofarm just really tastes better.

  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited December 2009

    yeah watch the movie Food. I just did last night and OMG I was horrified!!!!!

  • everyminute
    everyminute Member Posts: 1,805
    edited December 2009

    I dont really like meat or chicken or pork.  sadly the only meat I like is processed (like wendy's chicken patties) so it was easy for me to give it all up.  I do eat fish and have recently been craving a burger so I will have a really good one from a steak house one of these days. 

  • lexislove
    lexislove Member Posts: 2,645
    edited December 2009
  • Bugs
    Bugs Member Posts: 1,719
    edited December 2009

    I LOVE salmon!  Tilapia is good, too.  Chicken (preferably hormone free/free range).  I do love a good steak...but it's a rarity.

  • AnneW
    AnneW Member Posts: 4,050
    edited December 2009

    I'm a carnivore and proud! I have recently begun limiting my red meat (due to DH's diet changes) but I will crave a juicy burger and a filet mignon!

    However...I am reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma", and will now be buying only grass-fed beef. Some friends and I are buying a local cow for slaughter. Grass fed and organic. But still medium rare!

    Anne

  • Celtic_Spirit
    Celtic_Spirit Member Posts: 748
    edited December 2009

    Initially, I stopped eating most meats because I have a lot of problems with how our "meat" is raised and treated. By consuming it, I felt like I was aiding and abetting factory farms and slaughterhouses. Later, I continued to go light on meat because I learned that it really isn't that great for us, and it also makes me feel sluggish. When I do buy it, I usually eat fish or free-range chicken and turkey. I'm really quite happy with a bowl of basil tomato soup and asiago cheese bread. Yum!

  • Fidelia
    Fidelia Member Posts: 397
    edited December 2009

    Celtic, Kerry and Shanagirl - thanks for sharing - healthy eating is obviously NOT the only factor in BC. It helps a lot of people like me - the former pin up girl for BAD diet (mostly coffee and chocolate) and poor nutrition - forgive myself a little. Once I realised where meat came from I couldn't eat it - it's just an empathy thing - but I certainly compensated with every form of processed sugar-based product one could imagine.

    Stage IV now for many years and one of the things I have noticed is that having changed my diet drastically to include a lot of greens and green barley supplements etc - I have had a pretty good response to hormonals - which is probably a matter of luck - but if I ever back slide to my chocolates, crisps and dips...things get ugly!!!  Some days I yearn for the good ole days of sheer bad eating - but I know - I just cannot risk being that bad girl again!!!

    Fidelia

  • karen1956
    karen1956 Member Posts: 6,503
    edited December 2009

    I still eat beef and chicken, and fish... love salmon, tilapia, boneless trout....don't eat fried foods or high fat foods, or pork or shellfish. We eat vegetarian a couple times/week.  Onc has said I can eat small amounts of soy, so enjoy it a couple times/month.   Eat fruits and veggies.  I ate healthy before BC.....diet hasn't changed too much except I can't eat spicy anymore....and don't enjoy some foods anymore (of course, right now I can't think to list them). 

  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited December 2009

    One interesting observation - my husband has AS, which is a type of inflammatory arthritis. He used to take Celebrex, but was concerned about the cardiac SE's, especially after my Dx (didn't want us both dropping dead!) and stopped it. But he has noticed, that since we have been following the Cancer diet, he has had very few flare-ups. It is very hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but I am sure there is some connection there. Ironically, since ending treatment, I have never felt healthier. I am sure my diet has a huge impact on that.

  • Bugs
    Bugs Member Posts: 1,719
    edited December 2009

    Sherri,

    I've had buffalo meat and I do enjoy it.  The stores in the small town I live in  don't offer it..so it's rare that I buy it.

  • everyminute
    everyminute Member Posts: 1,805
    edited December 2009

    Kerry - Are you using a book to guide you on the anti cancer diet or just what you/we know?

  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited December 2009

    We eat a LOT of chicken and use the harmone antibiotic free (which I was doing before BC).  We also eat a lot of seafood (which is my favorite), substite turkey meat for red meat and when the mood strikes have a good steak or a big thick juicy burger.  The one thing I've really tried to change and work on is less processed foods.  I've noticed when I don't eat processed foods I feel better than when I eat processed or junk food.

  • everyminute
    everyminute Member Posts: 1,805
    edited December 2009

    I dont eat any processed foods if I can avoid it - I was big on luna and clif bars before but try to avoid it all now.

    My downfall is white carbs.  sigh. 

  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited December 2009

    Mary - I read the "Foods that fight Cancer" book, and then just sort of adapted things as I pick up tips from others....mostly just loads of fruits and veges, antioxidants, green tea, fiber, you know, the usual stuff! I do totally avoid processed foods, nitrates, soy....

    So, speaking of food, and soy, anyone see this....

     http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/302/22/2437

    They go as far as saying with high soy intake, tamoxifen gives no extra added benefit. Now, i am doing everything in my power to avoid soy, but they are saying 1 1/2 cups of soy milk a day gives a 30% survival benefit..... Thoughts??

  • everyminute
    everyminute Member Posts: 1,805
    edited December 2009

    My thoughts are that it isnt a controlled enough study to say that but that at the very least it appears that it isnt as bad for us as we feared.  It almost sounds - to my seriously unscientific brain - that it works like tamoxifen by acting estrogen-ish and blocking real estrogen.  But that is just my opinion.  I would like to see more studies on it.  It does appear that I can probably have some edamame and an occassional veggie burger though - which is good :-)

  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited December 2009

    I know I just heard about this morning. I think the type of soy we get is important. It's so confusing.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2009

    I don't see the harm in eating edamame soy beans once in awhile, any more than eating fresh pomegranite.  Whatever phytoestrogen content is in some fruits veggies or legumes, can't be bad for you. IMHO

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