Nutrition & Eating: "before","during", and "after" BC diagnosis

Hello Tori,

I have been recently diagnosed with BC . Yes, I have significantly changed my eating after a lot of reading and discussion. I used to love cheese and other dairy products, but have completely cut those out. I also cut out all meat, except for occasional Fish. No sugar or white flour anymore. I do eat lots of vegetables, some fruits, whole grain products in moderation, lots of beans, and green tea as a beverage. As much as I can I eat everything organic.I try to exercise 3-4 times a week. I really do believe that a low fat diet is a good start. What is interesting is that I used to regularly suffer from migraine like headaches. Very often I would get a headache and take strong painkillers. Since I drastically changed my diet, I have not had a headache at all. For me it is also the notion of having some control about my health. I am building my immune system back up.

I definitely changed eating habits after diagnosis.  I ate reasonably healthy and was very fit prior to diagnosis and still got BC at age 47, but there is a heavy cancer history on father's side.  I look at it this way: if I hadn't watched what I ate or exercised, the cancer may have shown up much earlier.  After diagnosis, I remembered something my dad told me 35 years prior.  He was a "health food nut" 'way back then and read alot about diet and nutrition.  He had read a book about a clinic in Germany that was curing terminal cancer patients through diet.  (And that was before the typical American diet became all about fast food, sugary drinks, and packaged meals.)  He was able to nearly eliminate his asthma symptoms by adopting the principles he learned in the book:  eliminating alcohol, sugar, caffeine, and refined white flour from his diet. 

I did alot of reading after diagnosis, and many nationally renowned doctors have been saying pretty much the same thing:  they believe about 80% of illness and disease can be eliminated simply by changing our eating habits. 

So these are the guidelines I live by:  buy organic when possible; eat a wide, rich variety of vegetables; limit fruit to 2 servings daily; severely limit fruit juice (too much natural sugar--better to eat the whole fruit); limit red meat to 2-3 times/month and buy only grass-fed/grass-finished, no antibiotics, no hormones; avoid dairy; absolutely no food made with artificial ingredients, preservatives, or chemicals or containing trans-fats; absolutely no artificial sweetners; no refined white flour or refined white sugar; absolutely no alcohol; only whole grains; cook with fresh, whole ingredients; and limit salt by using herbs and spices to flavor dishes. 

I also took an online class from www.toquietinflammation.com that explains how to determine what foods we are sensitive/allergic to, how those foods cause inflammation, and the connection between inflammation and disease. 

Exercise has been sporadic in the 5 years since diagnosis, but by following those guidelines, I don't have lymphodema; hot flashes are infrequent, mild, and manageable; and weight gain/fluctuations are not an issue.