ER+ ladies, what do you eat?

I have always believed in "moderation" and I've only made a few adjustments to my diet post-cancer.  I've cut back on coffee and processed foods, and have decreased my alcohol intake to a glass of wine every-so-often.  Otherwise, I eat anything I like - in moderation - even hummus!  I love all vegetables (except squash) and fruits, so I don't have a problem meeting the daily requirements. 

Morning Ladies,

Love my SUPERFOODS 

* Spirulina

* Chlorella

* Cacao

* Goji Berries

* Chia Seeds

I add these to my Shakes/Smoothies!

I believe my Nutritional Shakes are what helped me do so well through my treatment! I was NEVER sick and worked out every day 

Here is a Hummus recipe w/out Tahini mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/hummustahini.htm. Also, if you do a search (Hummus w/out Tahini) A LOT more recipes will show up. 

Enjoy your day! 

Here are some GREAT articles about it 

http://www.naturalnews.com/033698_spirulina_superfood.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/034194_spirulina_superfood.html 

http://www.naturalnews.com/025703_spirulina_diet_studies.html 

I don't understand the focus on soy as a food not to eat. The reason I see cited the most on soy avoidance is because it "has phytoestrogens."



However, MANY foods contain phytoestrogens. Other beans (lentils, navy, pinto, chickpeas); seeds and nuts (sunflower seeds, pistachios, walnuts, cashews); veggies (squash, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, bok choy, carrots, potatoes, zucchini); fruits (plums, peaches, raspberries, strawberries); and grains (wheat, rye, oats, brown rice). That's not even a full list! I never see any of these listed to avoid because of phytoestrogens; in fact many of them are frequently on the "do eat" lists.



What gives?


I think avoiding dairy is much more important. It's a fact that only pregnant cows, and those who has just given birth, give milk, and they have higher hormone levels in their bodies at those times, even the ones that aren't actively injected with extra hormones to unnaturally increase their milk production. The poor things are impregnated over and over to keep them producing milk. Plus, cow milk has all the nutrients needed to grow a calf into a very large animal in a short amount of time. Not exactly what I want to be putting in my body! From what I've read, populations with lower dairy consumption have lower incidences of cancers in general. (Plus lower rates of osteoporosis.)



I'm gradually switching over to eating less processed foods, which will eliminate a lot of processed soy, but I don't plan on reducing my tofu or miso soup consumption. My MO told me soy is fine "in moderation," and did recommend tofu, soy milk, etc., over processed soy isolates, but then she told me to try tempeh as a "substitute for soy." Uh. Tempeh IS soy!



Anyway, I'm vegetarian now, allergic to dairy proteins (whey), grossed out by eggs, and officially going vegan at the beginning of next year.





Also, I wouldn't trust any info found on Natural News any farther than I could throw it. That site is notorious for posting unbacked info and misinformation.

I've never been much of a cook and probably have been eating all the wrong foods. I know I can do better and will make the effort. Your collective advice on this thread gives me a helpful starting point. I do have a question about sugar. Is it sugar itself that is bad or is it that sugar contributes to weight gain? My onc doesn't seem to be overly concerned about my diet as long as I keep my weight down. She's big on maintaining a low body mass index. BC has given us way too much to worry about.

Jennifer, thank you for sharing your soup recipe, that sounds really good! I will definitely try it. (I use the vegan flavors of Better Than Boullion in soups, it's fabulous, and so easy!)

Here is BCO's take on soy:

http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/nutrition/reduce_risk/foods/soy.jsp

Also, a blurb on soy from food versus soy from supplements.  I have heard that the soy from food is far less harmful (and depending on what you read, potentially beneficial) than the soy from supplemtation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18602820

Kaara,

I can't live without my shakes either! I use a shake that is an undenatured protein blend sourced exclusively from grass-fed dairy cows not treated with hormones or antibiotics and raised on the pristine pastures of New Zealand.  No fillers, preservatives, etc...Then I add in my other goodies, Superfoods!

I read your previous post: I eat cage-free, organic, hormone/antibiotic/steroid free eggs (usually just the whites). As for chicken - organic, cage-free, hormone/antibiotic/steroid free as well and no water/saline in package. Once in a GREAT while I may have red meat and this is grass-fed organic beef. I will eat Salmon, but ONLY wild caught not farm-raised. As for canned products - VERY limited, when I do it is usually beans (organic, BPA, and Non-GMO) and I rinse the beans. As for fruits and veggies, I belong to an organic produce buying club.  

That sounds like the most reasonable advice to me, Denise.



I've seen the study showing that Japanese women eating a traditional diet (more soy, less meat, little to no dairy) have lower rates of breast cancer than women eating a traditional Western diet (lots of meat, lots of dairy, processed convenience foods). Those Japanese women were consuming their soy as tofu, miso, tempeh, etc, NOT as soy isolates added to processed products.

Unfortunately for the Japanese they have a lower incidence of breast cancer but one of the highest rates of gastric (stomach) cancer in the world.  One in three deaths in Japan is due to this type of cancer - this is thought to be the case because their diet is high in salt, nitrates, pickling agents, raw and undercooked foods, and smoked foods.

cottontail - here are a couple of links to the info:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc081797

http://www.livestrong.com/article/361804-japanese-diet-stomach-cancer/

My BS told me on Friday pre op that though cancer rates were higher in China decades ago (and other Asian countries) now they are increasing as the general population can afford more meat and vegetable oils too. Her advice pre op (I had to wait several weeks) was drop the meat (including chicken and fish), the alcohol, limit cheese again due to oils. I asked a good friend who is an oncolgist about her recommendations and he advised moderation in those things but drop the simple sugars too as much as possible. I did look up soya and flax in Sr. Susan Love's Breat Book today and she says stay away from soy supplements but not soy naturally as has been said more than once on this thread! 

Enough info for one day, but moderation is going to be my nutrition mantra.

Marian 

Just responding to the topic sentence....I eat whatever my little heart desires...tonight I had yummy, yummy tofu stir fry!!!  I eat edamane (sp) too...drink red wine!!!!