What foods are you eating to reduce recurrence?
Comments
-
Gully, clean eating and a healthy BMI are definitely worthy goals, with or without cancer, and if this diet helps with that, great! -
Gully, I think you've hit it on the button. At heart, we know a super healthy diet, while good for us, is no magic bullet, but, boy, does it give a wonderful sense of control over the little bit of future we can control! For myself, I can certainly say I'm way more healthy than I've ever been--walking 30 minutes/day, greatly reduced dietary fat (long, long overdue), banished sugar and 25 pounds. I'm more comfortable in my body and in my psyche, and just a week or so ago realized I'm even comfortable-ish with the fact that I've had, and someday might have again, breast cancer. As time goes on, I realize I'm moving away from focusing on healthy plant-based foods and allowing myself more protein. My personal silver bullet seems to be reducing fat (dietary and tummy). Sure hope it hits the target!
-
I think we've all read about people you exercised religiously and had fairly healthy habits and still developed breast cancer. In my case I had kids young, breastfed them all (2 of them for over 2 years) and have no family history. But here am I...we all know of know of many others who eat poorly and have an healthy lifestyle and will never develop breast cancer. As someone I came across in the cancer center said luck definitely has something to do it. She said that both she (her breast cancer) and her husband (some other type of cancer) got cancer but she has survived it and her husband did not. She said you have to be lucky....I pray that luck is on all our sides. I suppose no one has the answer why some people get cancer and others don't. -
what are your thoughts or experience on including the following as arsenal to help reduce the chance of recurrence or mets:
1) hempseed or hemp oil
2) wheatgrass
3) kale (organic)
4) emergen-c vitamin c fizzy drink
5) dandelion tea (don't wear you can get it)
I have been doing lemon with warm water as the first thing in morning. It seems to have kept my AST (test for liver function) in normal range.
There are is scientific evidence that an alkaline diet prevents cancer cells from proliferating. Lemon water is very alkalizing. google alkaline diet.
I have been using tumeric pills and fresh tumeric (can get it bigger indian stores) in teas. I try to juice beets a few times a week. Juicing is suppose to be great but it really is a hassle to juice and clean the machine. I was so used to buying juice from the store.
I did or skimmed thru read anti-cancer. It advocates the microbiotic diet and keeping the glycemic index low. I have totally eliminated refined sugar. In the last few months before my dx I was craving sugar like crazy. I ate cookie, cake after most meals. I would skip meals so I could have dessert. Definitely lost weight after giving up sugar. -
Sophie, so glad you just posted because for a couple of months just before dx, I also was craving sugar. Normally, I enjoy the occasional really yummy dessert thing, but live very happily without sugar fixes. Right after surgery, my sugar craving was gone. Not sure, of course, if it wasn't all psychological, but I tell you, I have my antennae out for a return of the sugar gimme's.All that said, I wonder if others had this experience, and if it did (as I suspect) indicate that nasty little cells were getting hungry?
-
I have seen no reliable medical evidence that an alkaline diet makes any difference, and your body self-regulates your PH balance anyway. Lemon is an acid, so how would that alkanize?
Beet juice is very high in fructose, and sugar is MADE from beets. Your body converts fructose to glucose so it doesn't matter if it is refined or not.
Do you mean macrobiotic? I've never heard of a microbiotic diet. A macrobiotic diet usually depends heavily on rice, which is a high glycemic-index food. -
Sophie, there is no credible evidence that an alkaline diet does anything. Your body has a very effective mechanism for keeping your PH staple. Dropping the PH lower than normal is usually a sign of disease.
However, it is thought that inflammation is generally a bad thing and that it is good to avoid foods that promote inflammation. I have noticed that the alkaline diets going around are also low in inflammation-promoting foods, so it may be beneficial from that angle.
There is also evidence to suggest (not prove, but certainly suggest) that it may be helpful to keep blood glucose low and staple, i.e. avoid crazy spikes like the ones you would get from eating a lot of pasta or honey or even fruit in one sitting. It is in any event a good idea as we age to keep glucose controlled, so I aim to do that.
Melissa is correct that all carbs are converted to glucose by your digestive system, so although pure sugar (or honey etc.) will convert quickly and cause a spike, to keep glucose staple, you have to be mindful of carbs generally. I used myfitnesspal for a while to count carbs, and aimed to keep my carb intake around 150-175 grams a day. It also helps greatly to get exercise. -
I threw out all sugar and flour to stop myself from baking. Was trying to eat more vegetables so I started getting a "harvest box" of whole fruits and vegetables every Friday from a local organic farm. Many items are grown there, some are trucked in regionally. Everything is much fresher than my usual grocery store.
So I'm learning to cook veggies so that they aren't loaded with cheese but still taste wonderful. Today I peeled and cut up a small pumpkin and roasted the pumpkin chunks with sliced potato and carrots, olive oil, nutmeg, and herbs. I've roasted golden beets the same way.
In my slow cooker I bake apples (sliced, unpeeled, with cinnamon and some water) and then puree the slices in a blender to make thick, smooth applesauce. Pear sauce with ginger is great too. Will never buy watery applesauce in a jar again.
And I drink lots of green tea. Gave up soda decades ago.
I had to have pelvic radiation for anal cancer so every morning I have stewed prunes and a fresh lemon (they are tasty together). That helps, and with all the fruit and veg I'm doing OK.
Onion, celery, leafy greens, and carrots are on the menu every day too. Have not tried daily garlic but that's supposed to be a good probiotic too.
For protein I rely on fat free Greek yogurt, eggs, kefir, some fish and chicken, but very little red meat -- maybe 1/2 lb per month.
The next improvement will be to replace canned beans with dry beans cooked in my rice cooker. Hope it works out. The main thing is to avoid processed foods.
I've gained 15 lbs on Arimidex in the past year. Am now at BMI 25, would prefer 23. -
Although I'm all for eating healthier, feeling healthier and being healthier by whatever means works for you, as an historian, I have to point out that the premise behind the paleo diet is faulty. Perhaps little evidence exists for cancer and heart disease in the paleolithic-era remains found, but that is just a small sampling of the culture, as a whole. How many of these remains have been found? What percentage of the total population did they represent?
One article I read stated that the high infant mortality rate in paleolithic society's "skews" the average lifespan of this culture. True enough. If one could survive childhood (I think the age of 15 was bandied about), one could like well into one's 50's or 60's. It was possible and there is archeological evidence that many did. But the fact remains: we know very little about such societies and their dietary norms because there is such limited evidence. Sure, some evidence exists, but it is so very slim that to make such a sweeping assumption that all ancient paleolithic societies ate the same way or ate only a certain way is misleading and disingenious. Fossilized plant evidence is rare - or non-existant - because plants decay much, much faster than bones do, so we really don't know how much - or how little - plant vegetation paleolithic societies actually ate. We know that they didn't eat raw grains because raw grains are indigestible; it wasn't until the emergence of milling that these cultures able to consume grains. And, if fact, new evidence suggests that ancient societies were involved in processing plant starches and grains nearly 30,000 years earlier that previous thought.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/10/08/1006993107.abstracthttp://e-a-a.org/tea/archive/TEA_36_WINTER_2011_2012/rep5_36.pdf
So, it's entirely possible that paleolithic man did, indeed, eat grains and plant starches.
Moreover, paleolithic people did not have access to the variety of choices that we have today. It's all well and good to structure our diets to get the best, possible health benefit, but paleolithic societies had to eat what was available and that list included wild game (very rare today), including rodents, lizards and snakes, bone marrow, grubs and beetles and other insects, organ meat such as brains, eyes, and tongues; leaves and tree bark. They ate when there was abundant food, they starved when there wasn't. Our perception of early societies eating plentiful meat (which, I might add, was eaten raw as well as cooked) is, largely, a myth.
So, while I don't argue that what is being called the "paleo" diet today may be healthier in terms of lowering exposure to too many refined foods (including flour, sugar, and salt), I would hesitate to call it a "paleo" diet. I would even tentatively state that much of what is included on today's "paleo" diet would be unrecognizable by our paleolithic ancestors as food. In addition, the paleolithic diet has it's dangers: too much protein (over 40%) can cause serious health risks, such as chronic intestinal irritation (constipation, diarrhea and gas), weight gain (excess calories from protein can be stored as fat), increase in liver enzymes, nutritional deficiency, and - possibly - kidney issues (although more data is needed).
I guess what I'm driving at is that calling it a "paleo" diet is a misnomer. Call it for what it is, a fad diet that will have it's day... much like the Atkins Diet. And the designers of such diets will, always, make a killing off them. Just eat in a healthy manner, in moderation, and keeping portion sizes in control and avoid those things that don't make you feel good about what you are eating.
-
I love the idea of cooking apples in a slow cooker and then making apple sauce! Will have to try that.
From the "Anticancer" action chart for breast cancer, here are the top ten foods starting at the top: garlic, leeks, scallions, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broccoli, radishes, savoy cabbage. -
Corky, cool! I eat all of those regularly, garlic daily. -
its macrobiotic...not microbiotic. I have skimmed thru all the diets and honestly each have their pro's and cons. I am approaching it from a anti-cancer prespective and not weight loss perspective. Atkins works..at least temporarily for significant weight loss. But honestly is this diet sustainable? Anyways again I am not looking at from weight loss but rather something that will not only make feel healthier but possibly improve my outcome. My qualms with the current medical system is that all oncologists (medical, surgical and radiation) have been quick prescribe medication throughout my treatment. I have asked and not one has told me the relationship between diet and health. I had literally a dozen or more drugs prescribed. Thru my own research I found that lemon water is great for a dozen or more ailments. Ginger reduces inflammation ( which cancer thrives on). a lady with brest cancer who I spoke to soon after being diagnosed told me cancer cells thrive on sugar. I reduced refined as well as fructose. I used to drink 4 to 5 glasses of orange juice. I limit 100% fruit juice to 1 glass. I do believe that are dozens of food cures that our medical system scoffs upon. I had researched and found out that raw, organic honey helps with mouth sores during chemo. instead of using magic mouthwash which the medical oncologist prescribed I used to coat my tongue with honey. There are foods that help with side effects. And you know what the great thing about them is that THERE ARE NO SIDE EFFECTS. So my intention here with this thread is not to promote one diet over another but to share tried and true methods of what has worked for people in terms of getting back to funcitoning after treatment and TRYING TO IMPROVE OUTCOME. Truthly there arent many studies of what works and my medical team shows very little interest in role diet plays in well being. I have all sorts of medications for very side effects. I do find that when I drink fresh juice from juicer I feel more energetic. I try to make my own ginger tea with ginger and fresh tumeric. I have incorporated chia seeds and flax seeds in my diet. The goal is not take 10 to 15 pills a day and lay dysfunctional in bed. I have young kids so I don't have that option. I honestly believe mother nature has food cures but many wish there some magic pills and or diet. I have started eating more green vegetables- stuff i would never eat. but ill eat anything that will promote health and well being. -
Several years ago I read The Maker's Diet.
I followed much of the plan in the book and felt much healthier and lost some weight that had refused to leave. But the major benefit I gained was in just looking at food simply. If God made it I can eat it.
God didn't make Doritos or Twinkies. Lol. Bummer.
I don't have to count calories or carbs or anything else. Just eat good, whole food. Organic when possible.
I personally don't do white potatoes and if/when I have pasta I use a special low-carb brand. I only use Ezekiel bread.
I was doing great on this plan plus exercise and was the healthiest I'd ever felt. Then my dad got sick and I took care of everyone but me. Now I'm focusing back on eating this way again, because it IS a plan that can be maintained. Not a "diet" but a way of life. -
Sophie, I lost thirty pounds on Atkins. It is not a high protein plan, it is more like a plan that's higher in fats. I try to eat most of my carbs from veggies. If I stray into breads, crackers, cereals etc. then I gain. I use FitDay to track foods. -
Corky, sort of the same here, although I did not use a specific plan. I really just replaced most white carbs with extra veggies. So instead of a piece of fish, some veggies and rice or potato, I have a piece of fish with a double or triple serving of veggies and salad. For fat I have olive oil. When I do eat bread or rice, I stick to high-fibre, brown ones. It works well for me. First I lost the extra 15 pounds I had been lugging around for years, and after that my weight has remained staple. -
Selena of course the Paleo diet is not a faithful reproduction of what was eaten but is an attempt to create a modern version. I could write pages here. I could write a book in fact ,but I don't have the time and I’d just be repeating what someone else wrote. So for anyone that is fascinated by nutrition I would recommend they read Gary Taubes “Good Calories, Bad Calories”. It is 450+ pages of investigation into our modern nutrition advice, which is based on some dubious studies, politics, and assumptions. This book led me to question everything I thought I knew about nutrition and led me to research more. I have chosen a diet similar to the paleo diet, but I have no agenda. If eating a moderate diet seems the right thing to do, do it! It didn't work for me.
-
Twohobbies, I think that is an important point. It seems that, just from a weight loss and/or maintenance POV, it really varies a lot what works for people. -
-
hey,
I want to incorporate turmeric in my diet. Any suggestions for recipes or its use? -
I put the powder in everything, sweet & not, I've not used the fresh root but I assume it's better -
Butterfley, you can buy turmeric in capsules. Otherwise, curry powder is mostly turmeric. You can make your own curry powder with a lot of turmeric and use it in various foods. I also lightly toast almonds with turmeric and other spices and eat those for snacks. -
thanks! I also have a Nutribullet now that I've been using to make smoothies with lots of fruits and veggies in it. I'm trying to incorporate clean eating and eliminate the bad. Sugar has been the hardest for me (choc chips or brownies in particular). I think the key is steady constant improvement no matter which plan your following. I agree that it helps you feel like there's something that you have control of that you are doing to improve your health.
Thanks for the thread -
Hi ladies,
I have been following this thread and lurking because it is so hard for me to post. For the last 5 years I have gradually become fully organic. I was at various points vegan, raw vegan, vegetarian and then modified paleo. I took all the right supplements, exercised regularly saw a holistic nutritionist. I use no toxic chemicals in my skin care. Make my own products, use crystal deodorant, cosmetics are few and paraben free and..,,tada.... I still got breast cancer. Oh did I add, I juiced and did green smoothies. I still do most of these things except I love my meat, but it is organic, free range and grass fed.
So that is to say that it is important to limit the toxins we ingest, there are environmental factors bigger than us at play here. But I agree we should watch whAt we eat and if your cancer is e+ then I believe you should stay away from soy and it's derivatives which Knocks out most processed food.
Sorry if I'm rambling. I do believe in eating right but there is so much conflicting info out there.... Did I mention I went grain free too. 😄😄😄 -
SchoolCounselor, I agree. It is a crap shoot no matter what the heck you do. However, as others have said as well, it gives me a sense of having a little control by being careful about what I eat. Apart from that, it is keeping my cholesterol, weight and blood sugar steady, so my thinking is that even if it doesn't keep the cancer away, it may protect me from other health problems at least. Besides I feel well, which is important too.
We used to be in Westchester years ago, btw, so howdy "neighbor"! -
I just cooked up my second batch of dried hen of the woods mushroom. said to have anti-tumor properties. I found it wild & dried it under a full spectrum light to maximize vitamin D content. 40% protein: tibetans call it "sa sha" or earth meat. I think with the third batch I'll grind it up to a powder -
-
quite off as to the protein though I have seen other figures I think. today gary was talking about the benefits of magnesium -
the 1st. page if you google maitake gives 2% or 1.4 grams of protein in 1 cup of diced mushroom. doesn't say cooked or raw, could be a big differ ence there as it shrinks amazingly when dried & swells a great deal when re constituted the reconstituted mushroom is extremely dense, much more so than when fresh & raw, & retains the densness when cooked -
Ladies, have you come across any human studies on use of Flax Seeds in ER+ bc? My MO is against it, but there are so many articles on the internet supporting the use. Also, Flax Seeds and Tamoxifen? Did any of you got ok from medical doctors on this? Thanks -
I have one chemo left and feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the diets to stay healthy and cancer free !! I always been a health and exercise "freak" !!! My doc says if I do what I did before I will be fine but it scares me cuz my body made cancer cells !!! I cut all sugars but have started to add some fruit back into my diet . I eat only organic and use no toxins on my skin. Would love some turmeric recipes !! The nuts sounds great
One thing I did talk to my surgeon about is iodine deficiency. It doesn't cause cancer but cysts and I am very cystic !! I was asking if it would make it easier to detect and find cancer if it came back with less cysts and she thought it would be worth looking in to !!! I have all the ifs to suspect deficiency so when the chemicals from chemo is gone I will get tested !!!
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team